{"id":2938,"date":"2022-03-09T16:14:22","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T16:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/anthropology\/?page_id=2938"},"modified":"2026-02-09T21:50:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T21:50:30","slug":"apex-arizona-archaeology-project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-anthropology\/apex-arizona-archaeology-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Apex, Arizona Archaeology Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apex, Arizona Archaeology Project<\/h1>\n

Director:<\/strong> Dr. Emily Dale<\/h2>\n

Collaborating Institution:<\/strong> Kaibab National Forest<\/h3>\n

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Project Information<\/strong><\/h2>\n

From 1901 to 1968, the Grand Canyon Railway carried tourists, goods, and resources along the 64 miles between Williams, Arizona and the Grand Canyon. One of the main functions of the railroad was to supply ranching, mining, and logging camps and move the extracted resources to larger towns for use or sale. The Saginaw and Manistee Logging Company established a new headquarters at Apex, Arizona, 52 miles from Williams along the Grand Canyon Railway and in the middle of Arizona\u2019s largest ponderosa pine forests, to harvest the timber for railroad ties, building materials, and other wood goods. In operation from 1928 to 1936, Apex was host to a railroad siding, logging spurs, maintenance buildings, homes, and a schoolhouse.<\/p>\n

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The Apex, Arizona Archaeology Project explores how the building platforms, domestic trash scatters, railroad beds, and privies still at the site reveal evidence of the Scandinavian logging employees and Mexican railroad workers and their families, providing important and largely unaddressed evidence of life in northern Arizona during the Great Depression. We are also committed to educating the public on the site, the associated timber and railroad industries, and historical archaeology in general.<\/p>\n

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2026 Field School!<\/h2>\n

The Apex, Arizona Archaeology Project is conducting its fifth season of fieldwork from May 25 to June 19, 2026! Eight students will learn general archaeological methods, like excavation, survey, mapping, and artifact identification and analysis, alongside historical archaeological methods. Join us on the beautiful Kaibab National Forest this summer. Applications<\/a>\u00a0are due April 10, 2026. Email Dr. Emily Dale for more information.<\/p>\n

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Learn More<\/b><\/h2>\n

Check out selected highlights of our recent publications, media coverage, and student research! And don’t forget to follow our artifact blog<\/a>! Each month, we highlight different artifacts and how they relate to the 1920s and 1930s, the Great Depression and Prohibition, the men, women, and children who lived and worked at Apex, and the lumber and railroad industries of Northern Arizona.<\/p>\n\n

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Catch up on the latest articles and reports on Apex!<\/p>\n

Two Years of Public Archaeology at Apex, <\/a>2025 Grand Canyon History Symposium Proceedings, by Emily Dale and Timothy Maddock<\/p>\n

Apex, Arizona Archaeology Project Field Report—Year Two<\/a>, 2023 Forest Service Report, by Emily Dale and Timothy Maddock<\/p>\n

Apex, Arizona Archaeology Project Field Report—Year One<\/a>, 2022 Forest Service Report, by Emily Dale<\/p>\n

Public Engagement and Collaborative Archaeology at Apex, Arizona<\/a>, 2022 Ol’ Pioneer: The Magazine of the Grand Canyon Historical Society<\/em>, by Emily Dale and Margaret Hangan<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Watch one of our presentations!<\/p>\n

“To Learn About History of the Area”: Two Years of Public Archaeology at Apex<\/a>, 2023 Grand Canyon History Symposium, by Emily Dale and Timothy Maddock<\/p>\n

Archaeology at Apex, Arizona,<\/span><\/i><\/a> 2023 Arizona Preservation Foundation Webinar Series Presentation, by Emily Dale <\/span><\/p>\n

Collaborative Archaeology of Apex, Arizona and the Grand Canyon Railroad<\/a>, <\/span><\/i>2021<\/span> Grand Canyon Historical Society Virtual Outing Presentation, by Emily Dale and Margaret Hangan <\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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View our conference posters!<\/p>\n

Two Years of Public Archaeology at Apex, Arizona: Life and Work in a Depression-Era Company Town<\/a>, 2023 Pecos Conference Poster, by Emily Dale and Timothy Maddock<\/span><\/p>\n

A 250% Increase in Jack-o-Canterns<\/a>, 2024 Pecos Conference Poster, by Emily Dale and Rachael O’Hara<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Read work done by our outstanding graduate and undergraduate researchers!<\/p>\n

Just Add Water: How Early Advertising Shaped Cocoa Powder Diversity at Apex, Arizona<\/a>, 2025 NAU Undergraduate Research Symposium Poster, by Zulia DeWire; Listen to Zulia talk about her poster<\/span><\/p>\n\nhttps:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-anthropology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/345\/Apex-Arizona-Cocoa-Powder-audio.wav<\/a><\/audio>\n

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Boy Toys in the 1930’s Apex Logging Camp<\/a>, 2025 NAU Undergraduate Research Symposium Poster, by Devony Martell<\/span><\/p>\n

Notions of Health and Hygiene in the Great-Depression Era United States: Apex, Arizona<\/a>, 2025 Arizona History Convention Poster, by Madeleine Levesque<\/p>\n

“We Sure Weren’t Dry”: Uncovering Apex’s Culture of Alcohol in the Prohibition Era<\/a>, 2025 Arizona History Convention Poster and Viewer’s Choice Winner at NAU Graduate Poster Symposium, by Rachael O’Hara<\/p>\n

Apex Archaeology Project: Digging Up the History of Vanished Lumber Town in Arizona’s Kaibab National Forest<\/a>, 2024 Story Map, by Anna Foley<\/p>\n

Life, Work, and Identity at Apex, Arizona: The Archaeology of a Twentieth-Century Logging Camp and Company Town<\/a>, 2024 Master’s Thesis, by Timothy S. Maddock<\/p>\n

Notions of Health and Hygiene in the Depression-Era United States: Apex, Arizona<\/a>, 2024 NAU Undergraduate Research Symposium Poster, by Madeleine Levesque<\/span><\/p>\n

Catch-and-Release Archaeology- A Path Towards Solving the Curation Crisis<\/a>, 2024 Pecos Conference Paper Presentation, by Sarah O’Donnell; Second Place Cordell\/Powers Prize Competition<\/p>\n

Visitor’s Experience at the Apex Archaeology Field School,<\/a> <\/span>2022 NAU Undergraduate Research Symposium Poster, <\/span>by Joey McCauley<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Check out the media coverage and public outreach materials about our project!<\/p>\n

Earth Notes: Apex Archaeology Project<\/a>, 2025 KNAU News Talk Article, by Rose Houk<\/p>\n

Historical Archaeology in Arizona<\/a><\/span>, 2024 Educational Brochure, by Sean White, Emily Dale, Ashley Mlazgar, Charlie Webber, and Timothy Maddock<\/span><\/p>\n

Archaeology on the Grand Canyon Railway<\/a>, 2024 Educational Brochure, by Sean White, Emily Dale, Ashley Mlazgar, and Timothy Maddock<\/span><\/p>\n

Local Science Spotlight: Archeology at the Apex, Arizona Logging Camp<\/a>, 2023 Flagstaff Festival of Science Insights Blog, by Emily Dale and Timothy Maddock<\/p>\n

NAU and Kaibab National Forest partner to open archaeological field school at historic logging camp near Grand Canyon,<\/span><\/a> 2022 Williams-Grand Canyon News article, by Joseph Giddens<\/span><\/p>\n

One Man’s Trash is an Archaeologist’s Treasure,<\/span><\/a> 2022 NAU Review Article and Video, by Carly Banks<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Support and funding for this project is provided by the Northern Arizona University Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, the Kaibab National Forest, Arizona Humanities, and the Grand Canyon Historical Society. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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Contact Us:<\/h4>\n

Emily Dale: emily.dale@nau.edu<\/h5>\n
Rachael O’Hara: reo44@nau.edu<\/h5>\n
Timothy Maddock: maddockts1@gmail.com<\/h5>\n
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Check out our Monthly Artifact Blog!

<\/strong><\/p>\n

December 2025<\/a>: Traveling Without a Train: Evidence of Cars at Apex, by Matthew Harwood<\/p>\n

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October 2025<\/a>: \u201cA Tablespoon As Needed\u201d: Medicinal Alcohol at Apex in the Prohibition Era, by Rachael O’Hara<\/p>\n

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September 2025<\/a>: Stepping Through Time to Apex Footwear Artifacts, by Fran Maiuri<\/p>\n

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August 2025<\/a>: Passport in Time Projects at the Apex Site, by Adrienne Dale<\/p>\n

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July 2025<\/a>: California Dreamin’: Apex – Los Angeles Connections, by Emily Dale<\/p>\n

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June 2025<\/a>: Just Add Water: How Early Advertising Shaped Cocoa Powder Diversity at Apex, Arizona, by Zulia DeWire<\/p>\n

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May 2025<\/a>: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Boy Toys from Apex, by Devony Martell<\/p>\n

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April 2025<\/a>: Apex Flotation Sample Analysis, by Allyana Marshall<\/p>\n

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March 2025<\/a>: Lithic Look-Alikes: A Glimpse into the Souvenir Trade in Northern Arizona, by Caroline Boerger<\/p>\n

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February 2025<\/a>: The Rise of Flashlights in Apex, Arizona: A Technological Shift from Lanterns, by Alex Mason<\/p>\n

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January 2025<\/a>: Local Brews: Beer, Brewing, and Prohibition at Apex, by Rachael O’Hara<\/p>\n

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December 2024<\/a>: Faces of the Past: Exploring Beauty at an Historic Logging Camp, by Sarah O’Donnell<\/p>\n

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November 2024<\/a>: Sweat, Stink, and Self-Care: Health and Hygiene at Apex, by Madeleine Levesque<\/p>\n

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October 2024<\/a>: A Halloween Blog: Meet the Jack-O-Canterns of Apex, by Makenzie Long<\/p>\n

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September 2024<\/a>: O Can-ada:\u00a0The Geography of Apex’s Canned Meat, by Emily Dale<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apex, Arizona Archaeology Project Director: Dr. Emily Dale Collaborating Institution: Kaibab National Forest Project Information From 1901 to 1968, the Grand Canyon Railway carried tourists, goods, and resources along the 64 miles between Williams, Arizona and the Grand Canyon. One of the main functions of the railroad was to supply ranching, mining, and logging camps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":541,"featured_media":3260,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","ring_central_script_selection":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2938","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-anthropology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-anthropology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-anthropology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-anthropology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/541"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-anthropology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2938"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-anthropology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4113,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-anthropology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2938\/revisions\/4113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-anthropology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/department-anthropology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}