Searsville Before Stanford: History and Archaeology in the Upper San Francisquito Watershed

Stanford’s Heritage Services staff are researching the land use and social history of the Searsville area in preparation for the upcoming major watershed restoration project. Their research will provide the framework for understanding archaeological deposits that may be discovered during project construction under the area of the Searsville Reservoir. The major focus of the research is on creating a richer view of settlement in the area: what evidence can be found about the environmental setting and population demographics at Searsville? How did this change over time? How did the community’s economy develop? What physical evidence might be left to supplement the historical record? The challenges of addressing potential archaeological sites submerged in the reservoir and/or buried by the accumulated sediment will also be discussed.