Today@Sam Article

Digging Into Texas: Museum To Host Special Lecture By Texas Archaeologist

Oct. 1, 2024
SHSU Media Contact: Mikah Boyd

By Michael Sproat

With one parent in the military, Alexandra Younger was raised in Europe as a “third-culture kid.” There, she grew up in a culture that differed from the one of her parent's home country and learned about the rooted histories of the western world. These formative years made an impact on her intellectual interests as an adult.

After studying under a few interesting professors and participating in an archeological field school, Younger decided that archeology would be a good field for her to pursue as a profession. Because of her specialized knowledge and skill, historians and fans of all things Texas can learn about the current archeology of one of the state’s iconic cities: Washington-on-the-Brazos.

Since 2000, the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and Republic of Texas Presidential Library has spent October celebrating Texas Archeology Month, which was established by the Texas Historical Commission. On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Younger will present a lecture on recent archeological excavations at the Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Known as the “Birthplace of Texas,” Washington-on-the-Brazos hosted the drafting and signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836, and was visited by major players in Texas history.

The site plans to incorporate major improvements to its museum and historic grounds, based on new findings from Integrated Environmental Solutions, LLC., a cultural resources firm in Denton, TX, where Younger is principal investigator. Younger and her team led the investigations, beginning in 2023, to locate and identify domestic and architectural remains of buildings at the site. These sites include a tavern where Davy Crockett once stayed, Sam Houston’s Office and Hatfield’s Exchange where the 8th and 9th Texas Congress assembled.

“In my work, I’ve placed a lot of emphasis on the outreach potential of the Washington-on-the-Brazos project because it allows the public to participate in archeology via exhibitions and thereby understand its value and relevance,” Younger said.

A total of 34 features were recorded and tens of thousands of artifacts have been collected. While analysis of these findings is ongoing, the preliminary results presented by Younger are being incorporated into the upcoming site improvements, such as reconstructing several early-to-mid-nineteenth-century buildings.

“The physical abandonment, destruction of the town and the loss of archival information over time has challenged researchers, but archeological methods have been successful in making the unknowns known,” said Younger. 

There are events, people and locations in the state’s history that define Texas. The political struggle for freedom, which led to the March 2 Declaration of Independence, is at the top of the list. Washington-on-the-Brazos served as a capitol for the newly formed Republic of Texas, and a debate arena for its annexation into the United States.

The lecture is free to the public on Wednesday, Oct. 16, to be held in the auditorium at the museum’s Katy & E. Don Walker, Sr. Education Center located at 1402 19th St., Huntsville, TX. A reception will start at 6:30 p.m., where patrons can visit the archeological exhibit on display in the Exhibition Gallery. The presentation by Younger will start at 7 p.m. and will last approximately one hour. For more information, please contact Michael Sproat, curator of collections, at sproat@shsu.edu or call 936-294-4895.

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