54 D4. Recent Advances in Geoarchaeology (Posters)

Sunday, 10 October 2021
2:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Exhibit Hall A

SOURCING BRICKS: AN HHXRF STUDY OF WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY'S OLDEST BUILDING

Paper number: 54-13
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

Willamette University’s Waller Hall is the oldest collegiate building in the west still in use. At over 150 years old, the building has generated much speculation about its origins. A popular claim retold on college-admissions tours is that Waller Hall was built using clay excavated from the campus quad immediately to the south of the building. Older sources from beginning in the 1860s state that the bricks were made from clay removed to construct the Waller Hall basement. To test these unsubstantiated claims, clay samples were collected from various sources within the Salem, Oregon area. Sample locations were chosen based on their proximity to the Willamette Campus, geologic diversity, their likely accessibility in the mid-19th century CE, and the historical significance of the sample area. Using a handheld X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, geochemical profiles were collected from each of the clays and compared to the profiles of four original bricks from Waller Hall. The data reveal that the campus tour guides may need to update their story.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 53, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2021AM-371179

© Copyright 2021 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.