HIGHLIGHT: FLORIDA

Prospect Bluff: Two hundred years ago, a post along the Apalachicola River housed what historians say was the largest community of freed slaves in North America. Now Hurricane Michael has given archaeologists an unprecedented opportunity to study its story, a significant tale of black resistance that ended in bloodshed. The Negro Fort site in the Apalachicola National Forest is a National Historic Landmark and thus was never excavated for artifacts, except to identify structural remains. October’s Category 5 storm toppled about 100 trees. Under the massive roots, archaeologists began this month to dig and sift through soil.

TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT Marilyn Spores digs for artifacts in a fallen tree’s roots.