Timber, Sail, and Rail: An Archaeology of Industry, Immigration, and the Loma Prieta Mill

Abstract

construction materials, clothing, household wares, and personal items. The items demonstrate a labor force utilizing the articles available within a capitalist economy to forge both shared and individual identities of class and ethnicity. Meniketti uses the architectural remnants of the mill and associated buildings to identify the patterns of work fl ow in the complex, and then elaborates on these details with oral histories. The author also utilizes evidence of impact on the environment and environmental impact on the mill to situate the industrial activities of Loma Prieta within an ecological framework. The combined e ff ect of explicating Loma Prieta on both a human and an environmental scale results in a vivid and richly textured account of the lifecycle of an industry and its workforce.