An anthropology student removes dirt from a dig site at the Saints' Rest Archaeology dig and field school in summer 2005. Anthropology students and faculty unearthed artifacts from MSU's first dormitory.
Photo by G.L. Kohuth, University Relations
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Glassware found during the 2005 Saints' Rest Archeological dig at Michigan State University.
Photo by Kurt Stepnitz, University Relations
Students and faculty in MSU's Department of Anthropology Archaeological Field School participated in the first on-campus excavation to resurrect relics of MSU's first residence hall.
Rising from the ashes and dirt are the remains of Saints' Rest, the three-story building built in 1856 to be home to some 80 young men when MSU was the Michigan Agricultural College. It burned during winter break of 1876. The building stood just east of the MSU Museum.
Until now, all that was left of Saints' Rest - informally named by students for a popular devotional - was a concrete memorial slab, set at an angle in the sidewalk. A team of more than 20 students and professors painstakingly sifted through layers of soil to find tidbits that piece together Civil War-era life on campus. The dig will help fill in the gaps of what's known about Saints' Rest from archives, where the team has found evidence about admission standards (students had to be at least 15 years old, and penmanship counted), daily life, and even pranks, like tying doorknobs together.
The dig was part of the MSU Sesquicentennial Celebration. Artifacts uncovered will be added to the MSU Museum's collections and further help tell the story of life on campus.
Learn More
MSU Department of Anthropology
Saints' Rest Special Report at newsroom.msu.edu
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