For four years, nearly 100 Cornell students worked side by side with more than 30 Ithaca school children, guided by Cornell faculty, to unearth the 190-year history of Ithaca's St. James A.M.E. Zion Church one artifact at a time, through a community initiative between the church and the university.
An exhibit of their findings, "Sacred Ground: Excavating Black History at Ithaca's Freedom Church," will open at the History Center in Tompkins County on the Ithaca Commons, 110 N. Tioga St., June 19 - Juneteenth - at 4 p.m. with a community event. Cornell Provost Kavita Bala, Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), and the Rev. Terrance King, pastor of St. James, are among the scheduled speakers; the exhibit will be open through Dec. 31.
Juneteenth is a fitting day to celebrate an exhibit sharing the stories uncovered by the 2021-2024 archaeological dig, said Adam T. Smith, Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Anthropology (A&S) and co-curator of the exhibit, along with Cindy Kjellander-Cantu of the History Center and Arnav Tandon, masters student in archaeology.
"Part of the motivation for this work arises out of the church's association with the Underground Railroad, so when the History Center suggested opening on Juneteenth, a date closely associated with emancipation and freedom, it was obvious we needed to make that happen" Smith said.
Founded in 1833 and constructed during the 1830s, St. James was Ithaca's most important Underground Railroad station and during its long history has hosted numerous dignitaries including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and W.E.B. Du Bois. It is the oldest A.M.E. Zion church in the world still in active use and is believed to be the oldest religious structure in Ithaca.
"The exhibit at the History Center will invite people to connect in new ways with our historic town and amplify the underrepresented story of the St. James A.M.E. Zion Church and the Underground Railroad in our area of New York," said Lori Khatchadourian, associate professor of Near Eastern studies and anthropology (A&S), who co-directed the excavations. "I hope it will also encourage reflection on the importance of preserving and supporting this historic church today."
The exhibit includes many artifacts that help to tell the story of this institution over all 190 years of its life in Ithaca, including glass objects, textiles, coins, metal objects, and even a toy dinosaur.
"We are looking at a congregation that has welcomed everyone from the oldest folks in the community to young kids," Smith said, "so finding several toys was a great reminder of that inclusivity."
A display of maps from the 19th and 20th centuries included in the exhibit shows how the south side of Ithaca developed around the church while materials from Cornell's Tree Ring Laboratory detail the construction history of the church itself.
The History Center exhibit builds on a display that was installed in the church fellowship hall by a course in "Field Methods in Community-Engaged Archaeology" taught in 2023 and 2024 by postdoctoral associate Samantha Sanft.
The excavation began in 2021, as part of the Underground Railroad Research Project, which brought together researchers and students in many disciplines, said Gerard Aching, Emeritus W.E.B. DuBois Professor in the Humanities (A&S). Students and faculty from the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies (CIAMS) volunteered for the excavation and worked closely with kids from local schools. The Underground Railroad Seminar offered through the Africana Studies and Research Center in A&S, which Aching taught for several years, composed narratives focusing on rumored Underground Railroad sites in central New York and posted them on a website designed by students in the Milstein Program in Technology and Humanity.
"It's gratifying to see how successful the four-year excavation has been for community partners and members of our academic community alike," Aching said. "The exhibition will culminate and celebrate the collaborative efforts that have brought us this far as we acknowledge the historical importance of the collaborations between freedom seekers who traveled on the underground railroad to emancipate themselves and those who assisted them."
An A&S New Frontier Grant supported a 3D online tour of the church and its history in the Underground Railroad. The Cornell Office of the Provost supported a postdoctoral associate to oversee the excavation.
"The discoveries have been exciting, but the real thrill of the St. James excavations was forging connections and contributing to something deeply meaningful," Khatchadourian said. "Cornell students and faculty, members of the church leadership and congregation, and residents of the broader Ithaca community came together to uncover the physical traces of St. James' story - a story of courage, freedom-seeking, human dignity, faith, solidarity and resilience."
Kate Blackwood is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.
