About Us
Support the Fort, Inc., is now an educational entity whose purpose is to bring to life the various personalities and live styles that would have been common during the French control of Fort St. Joseph. However, at its inception, Support the Fort was established to keep alive the memory of the fort with the intention to have its history preserved and eventually reconstruct the fort and build a facility that would house the artifacts from the hoped for archaeological digs.
Although there were several attempts through many generations under different names to protect the fort site, Support the Fort (STF) was the vision of determined long-time Niles, MI., residents whose efforts organized STF in March of 1992, with the idea to promote the site to the general public in hopes of raising funds to connect with an educational institution which would begin serious, long-term archaeological work on the site. Through a series of grants and successful fundraisers, Western Michigan University (WMU) took on the challenge.
On October 26, 1998, Dr. Michael Nassaney of Western Michigan University’s Anthropology Department began Phase I of the archaeological project. In November of 1998, Dr. Nassaney announced the finding of evidence of colonial occupation associated with Fort St. Joseph. During the months of May and June, 2002, structural remains of the fort were uncovered. Work continues to this day during the summer months revealing ever more cultural and physical remains, and will be in progress for the next several years due to the signing of an agreement which partners the City of Niles with WMU.