The Battle Point Site, also designated 20OT50, is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

located on Battle Point, along the Grand River in Crockery Township,

Ottawa County, Michigan Ottawa County ( ) is a Counties of the United States, county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, United States 2020 Census, the population was 296,200. The county seat is Grand Haven, Michigan, Grand Haven ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1973.

Historical context

Battle Point was the site of Fort Village and an

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...

Indian burial ground, likely used for a span of about 20 years between 1815 and 1835. The Odawa at the site were led by Chief Onamontapay. In 1836, the Treaty of Washington ceded the lands north of the Grand River to the United States. As a result, the

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

Chief Shiawassee, then living upriver at the confluence of Crockery Creek and the Grand River, called a council at Battle Point, where he attempted to induce the Odawa living there and other local groups to revolt and massacre European settlers. However, the Rev. William Ferry and his Indian friends successfully defused the situation. However, Chief Shiawassee and his Potawatomi soon moved out of the area, and the village at Battle Point was abandoned by the Odawa at about the same time. However, some Odawa families continued to live in the area, and a Native American school was established on Battle Point in 1855. These families continued to live in the Battle Point area as late as 1878.

Archaeological excavations

The burial sites on Battle Point were forgotten for many years. However, the site was brought to the attention of amateur archaeologists in the 1950s, when erosion from the cutting action of the nearby river uncovered some of the burial sites. Five of these were excavated at that time by the Coffinberry chapter of the Michigan Archaeological Society. Nine further graves were excavated in 1971-2 by researchers from

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...

. The artifacts recovered from the burial sites were primarily American and European trade goods. These included utilitarian goods such as knives, firesteels, gunflints, axes, and kettles. Also included were decorative goods such as silver brooches and bracelets, clay pipes, and glass beads.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Ottawa County, Michigan Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan