Digging Into The Past: The Bailey Homestead

About the Program

Category: Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation (Best in Category)

Year: 2019

The Bailey family was among the first to settle the Independence Township area; and the house, built in 1883, is considered to be a significant part of Oakland County, Michigan’s settlement history. When Oakland County Parks and Recreation acquired the Bailey Homestead in 2010 as part of Independence Oaks, one of its 13 parks, there was a desire to “dig deeper” and find more information about the family who once called this place “home.” In 2017, an archaeology project began, with a purpose of locating and documenting artifacts connected to the Bailey Homestead to assist the local community in historic preservation. After a year of uncovering artifacts at the homestead, Oakland County Parks and Recreation launched a program to create real archeological experiences for young people in its parks. As part of Oakland County Parks and Recreation’s day camp, Camp OakVentures, a process was developed that allowed campers to sift, sort and wash contents of the excavation grid from the Bailey Homestead. It turns out that the little fingers and sharp eyes of these kids are perfect for archeology.