Minnesota Prehistory

Shakopee Bridge Site

The Shakopee Bridge site, found in Mille Lacs County, is a Woodland site bordered by Rum River and Shakopee Lake. Thirty-six square meters were excavated in 1972, in the area where fishermen had often gathered on the bridge which stretched across the mouth of the river. Of the habitation features found throughout the excavation were 9 ricing jigs, 8 fire hearths, a refuse pit, 84 postmolds and a house outline and the occupational floor.

This site is believed to have been occupied intermittently over a span of several thousand years. The identification and occupations of the components is hard to identify and distinguish because of the shallowness of the Old Shakopee Bridge Site. Also with the mixture of the artifacts that were affected by tree roots and rodents.