PRESENTED BY MARK HYLKEMA

Free Community Webinar

Saturday, March 2 @ 10:00 am

Join the Coastside Land Trust as we welcome acclaimed archaeologist, Mark Hylkema to share the fascinating history the Pigeon Point Lighthouse and Franklin Point. Hylkema has shared the following abstract for this talk…

On the evening of January 17th, 1865, while the American Civil War was still reaching towards a conclusion, the crew of the clipper ship Sir John Franklin found themselves enveloped in thick fog as they approached the Port of San Francisco.  However, tragedy would intervene, just as it had for the ship’s namesake- a reference to the ill-fated arctic explorers of the Franklin Expedition, for the ship and crew were destined to wreck just as they had.  Compounding this tragedy, two other sailing ships would wreck in just a few more years with a significant loss of life.  Many of the victims were buried on the small, windswept headland now known as Franklin Point.  Ultimately, these three shipwrecks spurred the installation of Pigeon Point Lighthouse.  This presentation will review aspects of San Mateo County maritime history and describe the archaeology, history, and stabilization of the Franklin Point Historic Shipwreck Cemetery.

Mark Hylkema (retired) was the Supervisor of the Cultural Resources Program for 32 Park units within the Santa Cruz District of California State Park, and is a Registered Professional Archaeologist.  With 44 years of professional experience in California archaeology, he has worked on archaeological projects throughout the state.  His primary research emphasis and publications are focused on ancestral Native American cultures of the San Francisco Bay area, and early Spanish Colonial Period history.  Mark is also an Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, and has taught anthropology, archaeology, and Native American Studies courses at Santa Clara University, University of California at Santa Cruz, De Anza College, Ohlone College and Cabrillo College.  Mark was President of the Society for California Archaeology (search scahome.org) during the 2015/2016 term and has contributed a great deal to the regional archaeological literature.

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