Biographical / Historical
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Conditions Governing Access
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Processing Information
Preferred Citation
Contributing Institution:
Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
Title: Julia
Costello
Collection
: Donner Summit Chinese Railroad Camp
Creator:
Costello Julia
Creator:
Tuttle Jeff
Identifier/Call Number: 2020.M.1..Costello
Physical Description:
1.04 Linear Feet
1 Bankers Box
Date (inclusive): 1865-1869
Abstract: Over a total of four days in 1983 and 1984, surface
collections were made at the Donner Summit site by archaeologist Julia
Costello
and her husband Jeff Tuttle. This work camp, occupied between 1865 and 1869 by Chinese construction workers on the transcontinental
railroad, was located using historic accounts, maps, and surface survey. In general, only Chinese artifacts were collected
while Euro/American ceramics, glass, and metal were left in place.
Language of Material:
Chinese
.
Biographical / Historical
Julia Costello, Ph.D, is an archaeologist and co-owner of Foothill Resources, a historical consulting firm located in Calaveras
County that works on projects throughout California. Specializing in the historic period, she has researched and published
works on the Spanish Missions, mining sites, ninteenth-century life, and immigrant groups including Chinese, Italians, and
Japanese. She served as Member and Chair of the California State Historical Resources Commmission, and on the boards of several
national, state, and local history organizations.
Scope and Contents
The
Costello
Collection
is organized by primary site (Donner Summit). The materials found from this work camp site contain fragments of bottles of
medicine/alcohol, opium parapherealia, metal wok scraps, buttons, ceramic food storage containers, syringe, game pieces, and
Euro-American ceramic. The collection contains different glazes and patterns on the Chinese ceramic materials such as Chinese
Brown Glaze Stoneware, Double Happiness, Bamboo, Celadon (Wintergreen), and Four Seasons. This collection also consists of
one whole projectile point.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into seven series: I Chinese Ceramics, Series II: Euro-American Ceramics, Series III: Opium Peraphenalia,
Series IV: Personal Items, Series IV: Glass Items, Series VII: Miscellaneous Materials and Prehistoric. The collection has
been primarily kept in the original collector's arrangement of artifact count, and is organized in the following series and
subseries:
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open to researchers and for public access. Please contact the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
for more information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection was donated to the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California by Julia
Costello
in the Fall of 2020.
Processing Information
In the Fall of 2020, Archaeologist Julia
Costello donated her
collection
of Chinese work camp artifacts from Donner Summit to the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. As part of the
CHSSC Archive's mission to pursue, preserve, and communicate knowledge of the history of Chinese Americans in Southern California,
the Julia
Costello
Collection
serves as a valuable addition for future researchers, scholars, and community members who are interested in learning more
about the daily life in a Chinese work camp during the construction of the transcontinental railroad. The collection was catalogued
by -- then Columbus University PhD student -- John Molenda as part of his dissertation research the "
Costello
Collection
". In 2020 Scott Baxter borrowed the collection to study its contents, annotating the printed catalogue from Molenda with
corrections and additional information. In preparation for submitting the
collection to CHSSC, Julia
Costello
reexamined the artifacts incorporating Baxter's notes and further updated the Molenda catalogue, and generated a new Excel
database (Appendix A). Intern, Justin Martin, began creating the finding aid in 2021, cross-referencing data on the Excel
database and artifact catalogue to ensure accuracy when organizing the artifacts by series and subseries. With the help of
Collections Manager, Coryn Hardison, and CHSSC Archaeologist, Linda Bentz, we decided to keep the collector's original artifact
arrangement when organizing the finding aid as the the artifacts were collected and organized by provenience.
Preferred Citation
[Item], [Julia
Costello
Collection
], Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Chinese Laborers
Transcontinental Railroad
Donner Lake (Calif.)
Sierra Nevada (Calif. And Nev.)
Chinese Artifacts
Chinese Archeological Dig
Opium Tins
Opium Paraphernalia
Bowls
Bottles
Coins