Hot Iron, Cold Winters: Unearthing Stories of the Fayette Historic Town Site

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Research, Interpretation, and Engagement in Post-Contact Archaeology of the Great Lakes Region" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Fayette town site (20DE19) is the focal point of the Fayette Historic State Park in Delta County, Michigan. Fayette was an iron smelting company town during the late nineteenth-century and at least portions of several original structures remain. The site is open to the public and the structural remains are a key element of an active interpretive program. Archaeological investigation of the town site has taken place sporadically over a period of nearly fifty years. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of archaeological fieldwork and to synthesize data generated by both archaeology and collections research. This allows us to construct a more cohesive narrative of life at the Fayette town site that contributes to our knowledge of the site, to our understanding of the iron production industry of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and to public interpretation and engagement for visitors to the park.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Research, Interpretation, and Engagement in Post-Contact Archaeology of the Great Lakes Region   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology