By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – Visitors to Shoal Creek Park may notice a unique sight—students with shovels, tents dotting the field and the quiet hum of archaeological activity. It’s all part of a hands-on educational project aimed at uncovering one of Shelby County’s earliest religious landmarks.

Thanks to a partnership between the City of Montevallo, the University of Alabama’s Office of Archaeological Research and the University of Montevallo’s Upward Bound program, high school students are spending two weeks at the park learning the basics of archaeological fieldwork—and possibly helping locate the original site of the Shoal Creek Baptist Church, the first Baptist church in Shelby County.

“There are two main goals of the project,” said Carey Heatherly, University of Montevallo archivist and special collections librarian. “The first is providing an educational opportunity for the Upward Bound students on campus. The second is to discover more about the history of the Shoal Creek Park area.”

The original Shoal Creek Baptist Church and its associated cemetery date back to the early 1800s and are believed to be located in the northeastern corner of the park. While the cemetery’s location is known, the exact site of the church building remains a mystery—one the students and archaeologists hope to solve using shovel testing and metal detector surveys under close supervision. Fieldwork will be limited in depth—no more than 50 centimeters (approximately 20 inches)—to ensure that no graves are disturbed.

“In the cemetery, the groups are smaller,” Heatherly said. “They’re handling the students with a little more supervision in there.”

The students’ experience began in the classroom, where they learned about archaeological ethics, methods and the potential cultural value of the site. In the field, they are participating in shovel testing, ground-penetrating radar scanning and careful data collection—all under the direction of licensed archaeologists from the University of Alabama.

“We don’t have an archaeology or anthropology program at the University of Montevallo,” Heatherly said. “We thought this was a good opportunity for high school students in the Upward Bound program to get some experience. If they ever entertain the notion of archaeology as a career, they can get some field experience and decide if they want to do it.”

The Shoal Creek Park Foundation is sponsoring the initiative, which is made possible by a grant from Alabama’s Educational Trust Fund. The final report, compiled by the OAR team, will be submitted to the state as part of the grant’s closeout process. The research may also support ongoing cemetery preservation efforts by a dedicated Shoal Creek Park subcommittee.

According to Heatherly, efforts like this are essential to preserving and understanding local heritage.

“This would be one of the oldest cemeteries in Shelby County, and the church would also be one of the oldest churches in the county,” he said. “It’s also a very early Baptist church as well.”

For students, the project has provided more than just knowledge—it’s delivered a tangible connection to local history through experiential learning.

“You can sit in a classroom and be taught something, but actually getting out into the field and doing the actual work under the supervision of a trained, licensed professional gives you the real hands-on experience,” Heatherly said.

As students dig, sift, and survey the soil beneath Shoal Creek Park, they are not only uncovering the physical remnants of the past but also developing a deeper appreciation for the stories that shape their community.

“I hope this project continues to keep the history of Montevallo and this part of Shelby County on the minds of people,” Heatherly said.