During the summer of 2008, Chris Merritt and Justin Moschelle will lead an archaeological field school through the University of Montana to uncover the forgotten parts of Big Timber's history. With permission of the private land owners, ten students under direction of Merritt and Moschelle will begin to excavate the remains of the Chinese laundry/restaurant that was tested in spring of 2007. Initial finds from 2007 suggest that the Chinese materials are well-preserved underneath a layer of modern fill. Moschelle's thesis will attempt to answer numerous research questions about the Big Timber Chinese community:

1. Who built the restaurant/laundry building and when? Hypothesis: Chinese railroad workers who, after the railroad was finished, stayed in Big Timber and started their own business around 1896-1907.

2. Why did the builder(s), chose this area for construction? Hypothesis: This building was built specifically for the Chinese residents, considering Big Timber already had three other Chinese facilities in town.

3. Is there any truth to the hidden underground Chinese tunnels? Hypothesis: Yes. The Chinese would have constructed tunnels for storage, travel, and possible smuggling of people and drugs.

4. What did the restaurant look like on the inside? Hypothesis: The restaurant looked more ethnically Chinese than a Euro-American establishment, with colors of red, gold and green.

5. What type of food was served at the restaurant? Hypothesis: Pork, beef, wild game, fowl, rice, and noodles could have made up a large portion of the menu.

The Chinese laundry/restaurant is the main target for excavation. As previously mentioned, one test unit was conducted, and several artifacts were obtained. Considering the high volume of artifacts collected from just one test unit, the amount of what will be excavated will have to be narrowed. Open excavation of the whole building was the original plan, but for sake of room and lab processing, units will be placed on each side and several spread out through the interior boundaries of the building. Surface survey will be done, but integrity is minimal on the surface.

Modern Day Big Timber Chinatown Site Map.
Test Unit 1 is the location of Chinese Restaurant.

However, other portions of the private property containing the Chinese restaurant/laundry have extant foundations from what the Sanborn Insurance Maps call "female boarding". Sanborn maps generally use that term in reference to houses of prostitution. As time allows the field school will opportunistically excavate a few units within this area to determine if the area related to prostitution.

The three week field school will help to recover a forgotten and neglected part of Big Timber's history. The historical document trail is scarce for Chinese in the town and the state, and archaeology provides the best opportunity to understand the daily lives of these immigrants. During the project field school participants will be primitively camping near the Yellowstone River, and there will plenty of time for recreation or a refreshing dip in the river!