Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1970s-2010s (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Biographical history
Doug Birk’s involvement with Cass county began around 1979, conducting field surveys and surface collections at Gull Lake in connection with wastewater treatment projects. Elden Johnson previously identified sites in the Gull lake area in the 1970s and Birk identified more sites from 1982 to 1984 with Northland Archaeological Services. Birk conducted surveys for sites that were disturbed by road construction, including a 1979 survey of areas around Brockway Lake. There currently are 301 known precontact or early contact (Dakota) Native American archaeological sites in Cass county. An additional 217 sites are located within the Chippewa National Forest, nearly all of which were occupied during the Woodland Period.
Scope and content
This series focuses on various Cass County survey and archaeological projects. Records include National Register nomination forms; artifact analyses; correspondence and memos; drafts of sample surveys; pre-histories of the region; newspaper clippings and cultural resource reconnaissance survey reports that date from the 1970s to the 2000s. Other records include photos of sites within the county and maps. Additionally, there are photocopied records dating to the mid-1930s of identified Indian mounds and burial sites as unmarked Historic Sites, likely done by WPA workers. Please note: this series is closely related to record group 2, series 13: Mounds (boxes 20-21).