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The
Fort
William
Archeological Project
Dr.
Effie Athanassopoulos
Department
of Anthropology
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dr.
William Hunt, Jr.
Midwest
Archeological
Center
National Park Service
Abstract:
Fort
William
was a trading
post established by the
St. Louis
firm Sublette and Campbell for the Assiniboin trade in 1833. It was
originally located at the confluence of the
Yellowstone
and
Missouri
Rivers
in present-day
North Dakota
. After
operating one year, the owner's sold the post and all its goods
to the American Fur Co.'s Upper Missouri Outfit (UMO). The UMO
dismantled the fort structures and moved them two miles up the
Missouri River
to
Fort
Union
, headquarters
of the UMO. There, it was reassembled about 200 yards east of
Fort Union and used to house lower status employees, store hay,
and provide a protected enclosure for the fort's cattle and
horse herds. An addition to
Fort
William
enclosed an
extensive gardens. The fort was also partially burned during the
1836 Deschamps family's massacre.
Fort
William
appears to
have been torn down in the 1840s. The site now lies within the
boundaries of Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. In
1976, the site was the focus of an archeological investigation.
A geomagnetic survey identified a number of magnetic anomalies
which likely relate to the fort's structures. This was followed
by archeological testing and the recovery of numerous fur trade
era artifacts. The goals of this project are to: 1) conduct
historical research for and preparation of a background history
of Fort William; 2) prepare an overview of the geophysical
inventory methods and results; 3) prepare an overview of the
archeological excavation; 4) conduct a laboratory analysis of
field data and artifact collection; and 5) complete a documented
narrative report of the investigation findings.
Funding
Agency:
National
Park Service
Modification
#: H6000A0100M
$5,000
Effective
Dates:
June 1, 2002
through
September 30,
2004
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