Founded in 2018, the Community Heritage Lab (CHL) is an interdisciplinary research collaborative devoted to community engagement, research, and storytelling about the heritage of Santa Clara University and its surrounding communities. Our mission is to facilitate dialogue, collaboration, and engagement among a broad constituency that includes descendant communities, Santa Clara faculty, staff, and students, as well as off-campus scholars and heritage professionals. To do so, the CHL provides:
- Project coordination, collaboration, and support related to heritage research, particularly in partnership with Native Californian tribes and other descendant communities.
- Management of the CHL research laboratory and teaching facility, housed in the historic 19th-century Larder House at the corner of Alviso and Benton Streets. The Larder House includes spaces for community meetings, instruction, scientific analysis, and the temporary storage of archaeological collections under study.
- Maintenance of this website, which serves as an online hub to showcase research products, news, and information about community heritage at Santa Clara -- please explore to find out more about who we are and what we offer.
Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher education in California, with rich heritage found throughout the campus. If you are interested in the history of the school and how archaeology and heritage studies have brought much of this past to light, you can read "Mission Santa Clara in a Changing Urban Environment" by Lee Panich and "Archaeology at Santa Clara de Asís" by Russell K. Skowronek and Julie Wizorek.