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By Tony Boom February 01. 2016 12:01AM Panel will show artifacts from Chinese home that burned Artifacts from a Chinese house that burned in 1888 are shown on an interpretive panel that will be erected next week in a Jacksonville plaza. Part of the old house was excavated in 2013. “The excavation was basically a time capsule of what the residence looked like before the people went to bed before the fire. There was a little bit of everything,” said Southern Oregon University research archaeologist Chelsea Rose, who led students in the recovery effort. The display will be in Brunner Plaza at Oregon and Main streets close to the site, which is now covered by ADA parking. As a known historic site, a dig was required when the city and Oregon Department of Transportation collaborated to improve walking routes from downtown to the Britt Festival grounds. Creation of the panel was required as part of mitigation for removal of an archaeological site, said Rose. Planning Department employee Celeste Dyson, who has since moved from the area, led the project. Medford artist Adam Bunch created a 14-by-18-inch illustration for the panel. At 3 a.m. on Sept. 11, 1888, a fire that started in the David Linn furniture mill across California Street, where the post office is now, spread to burn the northern portion of the Chinese quarters and other structures. Destruction of the area prompted city officials to extend Main Street beyond Oregon to what is now Highway 238. The house site was apparently covered then, and fill was put on top to create the extension. “Certainly the house had many more objects in it than portrayed, but Bunch chose to reduce their number so (the panel) is not too busy,” said Rose. Photos of the actual objects illustrated will also be in the display. The panel also gives general information about the site. “It's a really neat way to turn all these artifacts into something that is recognizable as a home,” said Rose. A Chinese man is pictured seated by a window. Through the window is a view of Jacksonville looking east toward Old City Hall, a view the inhabitants likely saw based on information compiled during the dig. Artifacts were recovered from just one part of the house. There are multiple artifacts, including square nails and buttons. “We have some different animal bones that reflect what the people were eating," said Rose, as well as items associated with daily life, such as tools, bottles, plates, game pieces and a picture frame that is shown in Bunch’s rendering. City officials expect to frame and mount the panel within the next two weeks. Rose will lead a tour of the town’s archaeological digs, including the Chinese house area, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, in a Southern Oregon Historical Society event. Artifacts from the dig will be shown in an SOHS exhibit, "Courage in the Rogue Valley: Southern Oregon Chinese History" from Feb. 6 to April 17 in the Rogue Valley Mall. Registration for the Feb. 7 tour costs $5 for SOHS and Ashland YMCA members and $10 for others. For information and to register, call 541 773-6536 or email [email protected]. Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected] http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20160201/NEWS/160209994 © 2016 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->