Archaeological Investigation of the Marquette Mission Site, St. Ignace, Michigan 1971: A Preliminary Report
Reports in Mackinac History and Archaeology, Number 1
This report is the preliminary analysis of archaeological data recovered at the Marquette Mission Site in 1971. The interpretations presented are provisional, pending a re-examination of these data in a broader context which must be provided though more extensive archaeological investigation and additional historical research.
The purpose of archaeological research at the Marquette Mission Site was to seek evidence as a basis for evaluating the historical-archaeological significance and potential of the Marquette Park area. It was felt that information of this nature would be critical to any historical development plans. … Prior to our excavations, the Marquette Park area was believed to have been the site of the original 1671 Marquette Mission and of the later interment of Father Marquette beneath this mission in 1675. This assumption is based largely on the work of Reverend Edward Jacker, a priest at St Ignace during the 1870s and 1880s, who excavated the supposed site of the Marquette Mission in 1877.
Recognizing that sufficient time was not available to delineate and re-dig Jacker’s original excavation of Marquette’s burial site, our research was confined to searching for evidence of 17th century occupation and of the 1671 mission wall foundations, which Jacker maintained that he had discovered.
