Old Stories & New Memories

Hello friends, 

Not too long ago, my dad and I went out to the community days at Meadowcroft.

"If not for the curiosity of a Washington County, Pa., farmer six decades ago, Meadowcroft Rockshelter – the oldest site of human habitation in North America – might have never been discovered. In 1955, Albert Miller stumbled upon a groundhog hole on his family’s farm in Avella and uncovered what looked to be a prehistoric tool.

Miller chose to cover up the hole and carefully search for a professional archeologist who could properly assess the historical significance of the site.  Almost two decades later in 1973, Miller finally connected with University of Pittsburgh anthropology professor Dr. James Adovasio who visited the farm and looked at the object found near the groundhog hole.

Astonished by the artifact, which was a prehistoric flint knife, Dr. Adovasio assembled a team of archaeology, anthropology and geology students to study the area as part of a curriculum. The field school’s excavation of the site over the next six years yielded nearly two million artifacts and ecofacts, including ancient stone tools, pottery fragments, and evidence of ice-age fire pits.

Further testing of the newly found artifacts concluded that the rock ledge overhang – naturally formed by the waters of Cross Creek – served as a campsite for prehistoric hunters and gatherers 19,000 years ago. Meadowcroft Rockshelter provided shelter for visitors with nearby fresh water springs and sources of plants and animals for food.

In 2005, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior designated Meadowcroft Rockshelter a National Historic Landmark.

Discover this important archeological treasure for yourself and visit Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village. Tours of the Rockshelter are available during regular operating hours and begin in the Meadowcroft visitor center."

***Taken from the Meadowcroft website

When my dad was a kid, he told me, he and his siblings and my grandpa used to play down at the rock shelter before it was an archaeological dig. We spent the day recounting his times there and he told me stories of the surrounding area and things they would do as kids. He and I took a drive, not too far from Meadowcroft, down to the farm they used to live on and where the old house used to be. He pointed out old landmarks and even a house they used to think was haunted. 

It was nice to hear old stories and kind of see the past in real time. I love hanging out with my dad, he's got so many stories to tell and has seen so much. He's truly filled with knowledge. It's nice to see things from his perspective. 

We also had lunch at this really weird restaurant, dad said it used to be owned by a family he went to grade school with. I don't remember the name, but I had to share because of how strange the dining room was. The giant display of taxidermy animals was definitely not what I expected when we walked into this seemingly normal looking place. The food was great despite how weird the place looked. 

We plan to go back to Meadowcroft later this year, and I'm excited to go explore more of it. Due to the heat that day, we didn't get to see everything. I'm kind of a big baby and have been getting pretty sick in the heat the past few years. So, more to come....eventually. 

xo. h. 

ps. the church in the last photo is a church that my dad drew when he was younger. That ink drawing was one of the things I remember as a child being something that made me want to draw. It used to hang in the sun room at my parents house and I used to stare at it for hours studying all the lines. I'll have to dig it out the next time I go over so I can show you guys.