Schmidt Site
Nearest cityBridgeport, Michigan[1]
Coordinates43°20′50″N 83°55′10″W / 43.34722°N 83.91944°W / 43.34722; -83.91944 (Schmidt Site)
Area40 acres (16 ha)
NRHP reference No.73000958[2]
Added to NRHPJuly 27, 1973

The Schmidt Site, also designated 20SA192, is an archaeological site located just south of the Cass River near Bridgeport, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[2]

History

The Schmidt Site was settled in the Archaic period, at a time approximately 6000 to 4000 years before the present.[3] The data suggest that the site was inhabited year-round over a number of years.[4]

The location of the Schmidt Site was first noted in modern times in the late 1950s. The first excavations were conducted by Bernard Spencer in 1962. In 1964, James Fitting from the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History continued the excavations. Work was continued in 1971 by Richard Mock of Saginaw Valley State University. It was revisited again in 1973 and 1977 by staff from Western Michigan University. Stone, stone tools, and animal bones were recovered from the site, as well as charcoal.[4] The bones primarily represented deer, but fish bones were also recovered.[5]

Description

The Schmidt Site is located on a rise just south of the Cass River, overlooking the marshy floodplain of the river. This rise would have been the shore of the prehistoric Lake Nippissing, or the earlier glacial Lake Algonquin.[3] The site itself borders an agricultural field, although much of the site has never been farmed. Material from the site is scattered about, covering an area of over 40 acres.[4] Much was recovered from relatively deep middens.[5]

References

  1. ↑ The Schmidt Site is listed as "address restricted," but the listed references show the location. Geo-coordinates are approximate.
  2. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  3. 1 2 (Julie Stein (1974), The Schmidt Site: A Geologic Report, Western Michigan University
  4. 1 2 3 (Jerry D. Fairchild (1977), The Schmidt Site: A Pre-Nipissing Village in the Saginaw Valley, Michigan, Western Michigan University
  5. 1 2 James E. Fitting (1969), "Settlement analysis in the Great Lakes region", Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 25 (4): 360–377, doi:10.1086/soutjanth.25.4.3629428
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