The archaeological story of Mitchelville began when construction work accidentally uncovered Native American artifacts near Coggins Creek. The Chicora Foundation’s archaeologists found over 25,000 artifacts from Mitchelville-era deposits, including Mitchelville homesites with intact hearths. This foundational work proved that Mitchelville residents were participating in a cash economy and acquiring higher status goods than they had previously owned during enslavement.

The modern era of archaeology at Mitchelville began with a small ground-penetrating radar survey to test the effectiveness of the equipment in the park's unique soil conditions. Although this initial work didn’t produce a large amount of data, it laid the foundation for future remote sensing strategies.

Using magnetometry and electrical resistivity, undergraduate and graduate student archaeologists identified places under the ground that were most likely to have evidence of a past building that led to targeted excavations. That summer, a field school (or summer archaeology class) worked to excavate areas around the old Praise House exhibit and worked hard build relationships with local community members who came to visit the excavations.

Building on 2018 discoveries, archaeologists expanded excavation areas and implemented the first visitor survey program to understand how different communities connected with Mitchelville's story. This work also included ethnographic interviews with multi-generational Gullah Geechee islanders. The project recovered hundreds of Mitchelville era artifacts and strong evidence of a building footprint.

Archive Coming Soon
The COVID-19 pandemic shifted focus to comprehensive remote sensing across the entire park. This $50,000 matching grant project aimed to assess all heritage resources before any development, establishing HMFP as a leader in heritage preservation planning.

Connecting the Dots
*Before our Ghost Structure Exhibit could be built, we needed to know where Mitchelville buildings were in the past, and were there any clues left behind to help us learn about Mitchelville residents?

Archaeological investigations continued as HMFP prepared for construction of their new Visitor Center. These surveys ensured that all significant archaeological deposits would be properly documented and preserved before any development.

The first building we are erecting in the Park is our Archaeological Research Facility and Auditorium. But before laying its foundations, we had to examine the ground beneath it for evidence of past people.

The Interpretive Center will be the heart of Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, welcoming in our visitors and helping tell the story of our past. But it may have been the heart of another community in the past too. Our archaeologists are working to learn more.