Riordan Mansion Lunchtime Lecture: African Americans in the Arizona Lumber Industry

Riordan Mansion State Historic Park

Monday, November 11, 2024   12:15 p.m.

U.S. Forest Service Archaeologist Margaret Hangan will present on a fascinating aspect of Arizona history – the diaspora of skilled African American workers from the lumber towns of the South to Arizona starting in the 1920s.

Creating rich diversity in Flagstaff and throughout Arizona, African Americans’ contributions to the region began with the lumber boom. This talk complements the Seeing People Through Trees exhibition that closed at the end of April. Margaret Hangan is an Archaeologist currently with the Tonto National Forest. She earned her BA from Pitzer College in 1989 and completed her MA at California State University, Bakersfield. Both degrees are in Anthropology. Margaret worked for private cultural resource management firms from 1989 to 1998 throughout the Great Basin and California. She was a graduate student intern with the Bureau of Land Management starting in 1998 until she completed her MA Thesis in 2003. Margaret worked as the Forest Archaeologist for the Cleveland National Forest in San Diego starting in 2003, transferred to the Kaibab National Forest in 2007, and spent fifteen years as the Forest Archaeologist in that forest. Her research interests include Arizona’s Historic Sheep Industry and the African American History of the Western U.S.

Space is limited. Reserve your spot online at  https://azstateparks.com/reserve/Activities/Search.aspx or call 928-779-4395 for additional information and same day availability.  The presentation will be free thanks to Riordan Action Network.