“X” Still Marks the Spot: Texas A&M University at Galveston Researchers Return to Jean Lafitte’s Maison Rouge Looking to Parlay Initial Findings Below the Surface into Scientific Treasure
A multidisciplinary team is conducting archeological work at what was once the highest point on Galveston Island
It has often been said that to truly understand something one must look below the surface. Taking that statement to heart, graduate and undergraduate students at Texas A&M University at Galveston went in search of answers to what lies beneath the surface of a historic piece of Galveston Island.
On May 4, Dr. Timothy Dellapenna, Professor, Marine and Coastal Environmental Science College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Studies, Texas A&M University at Galveston, in collaboration with the Department of Maritime Studies and LX Heritage, collected soil core samples at Maison Rouge, the former home of Jean Lafitte. This marks the first-time that core soil samples have been taken from the site of the home of the man nicknamed “The Terror of the Gulf.”
“Our contribution to the archeological dig is to collect sediment cores in 3-inch diameter aluminum tubes we use as core barrels,” said Dr. Dellapenna. “We can easily drive these core barrels down 10 feet into the soil unless there is something hard at depth such as a brick or rock. Each core can be collected in about 15 minutes, meaning that we can probe several areas in a few hours.”
The soil sampling was conducted as part of the La Maison Rouge Archaeological Project. Annaliese Dempsey, fonder of LX Heritage and Texas A&M University PhD. student with the Department of Anthropology, serves as the principal investigator and project lead. Rachel Matheny, vice president of LX Heritage and Texas A&M University PhD. student with the Department of Anthropology, serves as field director.
“We have partnered with Professor Kristin Josvoll in order to offer opportunities with the project to TAMU students and blend archaeological training with the Museum Studies program,” Dempsey said.
Among the areas chosen for sampling were near a well and inside the footprint of an old cistern. The core samples will be analyzed in Dr. Dellapenna’s lab on the Texas A&M University at Galveston campus. Once in the lab, the soil cores will undergo x-ray scans to document artifacts contained within them, as well as the soil layering. A digital core scanner will generate high-resolution color images, color spectrum, and elemental analysis of 40 elements. The scans will be used to aid in the interpretations of the stratigraphy, or soil layers.
“Once the core has been scanned, then we can sample the cores if the x-rays identify artifacts,” Dr. Dellapenna said. “Collectively these efforts will allow for both a quick survey of numerous study sites and provide the support to better focus on areas where there is the greatest potential. We have the resources to assist, and I am happy to offer my skills as a coastal marine geologist however I can to this very worthwhile effort.”
TAMUG students Alex Mapula ’26, Marine Biology, Cole Robbins, ’24, Marine Science, Ph.D. candidate in Oceanography, and Avery Franklin, Marine Science, and lab manager performed soil sampling using a variety of tools. The soil sampling served as a kickoff to what is planned to be several weeks of discovery into the history of what was once the highest point on Galveston Island.
Starting May 11, TAMUG professors Adam Haney, Instructional Associate Professor, Maritime Studies College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Studies and Kristin Josvoll, Instructional Associate Professor & Internship Coordinator, Maritime Studies College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Studies will lead students from the Galveston and College Station campuses in a field school where they will engage in unearthing hundreds of years of history.
“Our field schools, Archaeology, and Conservation labs are the kinds of hands-on opportunities we in the Department of Maritime Studies offer to both Sea and Land Aggies,” Haney said.
Beyond being the one-time home to a famous pirate and privateer, the Maison Rouge site offers a unique opportunity for students to get their hands dirty and peel back layers of soil to unearth the history beneath the surface. The area being explored was likely frequently occupied by many different groups of people before the founding of the city of Galveston providing a unique opportunity for researchers to potentially uncover centuries of island history in a single spot.
“Galveston has such a rich and important place in Texas and US history that the opportunity to excavate such a historic site is amazing,” said Haney.
Adding to the excitement ahead of the field school is as the old real estate saying goes, “Location. Location. Location.” Aside from being at the one-time highest point on the island, the Maison Rouge site sits right in the middle of an urban setting. Typically, sites in an urban setting would be built over time and time again. The Maison Rouge site represents a mostly undisturbed area in an urban setting which can act like a time capsule.
Due to hurricanes creating a washing machine effect when they roll onshore, many different eras of artifacts can be found side by side. During an initial evacuation at the site in January 2026, several test pits revealed artifacts from the Civil War era alongside more modern finds like a spark plug from the 1960s.
Funding for the field school came from Urgent Care of Galveston, which contributed $15,000 to help unearth the secrets beneath the surface. A community day will be held at the Maison Rouge site at 1417 Harborside Drive, in Galveston from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 23 to provide an opportunity for the team to share their findings with the public.
Jean Lafitte left Maison Rouge and Galveston Island long ago. Texas A&M University at Galveston researchers are just beginning to uncover what he and other early inhabitants of the island left behind one layer at a time.
