What was happening 15,000 years ago in the region that is now Evansville?

Come to Lake Leonard Leota Park (the Upper Park), August 27, 2023, 12:00pm – 3:00pm to hear the answer to this question. This event is hosted by the Grove Society of Evansville

The Program

12:00 p.m.

Lunch. Stephans will be cooking on the restored historic wood fired fireplace. Brats, dogs, and other good stuff will be served.

1:00 p.m.

George Christiansen III, noted Lecturer with the Department of Anthropology, Madison Area Technical College – Truax Campus, will discuss the Ice Age in Wisconsin and what was happening 15,000 years ago in Evansville.

A Brief Introduction to the Archaeology of Rock County, Wisconsin

The first people to live in the area that we call Rock County today found their way into the fertile river valleys and rolling hills almost 13,000 years ago. Since then, their story has been one of adaptation and survival in the face of changing natural and social environments. Understanding the basic history of the region leads us to realize that while there is a framework for their story, there are important pieces missing. Discovering that lost history will be a future challenge and must involve revisiting 150 years of previous archaeological research, reaching out to First Nations people and avocational citizen scientists and most important, long term dedication by a community of stakeholders.

2:00 p.m. 

Dennis James, volunteer Chapter Coordinator – Rock County Ice Age Trail Alliance, will continue the conversation and tell us about the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and its development here in Evansville. Mr. James will have some displays and Monty, the  Ice Age Trail Alliance mammoth mascot, will be there. The presentation will cover the Ice Age and the geology it created in Wisconsin and Rock County, the Ice Age Trail, and the contributions of the local volunteers with the Rock County Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance.

Event Details

• Sunday, August 27, 2023
• Noon – 3:00 pm

Location

• Lake Leonard Leota Park (Upper Park), Evansville

Presenters

George W. Christiansen III is a professional archaeologist with over 30 years of experience in the pre- and post-contact archaeology of the Upper Great Lakes. He currently is a senior lecturer at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin, Director of the Center for Wisconsin Archaeology and the Vice President of the Wisconsin Archeological Society. His research has focused on the pre-European/American peoples of the Upper Great Lakes with a particular emphasis on the period between AD 700 and 1250 and the cultural ramifications of the transition to agriculture.

Dennis James has been volunteering on the Ice Age Trail in Rock County since 2010. He has been the Chapter Coordinator for the Rock County Chapter of the Ice Age Trail since 2014. He is passionate about working on the trails in Rock County alongside fellow volunteers to improve them for the benefit of all users. Special projects this year are improving 100-year-old parts of the Devil’s Staircase Trail, addition of an 856-foot boardwalk in the Storrs Lake Wildlife Area, blazing trail in Evansville and Gibbs Lake, and seeing the National Park Service Rock County Corridor Plan implemented. Dennis is also the current President of the Friends of Rock County Parks.