Pinckney second-graders Alex Bowen, left, and Henry Mackinnon sift through a heap of dirt in the front lawn of the school under the supervision of teacher Sharon Daniels. Several classes went digging Tuesday in the schoolyard in a hunt for artifacts from the school's original building, which was just south of the current school at 810 W. Sixth St.

Students at Pinckney School are digging into their school’s past – literally.

It’s been 75 years since the doors opened and classes began in the building that stands at 810 W. Sixth St.

But the school’s history started long before that with construction in 1871-72 of the first building to carry the Pinckney School name.

“We’re just hoping to find evidence of that past school and of the children who attended there,” second-grade math and science teacher Sharon Daniels said.

This week, second-graders at Pinckney – under tutelage of Daniels and teacher Amanda Bayens – began an archaeological dig in the schoolyard just south of the existing building. That’s where the original building stood until it was torn down in 1931.

Students in groups of about 20 each concentrated their efforts in two square sections, slowly digging up dirt with trowels. The dirt was then carted a few feet away and sifted through screens to uncover any artifacts that might have been buried.

The first artifact was uncovered Monday when second-grader Aubin Murphy found a rusty square nail thought to have been from the old building.

At first, she wasn’t sure what she’d found.

“It looked something like an old rusty pipe,” Aubin said. “It was square-shaped and pointed on the end. It was really rusty and covered with dirt.”

During Tuesday’s dig, at least one more rusty square nail was found, this time by second-grader Ben Gotto. He said it was found just a few feet from the first nail.

Another student, Maya Croker, found what she thought were pieces of brick. Some of the brick pieces found during the first two days of digging still had partial lettering on them, Daniels said.

The nails and other artifacts were placed in plastic bags and will become part of a display. Before they go on display, however, they will be cleaned.

“We’ll have to use little toothbrushes,” Daniels said. “Maybe we’ll get the first-graders started on the cleaning pretty soon.”

Pinckney School second-grader Sierra Smith shovels dirt into a Radio Flyer wagon as she and her classmates participate in a dig in the front lawn of the school. The students were digging Tuesday in an effort to find artifacts relating to the school's history.

Recognizing the history of the old building was a good way to help celebrate the existing building’s 75th birthday, teachers decided. Daniels and a few other teachers went on a real archaeological dig conducted by the state last year in Council Grove to see how it was done.

In addition to the dig, Lawrence resident Bill Pendleton, who attended school in the original building, recently spoke to the students about his school experiences.

In the spring, Pinckney will have a birthday party. Everyone who attended school when the current building opened in 1931 and can be located will be invited, Daniels said.

Meanwhile, the second-graders’ digging will go on for about two weeks, and the goal is to go about 2 feet deep, Daniels said.

“They are loving it,” she said of the students. “They just want to do this all day, but they can only do it an hour a day.”