The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project Founded in 1998, the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project is an ongoing, joint initiative of the C For more information visit our websites.

You are invited to witness and practice archaeology at the site of Fort St. Joseph, an 18th century French mission, garrison, and trading post discovered by Western Michigan University archaeologists in 1998. Join one of our summer camps in which middle and high school students, teachers, and lifelong learners work alongside members of the archaeological field school, now in its 36th year. Plan to

attend our open house event which features living history re-enactors, informational panels and displays, and ongoing excavations, enjoyed by over 10,000 visitors since 2006.

This past weekend many of our current and former field school students had the pleasure of taking a day trip to Colonial...
08/11/2026

This past weekend many of our current and former field school students had the pleasure of taking a day trip to Colonial Michillimackinac, where we got to explore the historical reconstructions, and talk with the site’s own team of archaeologists. We had lots of fun learning more about this other very important stop in the Great Lakes network, and comparing their collection with the sorts of artifacts found at FSJ!

And that’s a wrap! After backfilling excavation units on Tuesday our team spent the rest of the week digitizing paperwor...
08/07/2026

And that’s a wrap! After backfilling excavation units on Tuesday our team spent the rest of the week digitizing paperwork, sorting artifacts and packing up the field house. This season truly was amazing, but now it’s time to return to the lab to begin analyzing and interpreting everything we found!

Protecting the bisections so we can reopen some of the trench units again next year!

Some fun with photography before laying down the tarps 😉

Typing out all the notes we’ve taken over the past five weeks 📝

Cleaning, sorting and bagging the remaining artifacts

Our site director’s car packed to the brim with soil samples, artifacts and field equipment!

08/06/2026

our team having a little too much fun in the units before we had to backfill 😆

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08/06/2026

Join us tonight Thursday, August 6 for a Give Back event at Hacienda on Portage Road. All of the funds will stay in Niles to support archaeology at Fort St. Joseph.

Thank you so much to everyone who came out this past weekend to visit our annual Open House! We had such a blast showing...
08/05/2026

Thank you so much to everyone who came out this past weekend to visit our annual Open House! We had such a blast showing off the work we have been doing this past season, and getting to meet the members of the community who make our project possible 💙🔎

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08/04/2026

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08/03/2026
It’s a beautiful day and we will be here until 4!! Stop on by for a tour of the archaeology site, a chat with one of our...
08/02/2026

It’s a beautiful day and we will be here until 4!! Stop on by for a tour of the archaeology site, a chat with one of our reenactors and some delicious food from Wood Stock & Grill ☀️🍗

Thank you so much to the French Heritage Society for stopping by the Open House and supporting our work! The Society gen...
08/01/2026

Thank you so much to the French Heritage Society for stopping by the Open House and supporting our work! The Society generously provided a grant earlier this year to conserve architectural materials found at the site as well as the building of a replica door from the time period showcase how the artifacts would have been utilized. The newly conserved architectural artifacts are on display at the Niles History Center today and following this event.

08/01/2026

We will be here until 4 and again tomorrow at 10am! We have lots to do, see and learn, rain or shine!! 🌧️☀️

Address

Niles, MI
49120

Website

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