In early 1934, an initial survey of archaeological resources in Somerset County was sponsored by the short-lived Civil Works Administration (CWA) under the guidance of Flora Black. The Pennsylvania Historical Commission (PHC) directed the initial work at the Montague site in late 1934, possibly funded in part through federal relief funds. The next major project in Somerset County was funded through the CWA's parent organization, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Most relief excavations in Somerset County were done under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), later renamed the Works Projects Administration. Relief funding was not steadily available and could have been terminated at any moment, accounting for some of the breaks between the excavation of different sites. This situation made it difficult to plan many archaeological projects.
Note on site numbers
: The number following each site name is based on the Smithsonian Institution's trinomial numbering system for archaeological sites. The first part of the number refers to the state, where 36 equals Pennsylvania. The second part of the number refers to the county within the state, where So refers to Somerset County. The last part of the number refers to the sequential recording of archaeological sites within a particular county. Thus, Peck 1 (36 So 1) was the first site recorded in Pennsylvania's Somerset County.
