The Kootenai County Historic Preservation Commission (KCHPC) and the University of Idaho will be unearthing history this upcoming week.

They will complete archaeological investigations and documentation of the site located in a protected area of Farragut State Park where Pend Oreille City stood in the 1860s.

Volunteers are welcome at any time during the survey, which will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. "Site-seers” are also welcome. This is a great opportunity to experience “public archaeology” where professional archaeologists work side-by-side with members of the community.

The goal of the project is to survey the site and document findings to determine if the site is a viable candidate for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. Kootenai County currently has 42 historic properties listed on the NRHP. The KCHPC spearheaded the project with a grant application to the State Historic Preservation Office.

Since the grant was initially approved by SHPO in 2015, the site has had preliminary survey visits by professional archaeologists Dr. Stacey Camp and Dr. Robert Sappington from the UI Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of Anthropology as well as several graduate students. These included Idah Whisenant, whose grant applications to the UI to do research on the site were also approved and instrumental in the project moving forward toward completion.

For info, contact KCHPC Preservation Action Committee chair Laurie Mauser at 683-1751 or mauserlaurie@roadrunner.com.