New book digs deeper into archaeology, history of Fort Ouiatenon

Release event today for a book that goes deep into an 18th century fur-trading outpost that serves as the centerpiece for the Feast of the Hunters’ Moon

• Thanks to sponsorship today from the Presidential Lecture Series at Purdue. Join Purdue President Mung Chiang and Rev. John I. Jenkins, who has served as the president of the University of Notre Dame for nearly two decades, for a discussion at 7 p.m. Feb. 29 in Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall. This event is free and open to the public with a general admission ticket. Learn more and reserve your seat: purdue.edu/president/lecture-series.

Get tickets here

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NEW BOOK DIGS DEEPER INTO ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY OF FORT OUIATENON

Fort Ouiatenon is the centerpiece of the Feast of the Hunters’ Moon, an annual reenactment of 18^th century life along the Wabash River that draws tens of thousands of visitors to Tippecanoe County for one weekend each fall.

A new book, “The History and Archaeology of Fort Ouiatenon: 300 Years in the Making” (Purdue Press), debuts Saturday, Feb. 24, with new looks at the outpost, from its founding in 1717 through work being done today at the site one mile west of the county park that hosts the Feast.

Ahead of a launch event Saturday, here’s a conversation about the book and about Fort Ouiatenon with editors David Hovde, a member of the Tippecanoe County Historical Association Board of Governors; Kory Cooper, with the Purdue Department of Anthropology; and Misty Jackson, founder and principal investigator for Arbre Croche Cultural Resources, an archaeological and  anthropological cultural resources consulting company.

(Note: The authors handled these questions, emailed ahead of Saturday’s book launch, as a group assignment to tell the story about the book. Parts where someone chimed in individually are marked.)

Question: What was the germ of the idea for the book on Fort Ouiatenon and how did it come together?