Portage Area
Free to the Public
Registration is required. Contact the WAS Secretary at 608-792-0781 or email jdowiassch@uwlax.edu to register or for more information.
The Wisconsin Archeological Society will host a table at the Historic Indian Agency House’s (HIAH) Archaeological Dig Weekend.
By the Beach/Bathhouse
State Park Road Sherwood, WI 54169
1767 State Highway 13, Friendship, WI 53934
Visit the Wisconsin Archeological Society’s table at the Badger State Archaeological Society Artifact Show!
Washington County Fair Park & Conference Center, 3000 Highway PV, West Bend, WI 53095
Visit the Wisconsin Archeological Society’s table at the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center’s Artifact Show!
Valley View Mall, 3800 State Road 16, La Crosse, WI 54601
The Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association is proud to announce the 2025 Ghost Ships Festival on Friday, February 28th and Saturday, March 1st in Manitowoc, Wisconsin at the Inn on Maritime Bay.
The event, originally held in Milwaukee from 2000 to 2017, is a community gathering for those interested in the thousands of historic lost ships that lie on the bottom of the Great Lakes. This year's Ghost Ships Festival will feature 3D tours of newly discovered Great Lakes shipwrecks using the latest virtual reality headset technology as well as an opportunity to Pilot ROVs (Remote Operated Vehicles) over a “shipwreck” in the event center’s pool.
This year’s festival will also highlight the 50th anniversary of the loss of Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975 and will feature live music, presentations by underwater archaeologists, shipwreck hunters, documentary producers. It will culminate in the reveal of a major new shipwreck discovery on Lake Superior.
The festival will also feature merchandise booths and exhibits from regional artists, musicians, authors, historians, underwater archaeology programs, dive shops, dive charters and dive clubs.
Admission to the Friday night programs will be free to the public courtesy of the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, but registration is required for the main show on Saturday.
The public is encouraged to attend and pre-registration for the full event can be made online at ghostshipsfestival.com. Pre-registration tickets are $25 each for the full two-day event, or $30 at the door. Youth under 18 will be admitted for free!
Tuesday, December 10, 2024: Dr. Seth Schneider, UW-Milwaukee, Pratt Trail in Menominee Park
More information coming soon!
November Meeting: The November meeting of the Robert Ritzenthaler Archeological Society will be held on Tuesday evening, November 12, 2024 at 7 pm in Halsey Hall 228 at UW-Oshkosh.
Speaker: Dan Seurer
Title: “History and Archeological Potential of Wisconsin Lime Production Facilities”
Abstract: Wisconsin has a long history in the production of lime and related products. With easy access to high quality dolostone (a variant of limestone), the state was well positioned for producing lime for the construction and paper making industries. In the early 20th century, Wisconsin was the third largest producer of lime and Wisconsin’s Western Lime and Stone was the largest such company in the United States. In this presentation, we will focus on the history of lime production from the region around Lake Winnebago and the Fox Valley area. Early lime production from places such as Fort Howard through the small pre-industrial era facilities through to the larger industrial size plants will be covered. Finally, we will discuss the archeological potential of the early lime facilities, including how to identify potential unknown kilns through examination of literature and historical maps and field surveys.
Other upcoming presentations:
Tuesday, December 10, 2024: Dr. Seth Schneider, UW-Milwaukee, Pratt Trail in Menominee Park
Please join us in congratulating our two newest Increase Lapham Research Medal Recipients, Leslie Eisenberg and Heather Walder during the Midwest Archaeological Conference in Milwaukee!
Please join the Robert Ritzenthaler Archaeological Society for a presentation on Silver Mound by Robert “Ernie” Boszhardt of Driftless Pathways
The Speaker will be Melanie Radzicki McManus. She is the author of the memoir Thousand-Miler: Adventures Hiking the Ice Age Trail published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2017. She will talk about her record-setting trek along the 1,200-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail. She will also speak about the history of the National Scenic Trail system and how the Ice Age Trail came into being. She also wrote "100 Things to do in Wisconsin Dells Before You Die". Both books will be available for purchase after her talk.
September 14, 2024
10am – 2pm
Location TBD
Registration Required
More details coming soon!
August 17, 2024
10am - 2pm
Roche-a-Cri State Park
1767 Hwy 13 Friendship, WI 53934
Free to the Public
More details coming soon!
Free to the public!
Join the Wisconsin Archeological Society for a full day of activities for adults and children at High Cliff State Park on the north end of beautiful Lake Winnebago. Join us for presentations on the lime kiln ruins and tours of the mounds. In addition there will be activities throughout the day oriented toward understanding the local history, fundamentals of archaeology, and artifact identification. There will be activities geared toward children.
Grant applications are due June 7, 2024
Visit the grant page for more information!
https://wiarcheologicalsociety.org/masonmemorialgrant
Opening the Door: The Ghost Ports of Door County
Speaker: Amy Rosebrough, Wisconsin State Archaeologist
Location: Halsey Hall 228 (UW-Oshkosh)
Speaker:
Dr. George Christianson III
Tentative Title:
Forthcoming
Abstract:
Forthcoming
Speaker:
Dr. Richard W. Edwards, IV
Title: There’s No Place Like Home: An Investigation of Oneota Houses
Abstract: Houses are often central locations for social and economic behavior. Anthropologists often center their studies on houses and households because their design and layout, individually and collectively, can provide insights into the culture and daily life of the people of a given community. This was as true a thousand years ago as it is today, though the study of ancient houses is often hampered by incomplete structures and limited excavation. This talk describes what is known about houses in what is now Wisconsin during the Late Precontact (ca. AD 1100-1400) period and discusses what these structures tell us about these ancient communities.
Details to be announced
Speaker:
Dr. William Balco
Tentative Title:
Forthcoming
Abstract:
Forthcoming
Speaker:
Kurt Sampson
Tentative Title:
Forthcoming
Abstract:
Forthcoming
10 am - 2 pm
Camp Mercer Interpretive Trail - see the DNR website for details on how to access the trail
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/StateForests/nhal/history
The Civilian Conservation Corp administrative camp, Camp Mercer, in Manitowish, contains a self-guided interpretive trail open year-round. In 2023, the entrance to the camp will be rebuilt adding to its original ambience. Several members-only tours are planned throughout the day by guides who were part of the rediscovery and interpretation of this important camp. Also, the discovery included a previous logging operation and evidence of moonshining - both part of the tour!
Speaker:
Dr. Seth Schneider
Tentative Title:
A Late Precontact Village on the Western Shore of Lake Winnebago in the City of Neenah
Abstract:
Forthcoming
Speaker:
Jaremy Cobble
Title:
“Archaeological Investigations at the Henschel Site (47SB29): A Multicomponent Site in the Sheboygan River Watershed”
Abstract:
The Henschel site (47SB29) is a multicomponent site within the Sheboygan River Watershed, spanning Late Paleoindian to Postcontact (ca. 8000 BC to ca. 1850 AD). Over the past one-hundred years, the Henschel site has been the location of several archaeological investigations. This presentation will focus primarily on three excavations: a suspected Middle Wooodland mound investigated in the early Twentieth Century by local antiquarians, an Early Woodland village site excavated by the Milwaukee Public Museum (Archaeological Rescue) from 1987-1989 and a Red Ocher burial by Marquette University in 1996, which was accidentally discovered. Various aspects of the excavations will also be compared with other similar sites in the Midwest.
Roche-a-Cri State Park
1767 Hwy 13, Friendship, WI, 53934
Free to the public!
Roche-a-Cri State Park in Friendship is the only public venue where ancient rock art is interpreted and easily accessible to visitors. A rock art expert will discuss the pre-EuroAmerican contact and historic rock art at the park and then there will be an opportunity for kids and adults to draw their own rock art on paper.
Everyone is welcome to join in the midsummer celebration of the 120th Anniversary of the Wisconsin Archeological Society! A full day of activities are planned for adults and children at High Cliff State Park on the north end of beautiful Lake Winnebago. Activities will include presentations on the lime kiln ruins, tours of the mounds, and tours of the plants and geology of the park. Activities held at the Gathering Space will be oriented towards understanding the local history, the fundamentals of archaeology and ancient technologies.
In the evening, Society members are welcome to enjoy a social gathering and dinner followed by a lecture on the past, present and future of the Wisconsin Archeological Society.
1 PM - 3 PM: Forest Hill Cemetery
3 PM - 5 PM: Hoyt Park Roys Shelter
For the General Public and Membership
Please join us at the gravesite of C.E. Brown in Forest Hill Cemetery on May 13, 2023 for recognition of the life and work of Charles E. Brown by Robert Birmingham. A tour of the Forest Hill Cemetery Group will follow. Upon completion of the tour, join Society members at the Hoyt Park Roys Shelter for light appetizers, beverages, conversation and reflection.
In the early decades of the twentieth century, there was a brief boom in industrial-scale iron mining in the Baraboo Range Iron District in central Wisconsin. Freedom Mine, located in LaRue, Wisconsin, is one of the few examples of these iron ore mines left in the region, and its underground workings remain immaculately preserved underwater. Facing an ever present threat of flooding while in operation, the site was rapidly inundated in 1911, causing miners to leave tools and equipment in place. Today, this allows archaeologists a rare opportunity to study how these iron mines operated. Although operations at the Freedom Mine were relatively small and short-lived, the site’s features are illustrative of the region’s typical mining practices. Utilizing underwater archaeological survey, and surveys of the site’s remaining historic foundations, this presentation examines Freedom Mine as a representative example of iron mining in Wisconsin and highlights the most recent archaeological work completed at the site.
Visit the Wisconsin Archeological Society’s table at the Badger State Archaeological Society Artifact Show!
Washington County Fair Park & Conference Center, 3000 Highway PV, West Bend, WI 53095
