A public archeology event will take place Saturday and Sunday on the grounds of the historic Glenwood Estate on Charleston's West Side, giving people a hands-on chance to take part in an excavation or observe the work as it progresses.
Sponsored by the Historic Glenwood Foundation and the Glenwood Center for Scholarship in the Humanities, the excavation will take place between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day. Those interested in the hands-on approach to public archeology are urged to bring work gloves and arrive in work clothes. A team of professional archeologists will coordinate the survey.
Glenwood is located at 800 Orchard St. near the intersection with Park Avenue. Parking is available directly across Park Avenue at Stonewall Jackson Middle School.
Built in 1852, Glenwood was the home and headquarters of a large agricultural plantation that once covered much of Charleston's West Side. It was the former home of the Laidley, Summers and Quarrier families, as well as a number of their African American slaves and servants. The home and the remaining two acres that surround it are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The weekend's activities are funded in part through a grant from the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office of the state Division of Culture and History.