The Lasley Vore Site is an archaeological site in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Although there is no evidence of historic structures, investigators have found hearths and pits, and have recovered various Native American and European artifacts that have been dated to the early to mid eighteenth century. The leader of the team that studied the site in 2008 concluded that this location contained all of the elements that one could expect at the site where French explorer Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe first met a substantial part of the Wichita people in what is now known as Oklahoma in 1719.
Discovery
The Lasley Vore Site was discovered in 1988, during an environmental impact assessment for a proposed manufacturing site overlooking the Arkansas River, south of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The study, which had been commissioned by the Kimberly Clark Corporation, was led by Doctor George H. Odell, an anthropology professor at the University of Tulsa. Field work was carried out during May and June, 1988. The tight schedule was dictated by Kimberly-Clark's schedule for constructing a paper products plant on the property. The site was named for a previous landowner, a Muscogee man named Lasley Vore, who had settled on it about 1890 and built a farm. Vore died in 1898, and was buried in a small family cemetery that still existed near the site. The house and buildings were sold to J. F. Kay, Sr., who moved in with his wife and son, J. F. Kay Jr. The father continued to farm there until he died in 1955, then his wife moved to Bixby. The house burned down about 1970. The land became a dairy farm for a few years, then was bought by Fred Parkhill, owner of a Tulsa liquor store. He owned the property for about 15 years, then sold it to Kimberly-Clark. Because of the schedule constraints, Odell initially used a Ditch Witch trenching tool to define the extent of the study. Although the company owned a quarter section of land, Odell determined by trenching that only an area of 2 - 3 hectares was of archaeological interest for study. Then he had the topsoil removed with a belly loader, to expose the subsoil. Stains and smears showed where storage pits, trash pits and hearths had been dug into the subsoil during historic times. Odell reported finding 81 such features.
Artifacts
Many items found at the site included Native American artifacts characteristic of the early to mid 18th Century, while others were of European origin during the same period. Radiocarbon dating was used to confirm the time of their origin. Odell suggested that the artifacts suggested that this was a semi-permanent village that had been visited by a European trading party. Wichita artifacts found at the excavations included hide scrapers, projectile points, bison scapulae hoes, and pottery. French-style trade goods from the 18th Century found here included trade beads, axe heads, metal knives and gun parts. In his 2002 book, Odell explains that the gun parts were the only artifacts from the Lasley Vore site that could be positively identified as coming from a specific country at a specific time. He said that these parts could have been brought there by la Harpe in 1719.
Historians have long known that Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe, a French trader, explorer and nobleman had led an expedition into what is now Oklahoma in 1718-19. His original objective was to establish a trading post near the present city of Texarkana, Arkansas, but he then extended his trip as far north as the Arkansas River. After returning to France, the explorer wrote that he and 9 other men, including three Caddo guides and 22 horses loaded with trade goods had come to a native settlement overlooking the river. There were about 6,000 natives, mostly Tawakoni, although some were Taovaya. La Harpe's party received a warm welcome, were honored with the calumet ceremony and spent ten days at this location. Meanwhile, about 1,000 more related people arrived at the settlement wanting to see these Europeans, trade, participate in the festivities and generally have a good time.
