The Sno-Isle Genealogical Society (SIGS) continues its “Our Nation, Our Families: The Tapestry of Us” series in November by welcoming Dr. Alicia Valentino from the Edmonds College Anthropology Department to share insights from their archaeological dig at Japanese Gulch in Mukilteo.

The SIGS November meeting is on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at the Wickers Building in Heritage Park in Lynnwood. The event includes a pre-meeting social hour starting at 6:30 p.m. where guests can meet SIGS members, enjoy refreshments and get answers to their questions about how to start family research. Don’t worry if you’re new — no experience is needed, just curiosity. There will be activities designed to spark conversation and help you discover your own connections to history.

At 7:30 p.m., the main presentation begins in-person and online. Japanese Gulch has been an important locale since the first human habitation of Puget Sound. Used by Native Americans for its resources, its vicinity later became the site for the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty and eventually home to Japanese mill workers.

Today it remains a quiet plot with trails and a fish-bearing stream, but buried below the surface are remnants of the immigrant community that thrived for 30 years. Edmonds College explored the remnants of the Japanese Gulch community during the summer of 2025 and Dr. Valentino will trace the gulch’s history from local Tribes to modern trails.

The meeting is free and open to the public. For more details, including live-stream information, visit the SIGS calendar page.