Looking Back on the Archaeology Open House

Hey Fort Followers,

The grand opening ceremony!

That time of year has come and gone, and excavations have wrapped down at the Fort. The wonderful thing about the end of our digging season is that we get to present all of our work and findings to the public at the Archaeology Open House! This is a really special experience that sees our mission come full circle. As a community service-learning program, the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project can only happen with radical public engagement, and all season long we are truly the beneficiaries of this exchange–we are housed and fed by the community of Niles and all those invested in the project. The open house is our chance to return the favor.

Student archaeologist Paige gives an
informative pit tour.

The two-day open house was a wild experience for me and the whole crew. From the 10 am ribbon cutting ceremony we were overwhelmed by an excited and open-minded crowd that probed us with insightful questions and offered their own knowledge of the Fort. One of the great things about this event is the returning visitors, who have been coming to visit this open house for many years, sharing their memories and stories from past years and following up on open questions. I loved seeing the excitement and joy on people’s faces when we present our pit tours, and our artifact display case as real physical testaments to our work.

The open house doesn’t just stop at our own work, it also features many historical reenactors who have tons of experience in bringing to life the work of generations of archaeologists and historians to contextualize just what was going on here on the banks of the St. Joseph River hundreds of years ago. Of the many exhibits we host, our supporters could see demonstrations of blacksmithing, watch the knapping process of stone tools, or learn about the ever-present muskets that leave us with so many durable artifacts.

Some participate in the voyageur
experience by taking a canoe ride.
Un, deux, troi, hey! 

The mutual support the community and the project provide each other is inspiring, and our open house last weekend was the physical embodiment of just what that relationship can achieve. I am looking forward to visiting many more of these, and we all are very grateful for your interest in and commitment to our public archaeology.