The Otsego Heritage Commission (Otsego is just northwest of the Twin Cities) is offering the public an opportunity to participate in an archaeological dig and assist in documenting the construction methods used in building the historic McDonald house in Otsego.  The McDonald house was initially constructed in the 1850s by the first Northern European settler in Wright County.  The event runs from 8 am to 5 pm daily, October 14, 15 and 16, 2011.  This flyer will give you detailed information about participating or just visiting the event.

On Tuesday October 18, 2011 at 6:30 pm the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness will host Lee Johnson, Forest Archaeologist, from the SuperiorNational Forest.  Johnson will give a presentation on the history of iron mining on the Gunflint Iron Range.  The presentation is titled “The PaulsonMine and the Port Arthur Duluth and Western Railroad:  Collapse of the Gunflint Iron Range.”  Come and learn about the Gunflint Iron Range, John Anderson Paulson’s iron mine, the fabled Port Arthur to Duluth railroad, and the financial panic of 1893.  The event will be held at the Murray-Herrick Campus Center, Room 304 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.  Check out the event web site to see other presentations that evening.  The event is free and open to the public.

On the first Saturday in October, from 10 am to 4 pm, the Minnesota Archaeological Society and Mille Lacs Kathio State Park will hold their annual Kathio Archaeology Day.  Come and experience demonstrations of flint-knapping, primitive bow making, spears and spear throwers. View displays of artifacts, ongoing projects and an archaeological excavation in progress in the park. Canoe tours will offer views and discussion about local archaeological sites.  The events are free and open to the public, but a State Park permit (annual or day pass) is needed to enter the State Park. 

If you would like some background about the archaeology of the park and the archaeologists who have worked here along with images of artifacts and archaeological excavations that have taken place in the park check out this link to a downloadable publication from the MnDNR titled Petaga Point Archaeological Site.

The Gopher State Archaeological Society will host its annual Fall Artifact Show at the Holiday Inn in Lakeville, Minnesota on Sunday, October 2, from 9 am to 3 pm.  The Holiday Inn is located just off of 35W, east and north of Exit #81 (20800 Kenrick Avenue).  There is a nominal admission fee.

On Saturday, September 24, 2011 the Northern Lakes Archaeological Society (NLAS) is hosting a presentation by Dave Norris, of Western Heritage Services, Inc.  Norris  has been excavating a large archaeological site just outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario.  The lecture is titled Archaeology in Thunder Bay:  How Modern Day Travel Corridors are Finding Ancient Ones.  The event will be held in the Superior Public Library, 1530 Tower Avenue, Superior, Wisconsin at noon.  For those who are geographically challenged, Thunder Bay, Ontario is just 40 miles from the Minnesota border and Superior, Wisconsin is across the bay from Duluth.

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State Park archaeologists have spent nearly a month working on a series ofarchaeological sites discovered while surveying the proposed route for a recreational trail at Glendalough State Park in Otter Tail County.  At one of the newly discovered sites the excavation units revealed a rock feature about 2 meters in diameter.  Initially identified as a few pieces of fire cracked rock in a shovel test excavation, further investigation revealed the complete feature.  The archaeologists will be back working at the site in the weeks following Labor Day.

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