A SHINING LIGHT DURING AMERICA’S DARKEST ERA: THE PARKER ACADEMY

Along the banks of the Ohio river, lives a deep history of human occupation. Known famously for its integral and symbolic nature, the river that flows into the Mississippi gave meaning to the dividing ties of the North and South during the Civil War (April 12, 1861-May 13, 1865). The issues of slavery were only resolved over much bloodshed. However, the stories of the people, on either side, show the complexities of a battle within a country fighting to remain intact while its people are screaming for division. Despite the harrowing stories of war and loss of life, there was a beacon of hope for Blacks in the Ohio River Valley – the Clermont Academy of New Richmond, Ohio. Established in 1839, Clermont Academy is believed to be one of the first preparatory schools in the United States devoted to educating males and females, regardless of color. It was a pioneer in the educational advancements of equality by encompassing the progressive thoughts of Northern abolitionists. Bringing these ideals to the forefront of the battle between freed and enslaved individuals in the United States, the Parker family and their commonly referred to “Parker Academy” became a refuge.

Figure 1: Letter from the archive

The story of the Parker family and their revolutionary academy is one that could have been completely lost over time. After a devastating flood in New Richmond in 1937, the academy school house and men’s dormitory were destroyed beyond repair and subsequently demolished a few years later. Now, the trees and vegetation have taken over the land where these buildings once stood. The Parker’s academy has become a forgotten symbol of a place and time that once struggled with ideas of unity, equality, and freedom for all.

Figure 2 Letter from the archives

Through the work of historical archaeology and public history, the story of the Parkers and the Clermont Academy is being brought back to life. Faculty and students from Northern Kentucky University (NKU) have taken on the responsibility of telling the story through their current and ongoing research project.  This work is being conducted through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Parker Academy project, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This multidisciplinary collaboration among historians, geographers, and anthropologists engages diverse student participants in research exploring important problems of race, gender equality, and social justice in American History through archaeological excavations and archival research at the Parker Academy site in southern Ohio. The Parker Academy NSF REU is directed by Dr. William J. Landon and Dr. Sharyn Jones. The program provides an exciting and unique educational experience for undergraduates through hands-on research with an opportunity to earn academic credit. By participating in this project students learn about archival research, US History, GIS, and archaeology as they gain practical skill-based knowledge that transcends disciplinary boundaries.

Figure 3 Postcard of the Clermont Academy Schoolhouse and Men’s Dormitory

​The magic of the words of the Parker family and their students comes alive through historical documents and the photographs that are part of a rich archive. These documents provide stunning vivid images of the people and when combined with the scattered remains of material culture excavated on the former academy’s grounds, the remarkable Parker family story lives on. The story is still unfolding as our work continues and the daily lives of the students and the Parkers is explored in through both the archaeology and the archival documents.

Figure 4 The Clermont Academy School House

​Sharing the Parker Academy story with the community is an important part of the Parker Academy NSF REU project. A variety of public outreach endeavors are underway. As a research team we are working to create an open space for the public to learn about the Parker’s story through programs, school visits, volunteer excavation days, library exhibits, and other events. In the tri-state area, including the village of New Richmond and beyond, discussion panels and exhibits have been created to provide an opportunity for the local community to hear and see the history that is in their own backyard. Narratives about life at the Academy were gathered to create lesson plans for local schools to help teach about equality through education in the Civil War ear. This past spring, NSF REU Fellows from NKU presented these lessons to Hughes STEM High School of Cincinnati. Multiple social media sites have been created to reach a wider audience as well. These sites provide access to historical documents and their transcriptions, photographs from the archives, an extensive GIS story map, and pictures of artifacts recovered from archaeological excavations.

Figure 5 Inside the School House

​Community archaeology has also played a major role in sharing the story of the Parker Academy. By engaging with the public, the Parker Academy NSF REU faculty and students are able to share archaeological findings and continue to promote the stewardship that the Parker family began over 150 years ago. Through community archaeology, the public has the opportunity to reconstruct their own perspective on the past. Previous excavations have included undergraduates, graduates, professors, historians, NKU’s president, the president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and a wide range of volunteers. By conducting such work and providing an open platform, the NSF REU project team has shared the discoveries from both the archaeological field and historical archives. The message of equality is as imperative today as it was when the school was established. Only through community engagement can the story of the Parker Academy and the Parker family be told properly.

Figure 6 Trowel with ceramic artifact

Figure 7 Cooper Pfalz, Professor William Landon, and Professor Sharyn Jones backfilling at the site

Written by Andrea Shiverdecker, Liza Vance, William Landon, and Sharyn Jones

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​Dr. Sharyn Jones is a Professor of Anthropology at Northern Kentucky University. Her areas of focus are ethnoarchaeology, zooarchaeology, food identity, and gender. Dr. Jones has conducted research in Fiji, Polynesia and the Caribbean Islands, North America, Japan, Micronesia, and India. Currently, her work deals with issues of foodways and traditional ecological knowledge. She is also working on developing a model for hands-on science through anthropological field schools such as the Parker Academy project and the NSF REU Fiji program.

​Dr. William Landon is Professor of History in the Department of History and Geography at Northern Kentucky University. He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in History, with an emphasis on the life and works of Niccolò Machiavelli, from the University of Edinburgh. While in Edinburgh, he studied under noted historian of Renaissance Italy Richard Mackenney.

Dr. Landon has published numerous articles, reviews, and he has written two books: Politics, Patriotism and Language: Niccolò Machiavelli’s “Secular Patria” and the Creation of an Italian National Identity, and Lorenzo di Filippo Strozzi and Niccolò Machiavelli: Patron, Client, and the Pistola fatta per la peste/An Epistle Written Concerning the Plague. The latter book was nominated for the Renaissance Society of America’s Phyllis Goodhart Gordan Book Prize in 2013.

Additionally, Dr. Landon has also written and presented a series titled: “Books that Matter: ‘The Prince'” for The Great Courses.  A new series titled “24 Works of Historical Genius is forthcoming.

​Dr. Landon has delivered popular lectures and conference presentations on Renaissance Italy to audiences on three continents.

​As a non-traditional student, Andrea Shiverdecker began her bachelor’s degree twenty years ago. After a short military career and the general passing of time, she returned to finish her degree in January 2017. Through becoming a part of the Parker Academy NSF REU project, she was able to perform historical archiving, document analysis and transcription, archaeology, artifact analysis, and more. New passions emerged as she began to document and analyze the photographic remains contained within the archives from the Parker family. The role of digital curator for the project was achieved by running and maintaining the program’s social media sites and developing community outreach programs. Other research projects include ethnographic research currently being performing in Belize on the sugar cane industry and its impacts on the villages and 

​communities surrounding the Orange Walk District in Belize which can be seen at www.blue2orange.com or on Instagram @blue_2_orange. Personal longtime research delves into the art and origins of body modifications and personal adornment of humankind across the world and its transitions throughout time. She will graduate in December of 2018 with hopes to attend graduate school in the future.

​Liza Vance is a graduate student at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). She holds a B.A. in Anthropology and History. As an undergraduate, she became interested in the field of archaeology after volunteering at a public archaeology excavation day at the Battery Hooper at the James A. Ramage Civil War Museum. Through the University of Virginia, she completed a six-week field school at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. She continued getting her hands dirty by participating in the inaugural excavation of the Parker Academy site in New Richmond, OH, in 2015, as well as the two following excavations since then. As the Graduate Student Mentor for the Parker Academy NSF REU project, she gained experience in cataloging, transcribing, and analyzing historical documents. In her spare time, her hobbies include traveling, repurposing antiques, visiting museums, and spending time with her family and pets. She is expected to graduate in the Spring of 2019.