Three cultural research experts will give a lecture Thursday, Aug. 18 on the Crabtree Farmstead in Portland as part of a series of virtual discussions held by the Division of Archaeology for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC).

Lauren Walls, Danny Gregory, and Velma Fann of New South Associates, a cultural resource management business with locations in five states, will give the presentation. The free event, titled “The Crabtree Farmstead Complex: A Study in Comprehensive Context”, is at 6 p.m. (CDT).

The Crabtree property is a multi-generational African American farmstead complex, documented as part of a highway bypass project for the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). It is presented as an example of a comprehensive approach to historic sites. The lecture is part of a monthly series of speakers including researchers, resource management professionals and archaeology students to highlight archaeological research in Tennessee.

“New South Associates’ research on the Crabtree Farmstead highlights the strength of taking a complementary approach to studying the past, whereby traditional archaeology, archival documents and oral histories intersect to tell a deeper, more complex story,” said State Archaeologist Phil Hodge. “This project demonstrates the power and potential for publicly funded infrastructure projects to make substantive contributions to our understanding of Tennessee history, and to the preservation of information from important places like the Crabtree Farmstead.”   

Online registration for the lecture is available at this link.

The online lectures, presented on the third Thursday of each month, are open to anyone who wants to participate. Details for the series can be found at this link. Anyone who has questions about the series are invited to contact Hodge by email at Phil.Hodge@tn.gov.