St. Croix River Access Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Croix River Access Site
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| Location | Address restricted , Stillwater Township, Minnesota |
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| Built | 800–1700 CE |
| NRHP reference No. | 84001712 |
| Designated NRHP | August 23, 1984 |
The St. Croix River Access Site is a special place in Stillwater Township, Minnesota. It's an archaeological site where people lived a very long time ago. This site is on the St. Croix River.
Archaeologists study old sites like this one to learn about the past. They found many stone tools here. People lived at this site between about 800 and 1700 CE. This means it was used for almost 900 years!
In 1984, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a list of important places in the United States. The St. Croix River Access Site is important because it helps us understand the Woodland period of Native American history. It shows how people lived, what tools they made, and how they used the land.
Discovering the Site
The St. Croix River Access Site was found in 1983. This happened during a special search for old sites. The search was done for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
What Archaeologists Found
Archaeologists dug 21 small areas at the site. These digs are called "excavation units." They learned that part of the site was damaged in the 1930s. But other parts of the site were still safe underground.
They found about 100 pieces of broken pottery, called "ceramic sherds." These pieces belonged to different Native American groups. This shows that different cultures used the site over many years. Some of these groups were the Kathio–Clam River, St. Croix, Sandy Lake, and Madison cultures.
Archaeologists also found rocks that had been heated by fire. These rocks suggest that there was a hearth or campfire area. This is where people might have cooked or kept warm.
Tools and Bones
The most exciting finds were animal bones and many stone tool pieces. They found 886 fragments of stone tools and small stone flakes. These flakes are tiny pieces that break off when someone makes a stone tool.
Finding so many stone tools and flakes, but fewer pottery pieces, tells us something. It suggests that people might have used this site for specific tasks. For example, they might have come here to process animal bones or prepare animal hides. It was likely a temporary camp, not a permanent village.
