Forgotten History: Students Dig Deep to Tell the Untold Story of LSU’s First Campus
July 21, 2025
In the woods of Pineville, La., LSU archaeological students are uncovering the forgotten foundations of the university’s first home. With shovels, trowels, and a passion for discovery, they’re not just digging for artifacts. They’re bringing LSU’s earliest days back into the light.
— Video by Callie Boyd
This summer, an archaeological field school led by LSU Department of Geography and Anthropology affiliate professor and two-time alum Matthew Helmer and Master’s student Conan Mills has turned the long-overlooked remains of the original Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy into a classroom and research site.
The school’s construction was completed in 1859 and it opened in 1860. The seminary operated as a hospital through the Civil War, then re-opened during the Reconstruction era until a fire in 1869 left it in ruins. Though the seminary would eventually evolve into Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, its story began in Central Louisiana, and the ruins discovered will help us better understand LSU’s roots.
“This was one of the largest buildings west of the Mississippi at the time,” said Helmer. “It was a major investment from the state, $150,000 in the 1850s, which was a massive amount of money. And until now, this site has never been scientifically investigated.”
That changed when a fallen tree unearthed historical artifacts, prompting a partnership among LSU, LSUA, the USDA Forest Service at Kisatchie National Forest, and local historians to begin a formal dig. The result is a rare opportunity for students, researchers, and Louisiana.
A Classroom Unlike Any Other
“This is one of the first field schools we’ve been able to offer at LSU in several years,” Helmer said. “It’s an integral part of teaching future archaeologists. You can’t work in this field without knowing how to dig, map, interpret soil layers, and identify artifacts.”
Ten LSU students have spent part of their summer gaining hands-on experience in excavation, lab processing, and historical interpretation. For graduate student Conan Mills, this dig is the foundation of his thesis.
“We’re comparing the historical records with what we’re finding in the ground,” Mills said. “We’re getting a better sense of who was here: students, teachers, support staff. There’s even a tailor mentioned in records, and we’ve started finding uniform buttons and other personal items.”
Among the discoveries:
- ornate architectural details such as fleur-de-lis decorated balcony and pillar ironworks, marble steps and cornerstones;
- evidence of academic life including slate pencils and ink wells; military items such as Civil War-era uniform buttons, bullets, and weaponry;
- and other mid-nineteenth century artifacts of daily life including pottery, glass, and food items.
“It’s still very rewarding to almost pick up what would’ve been held by someone nearly 200 years ago. You’re connecting through touch. That’s really, really cool.”
— Nikki Norman, undergraduate LSU student majoring in anthropology and French
— 3D images provided by Conan Mills
There are even bricks with finger imprints that may have been from the enslaved peoples charged with the building construction. The team also discovered one of the professor’s residences adjacent to the site, which was once the home of David French Boyd, the one-time president of LSU who moved the school to Baton Rouge.
“It’s still very rewarding to almost pick up what would’ve been held by someone nearly 200 years ago,” said Nikki Norman, an undergraduate LSU student majoring in anthropology and French. “You’re connecting through touch. That’s really, really cool.”
The group also uncovered a hidden cistern, a water reservoir system that was later used as a dumping site for ruins, revealing ornate columns and a massive marble stone believed to have sat above the Seminary entrance with remnants of a chiseled inscription that once read, “By the liberality of the general government the Union Esto Perpetua.”
“When the Civil War kicked off, the board of supervisors for the seminary at the time actually voted to chisel off that inscription from the stone,” Helmer said. All that is left now is a Latin cross and the chisel marks where the inscription once was, a material reminder of the deep divisions during the Civil War.
A Story Bigger Than a Campus
While LSU is widely known as a flagship university in Baton Rouge, there are many layers to its history. The Seminary was once led by William T. Sherman, who would go on to become one of the most prominent generals for the Union during the Civil War.
“There’s an irony to it,” Helmer said. “You had Confederate professors and Sherman, a Union general, as the first superintendent. There were real ideological divides playing out here, and the history is richer because of it.”
The building served as a hospital during the Civil War. Union forces even attempted to burn it down as they withdrew, though the attempt failed. Repaired and reopened, the school functioned until the 1869 fire closed this chapter of LSU’s history. For years, what remained was overgrown and nearly forgotten.
“Most people assume LSU started in Baton Rouge,” Helmer said. “But the roots are here, and we think it’s incredibly important to tell this story.”
When a tree fell last year, items were uncovered in those same roots.
“We got some really elaborate artifacts that came out of that tree. Some wrought iron, what we think were pieces of a balcony with sort of some fleur de lis-type decorations. We got some uniform buttons from the Civil War era and the school era, and a bunch of other artifacts that clued us in that there might be a lot left of this site and more to understand about it,” Helmer said.
For Michael Conger, a 2023 LSU history graduate, the opportunity to be part of that story is deeply personal. “When I was 7 years old, I was diagnosed with cancer, and so I started watching the ‘Indiana Jones’ movies in the hospital, and it introduced me to archeology,” Conger said. “I was always kind of inspired by that. And, you know, I just fell in love with archaeology from a very young age. So, this is a really big step in that this has been a lifelong dream.”
A Rare Opportunity
Helmer said very few universities in the country have access to a historic dig site tied to their own founding. He added that LSU’s dig is not just about Louisiana, but it fills a gap in the national archaeological record.
“There really is a research gap in the archaeology of early academic institutions,” he said. “This is groundbreaking not just for LSU history, but for understanding the development of higher education in the U.S.”
The excavation has already led to collaborations with the LSU Military History Museum in Memorial Tower and LSUA to share artifacts and stories with the public. Soon, visitors will be able to see exhibits of artifacts from the dig at both of these locations. Findings will also be curated through Kisatchie National Forest, while students continue cataloging and analyzing material for educational use and further research, and Mills writes his Master’s Thesis based on the findings.
Connecting Past, Present & Future
For anthropology major Morgan Wheeler, the dig has been eye-opening.
“I didn’t know much LSU history before coming here,” she said. “Now I’m holding parts of it in my hands. A hundred and fifty years ago, students were here just like me. It’s surreal.”
That’s exactly the point, Helmer said.
“LSU is the brand of Louisiana. But most people don’t know where it started or how it got here,” he said. “Understanding the roots of this place, its architecture, its people, even its contradictions, gives us a better sense of who we are and where we’re going.”
Artifacts from the excavation will be on display at the LSU Military History Museum and an exhibit is expected to open in the spring.
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