West Florida Historic Preservation Inc. and the Florida Public Archaeology Network have announced that Arcadia Mill Archaeological Site, located in Milton, Florida, at 5701 Mill Pond Lane, will host a public lecture series during October 2010. The lecture series, Secrets of Santa Rosa: Archaeology and History in Your Backyard, will take place Saturdays in October at 11 a.m.

This free event, held in the Arcadia Mill museum, will showcase a variety of speakers discussing the history and archaeology of Santa Rosa County, Florida, as part of the 7th annual Beaches to Woodlands Tour presented by the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council. Following the presentations, guests are invited to take a guided boardwalk tour of the Arcadia Mill site.

The lecture series is sponsored by the University of West Florida, Florida Public Archaeology Network, West Florida Historic Preservation Inc. and Arcadia Mill Archaeological Site. For further information, please visit our website at www.historicpensacola.org.

West Florida Historic Preservation, Inc., is a direct support organization of the University of West Florida, operating the T. T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum, Historic Pensacola Village, the Pensacola Historical Society, and Arcadia Mill Archaeological Site.

For more information visit http://www.historicpensacola.org.

Schedule of events:

Oct 2: Dr Brian Rucker, Pensacola State College
Early Santa Rosa County: Blackwater, Yellow Pine, Live Oak, and Sawmills
This lecture will discuss the formative years of Santa Rosa County, 1821-1865, first when it was still a part of Escambia County and then later when it became a new county in 1842. The early settlers and how they made a living in Santa Rosa will be addressed, ranging from the numerous brickmaking and sawmilling industries along the Blackwater and Escambia Rivers, to the creation of the Arcadia complex, as well as the formation of the nation’s first experimental forestry station at the Naval Live Oaks Plantation on the Gulf Breeze peninsula.

Oct 9: Paul Sjordal, Southeastern Archaeological Research, Inc.
The End of an Era: Ship Abandonment on the Blackwater River in the Early 20th Century
The yellow pine forests of Northwest Florida contributed to a thriving lumber business in the 19th and 20th centuries. Millions of board feet of lumber were shipped from the port of Pensacola throughout the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and Western Europe. Shortly after World War I, however, Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties experienced a major decline in shipping. The wooden ships that once helped deliver lumber to various ports became obsolete and some eventually were abandoned along the banks of the Blackwater River. Several of these former lumber ships have been archaeological investigated, revealing fascinating details about this early industry.

Oct 16: Jay Bixler, UWF Archaeology graduate student
Another Brick in the Wall: Investigations with Milton High School at the Scott Site
The “Scott Site,” located just outside Milton, Florida, has been identified as the site of an early to mid-19th-century brick making factory established by an entrepreneur from the New Orleans area, Jean Baptiste Baham. This proto-industrial site is contemporary with the famous Arcadia Mill, and provides another archaeological example of the Milton area’s important contribution to the growth and development of Northwest Florida during the 19th century. With the collaboration of Milton High School, junior and senior students in the Anthropology/Archaeology class have been assisting archaeologists in the investigations of the Scott Site. This lecture will describe the students’ work and discoveries, as well as ongoing research.

Oct 23: Melissa Timo, FPAN Intern & UWF Archaeology graduate student
Beyond the Mill: Searching for the People of Arcadia
The UWF Archaeology Institute’s 2009 and 2010 field schools are ushering in a new line of investigation into the rich and complex history of the Arcadia Mill industrial complex. Archaeologists are using excavation, geophysical survey, artifact analysis, and public outreach to examine the social organization of this ethnically diverse industrial community populated by enslaved African Americans, Anglo American workers, and an elite class of managers and stockholders. Excavations have uncovered the remains of domestic residences, as well as a variety of personal and domestic artifacts that tell the story of what life was like at this 19th-century industrial marvel.