Archeological work is underway at Menominee Park in Oshkosh after it was confirmed a historically significant Native American village site was beneath the road bed, October 9, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A road construction project in Oshkosh has been delayed after archeologists working the site found an extensive Native American village.
Team members from the Cultural Resource Management program at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee are carefully digging beneath the road bed in Oshkosh’s Menominee Park. The program works with clients, in this case the City of Oshkosh, to preserve archaeological and architectural history.
To be in compliance with state law, protecting Wisconsin’s heritage, the Cultural Resource Management program has worked with the city since the start of this road resurfacing project.
Because of the history of the area, archaeologists knew there were archaeological deposits on both sides of the existing road and there was a high likelihood of remnants under the existing road too.
And that’s exactly what researchers have found.
“It’s a village site, so a place where people lived in the past. We’re looking at the archaeological signatures and archaeological deposits so things like houses, cooking pits, trash pits, there’s a considerable amount of cultural items, cultural materials associated with places people have lived in the past,” said Jennifer Haas, Director of the Archaeological Research Laboratory Center at UW Milwaukee.
Archaeologists believe the village was used from AD 900 until about 1600.
Teams are working on mapping out the village, while collecting some of the deposits as well. It will then all be preserved once the road resurfacing project resumes.
Haas added “We’re doing documentation of the different archeological features. We’re documenting those features and working with the city to preserve to the extent possible these archeological deposits in place as well as having a functional road that will last for many years.
Despite teams working on the site daily, the extensive archaeological work and discovery has put the road resurfacing project on hold, for now.
The stoppage forcing the city to relocate several popular fall and winter events, usually held in the park.
Norm Reichenberger, President of Oshkosh Celebration of Lights said, “We both kind of expected it, but had our fingers crossed that it wasn’t going to happen but it did and we started thinking about it and what we wanted to do.”
With only about a third of the more than mile long Celebration of Lights path available, the committee decided to relocate this year’s display. “EAA was gracious enough to offer their grounds out there for this year so we could put on a full show which route that we’ve tentatively have picked out is actually a little bit longer than what we have here in the park,” said Reichenberger about the new location.
While events are being moved, archeologists will continue to work in the park until the ground freezes, probably another month or so.
The hope is the resurfacing project can continue in the spring of next year.
In addition to the Celebration of Lights being moved, the City of Oshkosh is also relocating Brews at the Leach and Zooloween Boo to the Leach Amphitheater.
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