The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Summary

The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project is a collaboration between Western Michigan University and the City of Niles, MI to investigate, interpret, and preserve the physical remains of the site of Fort St. Joseph, a mission, garrison, and trading post complex occupied from 1691 to 1781 by the French then British. Since its inception, the Project has cultivated a robust program of public archaeology to involve and invest the community in the preservation of the site and more generally, the practice of archaeology.

Cite this Record

The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project. ( tDAR id: 366183) ; doi:10.6067/XCV88W3FQ4

Keywords

Culture
British Colonial • Euroamerican • French Colonial • Historic • Historic Native American • Miami • Potawatomi

Material
Building Materials • Ceramic • Dating Sample • Fauna • Fire Cracked Rock • Glass • Ground Stone • Macrobotanical • Metal • Shell • Wood

Site Name
Fort St. Joseph

Site Type
Archaeological Feature • Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Domestic Structures • Hearth • Historic Structure • Hunting / Trapping • Midden • Non-Domestic Structures • Palisade • Pit • Post Hole / Post Mold • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features • Rock Alignment • Settlements • Structure • Trash Midden

Investigation Types
Data Recovery / Excavation • Ethnohistoric Research • Geophysical Survey • Historic Background Research • Reconnaissance / Survey • Research Design / Data Recovery Plan • Site Evaluation / Testing

General
Cultural Interaction • Ethnogenesis • Fort St. Joseph • Fur Trade • garrison • Jesuit • mission • Public Archaeology • Trading Post

Geographic Keywords
Great Lakes • Pays d'en Haut

Temporal Keywords
Colonial Period

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1691 to 1781

Spatial Coverage

min long: -86.285; min lat: 41.794 ; max long: -86.238; max lat: 41.827 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contributor(s): Erin Claussen; Ian Kerr

Principal Investigator(s): Michael Nassaney

Repository(s): Western Michigan University - Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project; Fort St. Joseph Museum

Record Identifiers

Fort St. Joseph(s): 20BE23

Source Collections

Western Michigan University - Fort St. Joseph Archaeology Laboratory

Fort St. Joseph Museum - Niles, MI

Related Comparative Collections

Northern Indiana Center for History - South Bend, IN

Kalamazoo Valley Museum - Kalamazoo, MI

Resources Inside this Project (Viewing 1-61 of 61)

Documents

  1. Archaeology and History of Fort St. Joseph Panels (2008)
  2. Artifact Database Guide (2011)
  3. Collections Management Internship at the Michigan Office of the State Archaeologist and Its Application for the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project (2010)
  4. Crafting Culture at Fort St. Joseph: An Archaeological Investigation of Labor Organization on the Colonial Frontier (2005)
  5. Dirt to Desk: Macrobotanical Analyses From Fort St. Joseph (20BE23) and The Lyne Site (20BE10) (2009)
  6. Eating Ethnicity: Examining 18th Century French Colonial Identity Through Selective Consumption of Animal Resources in the North American Interior (2004)
  7. An Examination of Gunflints From the Fort St. Joseph Site (20BE23) in Niles, Michigan (2011)
  8. An Examination of Jesuit (Iconographic) Rings from the Fort St. Joseph Site in Niles, MI (2010)
  9. The Excavated Bead Collection at Fort St. Joseph (20BE23) and Its Implications For Understanding Adornment, Ideology, Cultural Exchange, and Identity (2009)
  10. Fort St. Joseph 1.0: Creating a Comprehensive Information Management Scheme for the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project (2010)
  11. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2000 Letter Report (2000)
  12. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2001 Letter Report (2001)
  13. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2002 Letter Report (2002)
  14. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2004 Letter Report (2004)
  15. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2006 Letter Report (2006)
  16. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2006-2007 Annual Report (2007)
  17. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2007 Field Season Summary (2007)
  18. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2007-2008 Annual Report (2008)
  19. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2008 Field Season Summary (2008)
  20. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2008-2009 Annual Report (2009)
  21. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2009 Field Season Summary (2009)
  22. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2009-2010 Annual Report (2010)
  23. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2010 Field Season Summary (2010)
  24. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2010-2011 Annual Report (2011)
  25. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2011 Field Season Summary (2011)
  26. Fur Trade Panels (2011)
  27. A Geophysical Survey of Fort St. Joseph (20BE23), Niles, Michigan (2008)
  28. Jesuits in New France/Religious Discoveries at Fort St. Joseph Panels (2009)
  29. Magnetometry Map (2004)
  30. Notes to Accompany the Fort St. Joseph, Niles, Michigan Magnetic Survey Data (2004)
  31. Outcomes of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 1998-2008 (2008)
  32. Sacred or Secular: Religious Materiality on the French Colonial Frontier (2011)
  33. Using GIS to Describe and Understand Archaeological Site Distribution: Mapping Fort St. Joseph (2010)
  34. Women of New France - Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project Booklet Series, No. 1 (2011)
  35. Women of New France Panels (2010)

Images

  1. 1900 Map of Location of Fort St. Joseph (1900)
  2. 2002 and 2004 Artifacts (2004)
  3. 2006 and 2007 Artifacts (2007)
  4. 2008 and 2009 Artifacts (2009)
  5. 2010 Artifacts (2010)
  6. Artist's Rendition of Fort St. Joseph (2011)
  7. Dewatering (2010)
  8. Early Collecting in the Vicinity of Fort St. Joseph (1900)
  9. Excavation (2010)
  10. Excavation Units (2010)
  11. Features (2010)
  12. Field Laboratory (2010)
  13. Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project Logo (2009)
  14. General Site (2010)
  15. Media Day (2010)
  16. Open House (2010)
  17. Summer Camps (2010)
  18. Wet Screening (2010)

Datasets

  1. 2010 Field Season Photograph Log (2010)
  2. Artifact Database (2011)
  3. Artifact Lexicon (2011)
  4. Artifact Photograph Log (2010)
  5. Magnetometry Data - 2/20/2003 (2003)
  6. Magnetometry Data - 6/5/2002 (2002)
  7. Magnetometry Data - 6/6/2002 (2002)
  8. Magnetometry Data - 7/3/2002 (2002)