Fort St. Joseph brings together both students and the community.
NILES, Mich.—As the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project passes its 25th year, the work isn't just about unearthing artifacts; it's about the people behind the discoveries and the enduring impact on both history and lives.
“It’s wonderful to look back at how it all started where the project is now in terms of our research, the field school and summer camps and the strong community involvement,” says Director Erika Hartley, M.A.'17, who began working with the project as a Western Michigan University graduate student pursuing a masters of anthropology. “At that time, I never really imagined that I would still be involved with the project almost 10 years later, but I am really glad that I am.”
Established in 1691, Fort St. Joseph stood as a crucial French, and later British, colonial settlement in what is now Niles, Michigan. Its history faded after abandonment in 1781, yet local memory held firm, marked by a commemorative boulder in 1913. In 1998, the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project commenced, led by Western professor emeritus Dr. Michael S. Nassaney, uncovering the fort's site through surveys and excavations, supported by a passionate group known as Support the Fort and the city of Niles.
Over 25 years, the project has evolved, revealing over 320,000 artifacts, each telling tales of the fort’s history. The annual archaeological field school, initiated at Fort St. Joseph in 2002, became a cornerstone, engaging students like WMU undergraduate Carson Manfred, who found his passion for anthropology at the fort.
“There’s only so much you can do in a classroom,” says Manfred, who worked at the fort in 2023 as a lab coordinator. “You can learn a lot there, but putting it to use and doing it in an actual setting really teaches you more than you think.”
Manfred, who now works for the Niles History Center, has been deeply involved with the project since learning about it as a sophomore. As lab coordinator, Manfred helped to organize, discern and categorize artifacts, assisting fellow students along the way.
“Through this project, it helped me narrow my focus a little bit more and understand more of what I’m going to want to do. My big career goal would probably be to do cultural resource management—just getting out and being able to discover more through field work and be someone who is hands-on in the process is really my goal,” says Manfred.
In addition to welcoming both undergraduate and graduate students, the annual archaeological field school and the project overall actively engages the Niles community, where local volunteers play an integral role in the project's discoveries.
“I think my favorite part of the project was coming to the understanding that there are people who are outside of academia that take what we do very seriously and are really wholeheartedly interested,” says Dr. Andrew Beaupre, M.A.’11, who served as the public outreach coordinator for Fort St. Joseph from 2007-09. “I think that was one of the biggest benefits for me.”
While at Western, Beaupre spent time at Fort St. Joseph for his master's program in anthropology. As public outreach coordinator, Beaupre would organize events, teach a summer camp program and connect with the community.
“That’s kind of the project’s whole schtick,” says Beaupre. “The project is very much focused on the community.”
“The amount of help we get down in Fort St. Joseph just from volunteers and others who aren’t being paid is huge,” says Manfred. “They’re just volunteering because they want to, and that’s just a really big thing I’ve seen. It’s nice that there’s just a group of people that seem to really, really care about this.”
Manfred and Beaupre emphasized how the project's impact extended beyond unearthing history and fostering community; it significantly influenced their professional paths.
“We meet a lot of different people with anthropology majors that are working a lot of different jobs,” says Manfred. “They all have the same background that allows them to get to the field school, and it just shows how diverse you can take this single degree and where you can go with it.”
“There were really well established partnerships, with Support the Fort and the city of Niles and the Niles Museum,” says Beaupre. “These partnerships were great examples to follow for setting up my own work. It definitely shaped my career and to stay in French Colonial archeology, which is what I’ve done.”
While reflecting on the project’s hands-on experience opportunities for students, the impact of historical discoveries and the engagement with the broader community, Hartley is most excited about what the future holds for Fort St. Joseph.
“While it is great to celebrate the past 25 years, it is also fun to think about where we may be in the next 25 years,” Hartley says.
To get involved in Fort St. Joseph or to learn more about its history, visit its webpage.
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