The Search for the Lost and Alleged French Fort Sites on Prairie Island, Goodhue County, Minnesota.

Abstract

In 1885 archaeologist Theodore Lewis mapped the remains of site GD-88, an old palisaded work on Prairie Island near Red Wing, Minnesota. Lewis' description led many scholars to believe that he had found the site of an early French trading center that was guessed to be either Pierre Le Sueur's 1695 post of Paul Marin's 1750s For La Jonuiere. Despite the obvious importance of such a discovery and the apparent detail of Lewis' observations, no one has ever duplicated his find. The site of the old palisaded work has become lost and even after a century continues to elude archaeologists. This report summarizes recent efforts by the Institute for Minnesota Archaeology to relocate GD-88 and assess the extent of French presence on Prairie Island.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 08, 1984
Accession Number
ADA160738

Entities

People

  • D. A. Birk

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Animals
  • Archeology
  • Army Corps Of Engineers
  • Artifacts
  • Construction
  • Embankments
  • Engineers
  • Excavation
  • Fish
  • Glass
  • Materials
  • Minnesota
  • Observation
  • Photographs
  • Security
  • Silica Glass
  • Smoke Screens

Readers

  • Archaeological Resource Survey
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.