When settlements expand rapidly in response to resource development, "instant cities" can arise. The success of such centres is often dependent on location relative to extraction and associated distribution activities. This “boomtown” framework dominates much of our research into ancient Maya settlement development in Belize. We now expand our research gaze to a very different context: the early 20th century in the Peace Country of Northern Alberta. Specifically, we propose to explore this region’s relations to deep Indigenous histories, settler land speculation, railway prospection, and economic development in agriculture and forestry. Our focus is on the Old Bezanson Townsite in Treaty 8 territory. The primary period of occupation at the townsite is relatively recent (ca. 1910-1926 CE); however, few historical documents remain to chronicle its rise and fall. It, therefore, largely falls to archaeology and oral histories to bring to light stories of the townsite and its inhabitants. We explicitly frame this research within a long-term community-based program of activity. Our presentation intends to outline our goals and processes as we develop this research alongside our community partners, present the results of our first (2021) field season, and solicit feedback from colleagues as we enter new cultural territory as scholars.

As part of the Fort Vermilion field school, my fellow students and I were exposed to archival research. The local museum has copies of the journals relating to the Hudson’s Bay Company fur trade posts in the area; the originals are in the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives (HBCA) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We reviewed entries relating to the operations of the fur trade in this region, especially focusing on location information because the original position of Fort Vermilion II, constructed in 1830, has not yet been confirmed. Unfortunately, these journals did not contain precise descriptions of where this post and others were located or how they were built. I decided to explore this topic further and examined journals from Sir John Lefroy. “Fort Lefroy” may have existed on the northern bank of the Peace River around 1844, which is in the same general locality of the site we excavated. Was this the original location of Fort Vermilion II? This paper presents the possible localities for Fort Vermilion II. First-hand accounts recorded by surveyors provide clues to why we did not unearth earlier artifacts in our excavations around the Big House of Fort Vermilion II, which was in use until 1940. 

Québec City, known for the 18^th century charm of the Lower Town area and its UNESCO Heritage Status, has a rich tradition of research-driven excavations by Université Laval, the Ville de Québec and Parks Canada. However, the majority of sites chosen for public interpretation emphasize the city’s history as the capital of New France, to the detriment of previous or later occupations. While much archaeology of the 19^th century occurs, it is not prioritised for interpretive purposes. Five years ago, Université Laval chose to move its historical archaeology field school out of the heritage zone focusing instead on the city’s limits, specifically targeting 19^th century occupations. Work at the Anderson site in the Limoilou neighbourhood has led us to think differently about the city in the 1800s and this paper will reflect our recent thoughts about how we tell the story of Québec City’s past.

For five years in the mid-19^th century, the province of Canada’s Parliament sat in the elegant building that had formerly housed St Anne’s market since 1832. Burned to the ground by rioters in 1849, the site has been remarkably well preserved according to a convergence of largely random circumstances. Since 2010, excavations by Pointe-à-Callière have revealed distinct contexts related to building’s twin vocations as market and parliament. Historical sources indicate that Parliament’s chief messenger – André Leroux dit Cardinal - resided in the building with his family, and here we present evidence that this residence has been identified. While material culture is biased toward artifacts that have survived the fire, this is a rare opportunity to recover and inventory the near totality of the ceramic possessions of a middle-class household in Victorian Montreal.