The Archaeology and History of Rock Creek Park

The report I co-wrote about the history and archaeology of Rock Creek Park is for sale now from the National Park Service, for $20.95.

This was a wonderful project, and it we found everything from amazing prehistoric Indian sites, going back to 3,000 BCE, to tenancies still occupied when the park was founded in the 1890s.

One of the surprises was bullets and shell fragments from what we now call the Battle of Fort Stevens, during Early's raid on Washington in 1864. The NPS used to tell people that all of that battlefield had disappeared under the expanding city, but not so: some heavy fighting took place within Rock Creek Park.

We found this sad record of a failed relationship on a tree at one of our Indian camp sites. I kept putting this picture in all of our reports, and other people kept taking out. I wonder if it will be in the printed version? The last part says "11-24-03 Her actions and lies reveals the sad truth."

So if you are really interested in the history of the Washington, DC area, or know somebody who is, think about one of these. All of the profit goes to support the National Parks.