About the project

Charcoal Camp offers a view of the remnants of a Chinese woodcutting camp in a remote corner of Nevada, active from about 1870 to 1920. Photographs in the series include images of the woodcutter’s cabins and the surrounding piñon-juniper woodland, as well as pictures of artifacts removed from the site, which was excavated by Morrill’s father from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Located a few miles from the gold mining towns of Bodie and Aurora, California, the camp was built by woodcutters who logged the area to supply the cordwood and charcoal that powered mining boom. The site was also used by Native Americans for thousands of years and has more recently been used by white immigrants to Nevada for ranching and recreation. The series explores the role of place as a shaped and a shaping force; the interconnections of wild and built environments; and the overlapping cultural, natural, and social histories inherent in the landscape. 

For the artist, both objects and landscapes represent the untold stories of the individual Chinese woodcutters who lived there—marginalized immigrants whose identities remain unknown, as their histories were never directly recorded. The things they discarded and left behind are traces of lives built on hardship, determination, resilience, and discrimination. They are also signposts on the larger paths of industry and environmental exploitation in the West. More personally, the photographs express Morrill’s own connection to this place, as a daughter reflecting on her father’s drive to understand and document history.

Exhibition

Photographs from the series are presented in Fueling the Boom: Chinese Woodcutters in the Great Basin, 1870–1920 (February 22, 2019–ongoing) at the Nevada State Museum, Carson City. The exhibition tells the story of the Chinese Camp woodcutting community through objects found at the cabin sites, historical images, and large scale prints from the series.