Preserving the Past

You can tell a lot about someone from what they leave behind. A broken medicine bottle, a page of newspaper carefully stashed under a floorboard, a shard of pottery buried under a foot of soil. All these artifacts reveal not only details about when they were created but how and when they were used, how they were created, and why they were important to the people who used them. During my time interning with the Curatorial Program at Mount Rainier National Park, I have had the invaluable opportunity to assist in the processing of archeological artifacts collected from around the park, permitting us a look back through a window into the past.

Among the objects excavated from the park, finds include shards of mirror and lamp glass, buttons, bone fragments, earthenware pottery, and torn leather unearthed from the remains of the Longmire Springs Hotel. The hotel, constructed in the 1890s by the Longmire family and rebuilt in the 1910s after a devastating fire, was cleverly located near a natural hot spring and hosted the likes of guests such as John Muir (an instrumental character in the establishment of the National Park System). The National Park Service acquired the claim to the land in the 1930s, and the remains of the site can still be seen today on the Trail of the Shadows. These artifacts reveal insight into the lives of hosts James and Virinda Longmire, as well as their numerous guests across the decades.

Artifacts unearthed at Hansen Camp being prepared for storage from left to right: clear glass bottles (olive bottle, unknown bottle, and cosmetic bottle), a historic shoe found 24 centimeters under the surface, and a chipped enamel plate.

Audrey Nelson
National Park Service - Workforce Management Fellowship Program
In Partnership with Northwest Youth Corps

During recent renovations of the Paradise Inn, workers discovered newspapers dating back to the 1920s carefully folded and placed within walls and under floorboards, presumably utilized for insulation. Candy wrappers, glass soda bottles, and cardboard clothing advertisements were also among the artifacts discovered from the site. The Inn dates back to 1917, hosting close to 2 million guests over this time. Metal tobacco tins, cans, shoes, and nails have also been unearthed from various campsites around the park.

Hundreds of bags worth of artifacts found at Longmire Springs Hotel; ranging from bone fragments to buttons.

Audrey Nelson
National Park Service - Workforce Management Fellowship Program
In Partnership with Northwest Youth Corps

Each object is carefully collected, cleaned, cataloged, and stored for future use in education, research, and display. While the process varies across types of objects, glass bottles, which are among one of the more common items found, are first cleaned, and researched to determine their original use. Soda bottles, bleach bottles, medicine bottles, and liquor bottles have all been discovered in the park dating as far back as the late 1800s and as recently as the 1970s. The bottles are then meticulously labeled with tags noting important details such as the location where they were found and a manufacture date estimate. The bottles are gently but snuggly stored in hand-carved Ethafoam and placed within acid-free boxes to be stored in climate-controlled conditions. The information collected from each artifact is uploaded to the National Catalog for tracking and management.

By preserving these relics of the past, the National Park Service is helping to protect cultural and natural resources and record human activity dating back centuries. This information can be used to reconstruct history, educate the public, enhance our knowledge of renewable and non-renewable resources, and make informed decisions on resource management in the future. As an intern, I have been privileged to be a part of this enlightening and important work.

Article written by Audrey Nelson
for "A Day in the Life of a Fellow" Article Series
National Park Service - Workforce Management Fellow
in Partnership with Northwest Youth Corps