The University of Maine at Farmington Archaeology Research Center was established in July 1984 by a small group of academic and administrative archaeologists, and other interested parties, and has been variably busy since its founding. Through the cooperative efforts of its staff, the Center has undertaken over 350 cultural resource consulting studies during the past nineteen years. These studies have included field inspections, archaeological resource assessments, phase IA, phase IB, phase II, and phase III level cultural resource investigations at varying scales. Most of this work has been in Maine and Vermont. In conjunction with its consultants, the UMF ARC is qualified under Section 106 and is approved to do all levels of cultural resource work in Vermont by the Vermont SHPO.

The large majority of the UMF ARC’s efforts have been directed towards consulting archaeology projects as public service for corporate, state and municipal entities, these efforts being the direct result of historic preservation legislation as one compliance component of environmental studies. Beyond this role, the UMF ARC’s personnel volunteer some of their time for public talks, preparation of popular articles, other field work opportunities, and classroom teaching. Every effort has been made to provide public accountability for the ongoing scientific work.