new acquisition

A Woodland Village Turned Frontier Town

The Conservancy’s latest preserve in Michigan has had a number of important occupations.

The Fosters site, located in Saginaw County, Michigan, is a great example of a Late Woodland Native American Village and a Euro-American frontier town. The area has a rich history and prehistory. Native American villages were found here from about A.D.700 to 1100, and from approximately 1300 to 1400. Later, Euro-Americans moved to the area.

The current owners, Ken and Nadine Smith, are the direct descendents of Gardner Foster, who founded the town in 1859. The Foster family started a general store, a pickle production operation, and a winery. Fosters soon became a busy frontier town with a hotel, blacksmith shop, and bar.

Most of the Fosters site is now nothing more than a plowed field, but below the surface lie some of the richest intact archaeological remains in Michigan. Excavations at Fosters in the late 1960s and early 1970s revealed deposits buried at a depth of three or more feet. These included organic remains dating to the earliest occupations of the site.

The site was primarily a stone tool workshop during its earliest occupations. The surface is littered with many tools and the debris from their production. Prehistoric ceramics also are found on the surface. Two distinct types have been found at Fosters suggesting two prehistoric occupations. Mackinac sherds represent the earlier Woodland culture, and shell-tempered sherds reflect the latter occupation. This pottery change is important to the archaeological record because it reflects a cultural change that took place in this part of Michigan before A.D.1100.

The Fosters site may also shed some light on the history of the Sauk and Fox nations. Around A.D.1400 the Native American village at

These stone tools were recovered from the Fosters site during excavations in late 1960s. The site was used as a lithic workshop and its surface is littered with worked stone.

Fosters was abandoned. The people living at Fosters then may have been the ancestors of the Fox and Sauk, though more research is needed to confirm this. The Fox and Sauk moved west to what is now the Green Bay, Wisconsin, area. Fosters may hold some of the answers as to why the Fox and Sauk left the area.

The Fosters site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and on the State Register of Historic Sites in 1974. The land has been in the Fosters family for 145 years, and the Smiths were worried that it would be developed for housing or destroyed by the next owners. The preserve consists of 10 acres near the Flint River and will ensure the survival of one of the last remaining sites in Saginaw County. —Joe Navarri

Conservancy Plan of Action

SITE: Fosters CULTURE&TIMEPERIOD: Late Woodland to Historic A.D.700–1880s STATUS: The site is threatened by agriculture and residential development. ACQUISITION: The Conservancy is purchasing 10 acres for $23,000. HOWYOUCANHELP: Please send contributions to The Archaeological Conservancy, Attn:Fosters Project,5301 Central Ave. NE,Suite 902,Albuquerque,NM 87108-1517.