The Algonquian newsletter of the Algonquin Club of Detroit & Windsor Page 2
The Algonquian ( www.algonquinclub.info) Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario May 2011.
The Algonquin Club is an educational, international, not-for-profit organization for the study of history, especially as related to the local region. Membership is open to all people with an interest in the heritage of Detroit, Windsor and the Great Lakes. The annual membership fee is just $20 (U.S./Cdn).
President’s message
This is the last President’s Message before the summer. After the Executive meets in June we will send out a report with a preliminary list of speakers for the next season, a financial statement, and something about our club future. We have tried repeatedly to fill positions of responsibility and I’m not sure what will happen if our executive decides they can no longer carry the added burden of extra portfolios.
On a much more pleasant note four of our members acted as judges at the Michigan State History Day held at Grand Valley State University. What a wonderful experience! If the young people that I had the good fortune to spend a few minutes with are an example then I know that History is alive and well and its future is secure. They’re in depth research and presentation skills were exemplary and the topics under the heading ‘Debate and Diplomacy in History’ were quite varied. Linda and I dealt with senior group and individual exhibits respectively and thoroughly enjoyed our selves. I would like to congratulate the Michigan Historical Society for organizing this event. If you want to refresh your enthusiasm for history you should consider volunteering next year
17 May 2011 Speaker
Our speaker for May, Herb Colling, was supposed to speak last September but that meeting was cancelled. Well he will be presenting the topic ‘Grist Mills of Southern Ontario’ and will be specifically covering those in the LaSalle area just south of Windsor.
Herb has written several other books covering the history of Windsor and the surrounding area. He is a resident of Belle River and is very familiar with the French and their settlement.
April Meeting
Dr. Thomas Killion, Archaeologist.
Around 1850, in Corktown behind the Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church the workers wooden row houses were built. From 1818-1838, Detroit changed from a frontier outpost to a full city. In 1820 Detroit's population was only 1,442. The Corktown neighborhood was on the west side and officially mapped by 1825. Corktown was named for the Irish immigrants who left by Port of Cork City in Ireland.
Map gridlines were changed to accommodate the industrial growth to house the workers. Corktown was attractive to immigrants in the 1840's and 1850's who were fleeing poverty in their homeland. The Irish potato famine drove many Irish citizens to immigrate to other countries, especially Canada and the United States.
In 2006, Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church and the nearby row houses were chosen for an archaeological dig. Corktown was a melting pot of German, French, Indians, Canadian and African-Americans. Their occupations included laborers, boilermakers, builders, dressmakers, fireman and peddlers. Interestingly, Corktown was never exclusively Irish.
In May 1884, Sunborn Insurance created the first map of the area. Although not visible on later black and white copies, the original map used color-coding to distinguish brick versus wooden houses. In some cases it even provided details of which businesses were housed in the buildings. Among these houses on the map was the Trowbridge House (1826), which is the oldest house in Detroit.
Moving ahead to 2006, a graduate student from Ball State University developed a plan for a 3-part museum house. Each section represented different eras. However they needed an archaeologist and this is were Dr. Killion came in.
In depth research yielded several rental records and multiple death certificates. Of the 30 death certificates found, 9 were of people born in Ireland. In May 2008 they were still busy cataloging. Striations in the walls of the digs reflected the layers of what happened on the site through the years. Compressed layers of construction, plumbing, gardens, etc. were uncovered. Interestingly and unexpectedly no sign of a privy was found. However, there was evidence of shed fires as shown by layers of white ash from a hot fire that burned the structure to the ground.
There was also a layer representing the strip field remnants from farmland usage from the early 1800's. An unusual layer of red was also unearthed, which turned out to be brick dust from the church exterior when it had had white paint sandblasted off its red bricks in 1964.
Complete but empty bottles of milk, beer and whiskey were found buried in the ground. Also, Kaolin clay smoking pipes from all over the world were unearthed along with several common household items such as thimbles, brushes, dolls and Miraculous Medals.
Next steps include a publication about the life and times of those who lived in Corktown. Also using the Hart Insurance maps to find currently empty lots that may be future dig sites. In one instance, students have already dug over 150 test pits (6ft deep by 2 feet wide) on an empty lot. Their perseverance yielded a buried wall or a structure of some type.
In May they hope dig more test pits in Roosevelt Park by the Train Terminal. The park was established in 1913 by wiping out several houses. The ground has been relatively undisturbed since the park was established. Again by overlaying a Harts Insurance map there is proof that several structures were on this site in the 1800s.
Dr. Killion invited Algonquin Members to this summer's digs. Volunteers need to notify him by May 9th and digs will take place by June 26th.
The last resident in the Corktown Row houses donated the building to the church when he went into a nursing home in 1987.
Address & Contact Info
American Mail: Art Woodford Algonquin Club – Detroit. 3284 S. Channel Dr. Harsen’s Island MI 48028
Canadian Mail: Algonquin Club - Windsor. 113 Kingswood Drive, Kingsville, ON N9Y3N2
Meeting Reservations
Regular meetings of the Algonquin Club are held on the third Tuesday of each month from September through May (nine times annually) with the venue alternating between the two countries. Gathering time is usually 6:30 P.M. with the program of a dinner and a keynote speaker starting at 7:00 P.M. Admission to just cover expenses is typically less than U.S./Cdn.$25. Reservations are required by the Thursday prior to the meeting.
To confirm your attendance, please contact either, American V.P. Jim Conway (Grosse Pointe Farms, MI) o.(313) 628-0796 h.(313) 885-5630
or Canadian President Bob Lynch (Windsor, Ontario) 519.733.5586
Meeting Venues
Regular gathering facilities for the Algonquin Club are wheelchair accessible with everything at grade level without stairs, including the meeting room, washrooms, and the bar.
Clawson Steak House restaurant: 56 South Rochester Road, Clawson, Michigan 48017 (southwest of E. 14 Mile Rd. & S. Rochester Rd., 3 traffic-lights west of I-75 at Oakland Mall Exit 65-B)
(248)588-5788 Fax(248)588-8411 Web-site: www.clawsonsteakhouse.com E-mail:
Fogolar Furlan Club: 1800 E.C. Row Avenue / North Service Road, Windsor, ON N8W1Y3
(between Howard Ave. & Walker Rd.) 519-966-2230 Fax: 519-966-2237 Web-site: www.fogolar.com
.5" fold-line>