by Bernard K. Means

As I watch the snow fall (and fall and fall) here in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on this third day of March 2014, I thought I’d briefly address the assertion that New Deal excavations were focused in the southeastern U.S. because winters in the northeast would have discouraged excavations in this region.  As the photographs below indicate, this is manifestly untrue.  Winter excavations were challenging, to be sure, but WPA field crews in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, managed by using sticks to keep track of excavated postholes and other features. They also kept a fire going in old oil drums to warm themselves periodically, and during lunch–using scavenged wood and coal that fell off of passing trains.

A Scene from Fort Hill

 Scenes from Gower

Scenes from Hanna

Scenes from Peck 1

A Scene from Powell 1
Scenes from Troutman