Pratt Trail: A path to preserving history and heritage

In 2023 and 2024, a routine construction project in Menominee Park unearthed pottery and other artifacts in an area identified as an extensive Native American village circa AD 900 to 1600.  Cultural material such as grit-tempered Woodland (500 B.C.–A.D. 1200) and Oneota shell-tempered (A.D. 1350-1630) pottery were encountered during the road work. Cultural features in the form of pits and post molds were encountered as well. The Pratt Trail reconstruction project was suspended as archaeologists from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee were brought in to assess and ensure protection of the archaeological items. The City of Oshkosh also engaged with the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Tribal Nations to ensure compliance with laws protecting our state’s heritage. Seth Schneider, Ph.D., of the Archaeological Research Laboratory Center at UWM, will share his experience working at the site, describe the artifacts found and discuss the importance of preserving this historically significant village site beneath the newly constructed road.