Archaeology and Today's Redevelopment

The City of Stockton is committed to protecting, preserving,

and documenting its local heritage: planning for the city’s

future includes understanding the city’s past.

What Redevelopment Reveals

Stockton is one of the fastest growing urban centers in the country. With that growth, comes new residents, new business, new opportunities, and new construction projects. Today’s urban redevelopment is helping to bring the City of Stockton into the 21st century in exciting and dynamic ways.

Redevelopment also brings responsibility. When project budgets include state or federal money, the city must comply with laws that were created to help protect our nation’s natural and cultural resources.  One of these laws is the National Historic Preservation Act .   Important archaeology sites and historic buildings are often nominated to the National Register of Historic Places where they may receive long-term protection.

The City of Stockton is proud to comply with these laws. The City also genuinely cares about its rich heritage and wants to make sure that historic sites are always well documented, studied, and interpreted to the public.

Redevelopment can also reveal some unexpected and fascinating things! The next few web pages will tell you about recent archaeological discoveries made in downtown Stockton. Sometimes brand new archaeological findings occur when you least expect them. Buried beneath our city parking lots and buildings lies a history that belongs to all of us.  Redevelopment  was involved in these activities in order to complete Redevelopment projects.

Keep reading to learn more!

What are Archaeological Studies and why are they Important?

You don’t need to travel across the world to experience archaeology, it is happening in your own city.  Anywhere there have been people, there is the potential for archaeological studies.  Before a big construction project can start, archaeologies are responsible for making sure it does not destroy all the clues to our history.  Archaeologists locate, analyze, and interpret artifacts or “material culture” of past peoples.

Archaeological studies are necessary to locate and interpret aspects of early Stockton history before they are destroyed.  They also shed light on the daily lives of the early Stockton residents who are largely unknown and who are not mentioned in history books or archives.

Image credit:  Historic Map Works

This map of Stockton is from 1895. It is called a “Bird’s Eye View” map and it helps archaeologists and historians understand how the city looked more than a century ago.

More on Stockton Archaeology:

• Archaeologist for a Day
• A Look into Stockton's Past
• Recent Discoveries
• Preserving Our Heritage
• Univeristy of the Pacific    Historical Archives
• Stockton Cultural Heritage Board