Following Emancipation, African Americans in and near Dougherty County migrated to Albany, the county seat, finding safety in numbers. They settled in the southern portion of the city between Front and Washington Streets in the area that would later become known as the Harlem Neighborhood. This neighborhood is an important location for African American history in Albany and the surrounding region. Site 9DU286, the location of the proposed Albany Multimodal Transportation Center, is situated within the Harlem Neighborhood. Niles Bolton Associates contracted New South Associates to conduct archaeological excavations at Site 9DU286 in advance of the Albany Multimodal Transportation Center construction. This project is funded in part by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). FTA is the lead federal agency, while Georgia Department of Transportation serves as the FTA direct grant recipient and review agency for this undertaking.

Site 9DU286 is located in Downtown Albany bordered by Oglethorpe Avenue to the north, S. Jefferson Street to the west, Highland Avenue to the south, and S. Jackson Street to the east. This site contained residential houses along with commercial properties and light industry. Development and occupation of the project site began by the late nineteenth century. Historical research indicated the presence of African American–owned houses in the project area, most of which faced Highland Avenue. The excavations that took place in July 2020 were focused on the rear yards of those houses in order to collect information about the African American site inhabitants. Watch the video site tour below to see the excavations and find out what we learned from excavating at the site.