Sacred Ground: Excavating Black History at Ithaca's Freedom Church showcases a diverse range of artifacts from four seasons of excavations at Ithaca's St. James AME Zion Church, highlighting the collaborative efforts between Cornell students, faculty, and the St. James Congregation.
For four years, Cornell University staff and students, alongside the St. James Congregation and Ithaca school children excavated the St. James AME Zion Church garden, looking to uncover the long and impactful history of the church. Oral histories and documentary sources have connected the church to the Underground Railroad, with the church being a regular meeting spot for Harriet Tubman, as well as being visited by other notable abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass.
Collaboration with the congregation was a key role in the organizing and execution of the project. Rev. Terrence King, pastor of the St. James church, alongside other congregation members could regularly be seen joining in on the excavation process, or checking in to see how the project was going.
No one knew what kinds of stories would be uncovered with this excavation. Would a secret passageway or tunnel connected to the Underground Railroad be found? What would be uncovered about the lives of the St. James community of the past? After several years of collaboration and digging, some answers are slowly being uncovered, and are shown here in the exhibition.
The exhibit contains a wide variety of artifacts, from dendrochronological samples taken from the church's wooden frame, to a gold toe sock found during excavations. Glass, ceramic, construction materials, plastic, and textile materials, such as buttons and suspender clasps, were all found in abundance during the four-year excavation.
A display with maps from the 19th and 20th century are displayed alongside the artifacts, highlighting the evolution of Ithaca's South Side along the growth of the church. A 3D tour of the church itself is also included for visitors to navigate.
