OSU Archaeology students sift through Fort Yamhill’s history and examine the remains of stone oven at Bake House site…

“A group of students from Oregon State University’s Archaeology Field School has unearthed the latest in a series of Fort Yamhill attractions, foundational remains of the long-gone Bake House’s stone oven, which served scores of officers and soldiers from the prestatehood years of the 1850s through Oregon’s early years to the fort’s closure in 1866.”

“This is archaeology in action right there in our own backyards,” said Matt Huerter, an interpretive ranger at the park. “People can have direct evidence that the military was here over 150 years ago.” Huerter combines his enthusiasm for the history of the area with a great willingness to share in the excitement with the students. “It’s very cool,” he said several times of the student work.

“Those grounds exhibit a gamut of lessons: a bit of history bolstered by archaeology; some tempering through civics, applied mathematics as archaeology students measure angles to get an accurate reading of a dig site; a little physical outlet as visitors stretch their legs for a walking tour over the gentle hills.”

Want to know more? Check out the Statesman Journal article.