Description:
Edmonds College will be returning to Japanese Gulch in Mukilteo, WA, in July 2026, following a successful 2025 field season. Last season’s favorite artifact finds included:
- World War I Army jacket button
- Intact facial cream jars
- Children’s toys: jacks and toy car wheels
- Railroad spike
- Hand-painted Japanese porcelain
Check out stories from last season:
This year students will help answer research questions relating to:
- Developing a clearer understanding of potential building features located in 2025
- Establishing dates of strata
- Do any of the remains reflect community activities?
- What evidence exists for acculturation or maintenance of traditional/ethnic lifeways?
- Is there evidence of women and children?
- Is there evidence of socioeconomic status?
This field school is for those interested in historical archaeology, Japanese American heritage, cultural resource management training, and no prior experience opportunity. Students will take field trips to the historic town of Mukilteo, WA, and the Burke Museum. Professional archaeologists will act as guest speakers, providing expertise and networking opportunities.
Site background:
Japanese Gulch developed alongside the Mukilteo Lumber Company, which began hiring Japanese workers in 1903. The community grew from 35 residents in 1903 to 100 by 1909, expanding further after the Crown Lumber Company purchased the mill. Japanese-American workers were vital to industries across the Pacific Northwest, including lumber, farming, and railroads (NWAA 2009, 14). Ethnographic accounts and archaeological evidence reveal a vibrant community with single-story family homes, a dormitory for 45 single men, a playground, a community hall, and a boys’ club (SWCA 2011, 13–14). Residents sourced goods from Japan or local merchants, utilized nearby resources, and shopped at the Crown Company Store (NWAA 2009, 55–56). However, the late 1920s economic downturn led to the Crown Lumber Company’s closure in 1930, causing residents to leave in search of work and marking the decline of Japanese Gulch.
Join us during our 2026 season to uncover more details about this community and their everyday lives. Students learn and practice standard archaeological field and lab skills necessary to work in Cultural Resources Management Careers.
Details
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Location: Mukilteo, WA
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Cost $989.78 (tuition and fees) for Washington State Residents, $2415.10 (tuition and fees) for non-Washington State Residents
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Dates- Start/end- July 6th-August 1st
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Time start/end 8:30 am-3:30 pm
Transcript Information
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Credits 7 Anthropology credits.
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Archaeology Field Methods and Archaeology Lab Methods ANTH 270 & ANTH 271; ANTH 272 & ANTH273; ANTH 274 & ANTH 275
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Meets Social Science distribution and Cultural Diversity Requirements.
Application, Enrollment, and Tuition
Notes
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The class will take place from July 6-July 31, 2026, five days a week from 8:30 am until 3:30 pm.
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All equipment will be provided, and students will be responsible for transporting themselves to/from the site with a packed lunch and snacks for the day (there are no close food options with the break time permitted).
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This is a physical, hands-on class where students will learn field excavations techniques and lab processing.
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No prior anthropology or archaeology experience is required. All students are welcome to enroll in Anthropology 270/271 (Archaeology Field Methods 270 and Archaeology Lab Methods). Students who have already taken Anth 270 may enroll in Anth 272/273 or 274/275 based on experience.
Internship Opportunity
Edmonds College Anthropology Department is offering the opportunity for an Archaeology Internship as part of our Archaeology Field School Program. Upon instructor approval, interns will register for Anth 298 5-credit class.
Internship requirements
All interns must have completed at least one prior field school with supplemental experience (e.g. lab experience, professional CRM experience, completion of a certificate program, or graduate experience).
Internship details
Students may apply as a research intern, excavation intern, or field lab intern. All interns will participate in day-to-day field activity support, including site setup and site paperwork quality checks. Independent projects include mentoring Archaeology 270/271; 272/273; 274/275 students in the following capacity:
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Research interns will focus on site background development, analysis of historic images and maps as well as geographic data collection.
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Field interns will support mentoring students in digging shovel probes and test units.
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Field lab interns will mentor students in sorting labeling and washing artifacts in the field.
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Completion of weekly summary report
Application and enrollment
After Admission to Edmonds College, and to apply for an internship course credit (Anth 298), please email ashley.pickard@edmonds.edu the following application material:
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A current resume or curriculum vitae, including previous field school/work experience.
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A detailed one-page statement of personal, academic, and professional reasons for participating.
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The names and contact information of at least one academic or professional reference.
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Please email application materials to ashley.pickard@edmonds.edu by June 20th
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Interns must enroll in Anth 298
Housing
Archaeology field school students can choose to live in the Edmonds College Residential Halls.
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$150 application fee
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$55 per day for a room (this covers rent, furniture, wifi, utilities, parking, and a single bedroom in an apartment with a full kitchen living room, and bathroom)
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Financial Aid can be used to cover housing fees
Detailed about the residential halls and how to apply can be found at the Edmonds College Housing and Residential Life Website
Welcome to sha.org, the official website of the Society for Historical Archaeology
