Over the next few years, they returned several times to study and survey the area. Their 1972 survey noted evidence of a stockade line as well as piles of rocks which were discovered to be collapsed chimneys. One hundred years later, Douglas Birk and Douglas George, both archaeologists for the Minnesota Historical Society, visited the site while doing a statewide survey of archaeological sites. In 1869, a state surveyor described an old fortification he had discovered on the Leaf River. Most important, it was close to the villages of the people with whom he traded. It was located near a navigable waterway and contained the necessary natural materials with which to build his fort. He selected an area along the Leaf River to establish a wintering place. In 1792, he and his trading partner, Jean-Baptiste Cadotte, took an exploratory party down the Mississippi in hopes of accessing the pelt-rich areas in a contested zone between Dakota and Ojibwe territories. Réaume had a reputation as a popular and successful trader, particularly among the Ojibwe. A marriage was an important alliance that helped provide access to trade networks. The early French fur traders were dependent on American Indians for their help in procuring food and navigating the waterways of Minnesota. Like his father, Joseph became a successful fur trader and married an Indigenous woman. Jean Baptiste’s wife and Joseph’s mother, Marie Joseph, was most likely an American Indian. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Réaume, a member of an important trading family. Joseph Réaume was born at a wintering place on the Mississippi River in 1757. ![]() They confirmed a late-eighteenth century occupation, validating its association with Réaume's 1792 wintering activities. Between 20, the University of Minnesota conducted archaeological surveys and excavations at this location. One is located on private property along the Leaf River where Joseph Réaume, an independent fur trader, set up a winter camp in the late eighteenth century. Wadena County contains three known fur trade sites.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |