Fort Ouiatenon, a French fur trading post, was founded on the Wabash River in present day northwestern Indiana in 1717. It flourished under French rule until their defeat by the British in the French and Indian War (1754-63). Under British management relations with the Native Americans, trade declined, although 900 Europeans and Natives were reported to live there in 1778. After the American Revolution, the fort continued its decline. By 1791, it was abandoned and the location lost.
In the 1870s “several silver crosses and a silver disc inscribed with the arms of France” were discovered near Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, along the Wabash River. This discovery led to a determined search for the location of the fort by successive historical societies in Tippecanoe County. In 1928, eight acres were acquired to preserve what was perceived to be the site of Fort Ouiatenon. A blockhouse was reconstructed at the new preserve.
Alas, by the 1960s it was becoming increasingly clear that the preserve was in the wrong place. Field studies at a site a mile west of the preserve were turning up artifacts associated with French forts and Native settlements. In 1968, archaeological excavations under the leadership of the Glenn Black Laboratory at Indiana University seemed to validate the actual location of the fort. Subsequent excavations by Purdue University, Indiana University, Michigan State University, and the University of Southern Indiana confirmed the location. A full 20 acres containing the French fort was acquired and protected in 1972 by the Tippecanoe County Historical Society.
Archival materials are sparse, but they suggested the French fort was surrounded by three native villages—the Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten—containing numerous structures and more than 1,000 Native people in the French period. Archaeologists using the latest remote sensing technology located the likely sites of these villages outside the fort. Beginning in 2013, the Tippecanoe County Historical Society, The Archaeological Conservancy, and the Roy Whistler Foundation began to purchase the Native village areas. To date, 216 acres have been acquired and permanently preserved.
Fort Ouiatenon is a very important part of French colonial America. This volume tells the story of the fort and the European and Native American people who made it so significant. It is also the story of the fort’s abandonment, loss, and rediscovery and details how dedicated advocates brought interested people and organizations together to acquire and permanently preserve the remains of the French fort and the Indigenous villages surrounding it. It is the story of a great preservation success. New developments are certain to come. —Mark Michel
