Oral History in Poolville: Building Context for Archaeological Excavations

Following the excavations of the Damon Richmond homestead in Madison County, NY, students from Dr. Kristin De Lucia Anthropology 253 course at Colgate University gave a presentation of the research findings at the Hamilton Public Library on December 6, 2023. There was an outpouring of community interest and support for the archaeological research project. Community members graciously reached out to the students and Dr. De Lucia to share their stories, family documents, and photographs. As a result, Dr. De Lucia decided to build on that work by creating an archive of local memory and oral histories. During the summer of 2024, Emily Falk and Georgia Banner, two of the students from ANTH 253, met and interviewed several current and former residents of Poolville to learn about life in Poolville in the past and through the present day. They worked with Sarafina Lewis, an intern for Camp Fiver, to conduct the interviews. This project attempted to systematically conduct and document personal stories and histories to gain a more complete understanding of life in Poolville, New York.