Assessing Preservation and Storage of the Detroit Archaeological Collections at Wayne State

FAIN: PG-271779-20

Wayne State University (Detroit, MI 48201-1347)
Megan Marie McCullen (Project Director: January 2020 to October 2022)

A preservation assessment and planning project to improve access to the museum’s archaeological collections that document the history of Detroit from the Revolutionary War era through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collections illustrate the military, social and economic history of the region and the transition of Detroit from a fur-trading center to a state capital. Materials from Fort Lernoult would be used by the museum as part of its preparation for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, in response to the grant program’s encouragement associated with “A More Perfect Union.”

This project evaluates the preservation and accessibility of Detroit Archaeological Collections (DAC) at Wayne State University’s Museum of Anthropology, as part of the NEH program A More Perfect Union. These collections highlight the development of Detroit and we will improve access to these collections for use within our University and Museum, and for our community partners. Our museum houses the bulk of archaeological materials excavated within Detroit, and includes major collections from the British (1760-1796) and American (1796-present) periods of the city, with more limited materials from earlier French and Indigenous periods. These collections reflect a shift from a small fur trade community into a thriving agricultural region, and then an industrial metropolis. Of particular significance as we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution are the well preserved architectural materials from Fort Lernoult, built by the British in Detroit in 1779.