Pine Hill Village

As you may know, I am in Archaeological Methods which is a class looking at the methods of archaeology (duh) and performing an archaeology project as a class. We first had to decide what site on Carleton’s campus (or Arboretum) we wanted to historically look at. Some people proposed the Women’s League Cabin, which was done by previous archaeology students, but most of us in the class chose Pine Hill Village. Pine Hill Village is a really fascinating piece of Carleton’s past that a majority of students and I’m sure faculty don’t know about.

What is it? Pine Hill Village was a literal village of housing units built for WW2 veterans who returned from war and were pursuing an education at Carleton. Many of these veterans had established families, and as Carleton didn’t have housing that was co-ed or sustainable for a family, the government issued these barrack-like houses to Carleton.

When did this happen? The Village existed on campus from 1947-1955. This is pretty recent history which makes it so surprising as to how few people know about it.

What is my class doing with it? Since the housing units no longer exist where they once stood (on the lacrosse fields behind Goodhue), we have begun surveying that area. There are, however, two features that are known to be part of the Village still standing — a fire hydrant and rubbish pile. So, we have started excavating around those two features.

We’re not really sure what we’ll find, but we hope we can add a narrative to Carleton’s history that was once rather sparse and forgotten. I hope to do some ethnographic work with this project; I’d like to interview alum who knew of Pine Hill Village or even lived there and learn more about it from their perspectives.

If you want to know more about Archaeological Methods and/or our the projects on Pine Hill Village or the Women’s League Cabin, check out our class website.

The pictures I’ve found are from Carleton’s Archives.

Maya is a potential SOAN major and WGST concentrator from a Southern California suburb. Besides eating oatmeal and writing to-do lists, she is passionate about social issues and being a good friend. On campus, she edits “infemous” (an intersectional feminist zine), also works at The Cave, and is constantly trying to find a good study spot in the Libe. Ask her to make you a playlist! Read on to meet the rest of our bloggers.