Theses and Dissertations Collection

The Hussey Collection consists of more than 80,000 artifacts excavated in Walla Walla, Washington over a 25 year period. It was largely accumulated and processed under the direction of one individual, Lawrence Hussey, and pertains to the third and final military Fort Walla Walla and early Veterans Administration Medical Center occupations. Since Hussey's retirement the collection was abandoned. Over the subsequent 15 years, a majority of the collection sat housed within a slowly dilapidating City of Walla Walla building, leading to exposure to environmental hazards, while the remainder of the assemblage lingered close by in a repurposed Veterans Administration structure. The scanty amount of primary source documentation has caused confusion amongst responsible parties as to the ownership of these cultural materials. This, in turn, has further delayed their continued preservation and public access. The work here explores the significance of this type of archaeological assemblage academically and socially while taking initial steps towards the further management of one orphaned collection.