Midwest Archaeological Conference

A stone fireplace exposed at Fort St. Joseph, Niles, MI.
(Click HERE for a larger version)

Since our exciting discoveries in 2002, members of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project at Western Michigan University (WMU) have been busy conducting analyses, preparing results for publication, and making arrangements to get back into the field. One of our top priorities has been to disseminate our findings to the public and the professional community. Towards that end we contributed an article to Michigan History magazine that was widely circulated. We presented papers on all aspects of the project from the dewatering and geophysics to architecture, animal remains, and artifacts at symposia at the annual meetings of the Midwest Archaeological Conference and the Society for Historical Archaeology. We also presented public lectures throughout the state at the Chippewa Nature Center ( Midland), the Castle Museum ( Saginaw), Michigan Historical Center ( Lansing), and Fort Miami Heritage Society ( St. Joseph). I even traveled to Sarasota, Florida this past winter to talk about the project. Papers have appeared, or been accepted for publication, in the Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, the Wisconsin Archaeologist, Le Journal, and the Journal of Field Archaeology, as well as an edited book. I also have three students who have completed or are working on Fort St. Joseph-related research for their M.A. theses (Rory Becker, Brock Giordano, and Yolanda Rico). Finally, our video, “In Search of Fort St. Joseph,” has been well received and shown to many public and professional audiences. A complete list of project outcomes is provided below.

Last summer, Bill Cremin (WMU field school co-director), Joe Brandao (WMU project historian), Terry Martin (project faunal analyst, Illinois State Museum), and I prepared a collaborative research grant proposal that we submitted to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The purpose of the grant is to begin a systematic examination of extant documents pertaining to the fort to learn more about daily life and to conduct further excavations to investigate the two buildings that we identified in 2002. We plan to determine the age, size, function, and method of construction of the two buildings; identify the identity of their occupants; and locate material evidence of activities that took place within and adjacent to the structures.

Of course, since we have no guarantee that we will be funded, we have also developed a backup plan. If the grant is not approved we will continue to work on the terrace above the fort to identify the extent and nature of the occupation there and determine if the site was occupied at the same time as the fort. We also propose to locate other related 18 th century sites in the vicinity of the fort to learn more about the fur trade and Native-French interactions in the St. Joseph River valley. As in 2002, we are again offering a local field school for high school students in July. This year we are adding a second week to train continuing education adults in archaeological field techniques.

We are very excited about the prospects again this season and we will be busy whether or not we secure funding to work on the fort site. In any event, we invite the public to visit our field site and learn more about our discoveries later this summer. Information about our activities and whereabouts can be obtained from Carol Bainbridge at the Fort St. Joseph Museum. Be sure to stay tuned!