Archaeologists, visitors look over findings at Fort of St. Joseph in Niles
Archaeologists, visitors look over findings at Fort of St. Joseph in Niles Save Email Print
Posted: 10:04 PM Jul 27, 2008
Last Updated: 10:04 PM Jul 27, 2008

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You may not know it, but Niles, Michigan, is home to history that dates back to years before the United States even became a nation.

The city of Niles is the site of the remains of the Fort of St. Joseph, an important colonial outpost along the St. Joseph River in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The fort is also the site of many successful archaeological digs.

On Sunday, actors, friends of "Support the Fort," and the University of Western Michigan teamed up to look at this year's findings.

"It's good entertainment. You can get more history than you can by just reading books. We basically live it -- that's why we call it 'living history.' It's a little more interesting," says Larry Horrigan, president of Support the Fort.

"This is like holy ground for archaeologists and historians; so much history took place here. Traveling down this river… I wish the river could talk to me about who was here," remarked David Schmid, who spent the day portraying a French soldier.

Also on Sunday, the Michigan Humanities Council announced that the Fort of St. Joseph will be awarded federal funding -- something that researchers and historians are very happy about.

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Posted by: Jan Location: Niles on Jul 29, 2008 at 08:45 PM
I added some pictures from the Open House here: http://www.squidoo.com/Fort_St_Joseph_Niles_MI There are many links & information about Fort St. Joseph here too.

Posted by: Barb Location: Lansing, MI on Jul 29, 2008 at 08:20 PM
This is great to hear about the federal funding for this project. I grew up playing in this area as a girl and have always wondered about the Fort. I was thrilled when they started this dig and that it seems to be successful. I worked at the public open house on Saturday and could not be more thrilled to see this come to life. I'll continue to follow this project as it continues to unfold over the years. Now, if we could only get the French dam removed, I think they would really find the rest of the old Fort.


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