| West Michigan Research and History |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Hello, my name is Ken Price and I am an Avocational Archaeologist/Researcher. I am in the process of researching and documenting prehistoric and historic locations in the West Michigan area. I do this as a hobby and my thirst for local history. It seems like a race against time since our history (and prehistory) is being lost every time an area is developed or destroyed by urban sprawl. "Pieces" of our history "puzzle" are most often overlooked or tossed into cigar boxes without realizing how important that one small object could actually fill in the big "puzzle" picture. I trying to make contact with local collectors, history enthusiasts, and land owners that are interested in finding out more about their local history. I will try to use this website to help educate and show the progress I am making in my research of the area. You may notice that I don't give out exact locations of where things were found. This is for the privacy of the land owners and the preservation of the site. I consider burial sites sacred and respect the area when I am taking measurements and mapping locations. If you have a collection from the area or know of potential site locations, please email me. |
| Here is a sample of artifacts found in the West Olive area. I did not find these, but received them as a group. 1) The first picture is of pottery "sherds". These can be difficult to spot because they usually resemble the sand and dirt around them. Notice the texture and the detail on the surface. These sherds are about 1000 years old. 2) These are flakes. Flakes are the pieces that are flake off chert(stone) to make tools and points. They are very thin and angular. 3) These are very detailed points. The brown broken piece on the right (Hi-Lo point) is about 9,000-10,000 years old. The one on the left appears to be a Clovis points(no fluting?) which is about the same age. |
| 1 |
| 2 |
| 3 |
   |
![[History]](http://us.yimg.com/i/ligans/cb/smtdih.gif) |
|
|
 |
| This is in the Webster Site area around the Hardy Dam. This unsual pile of stones reminds me of a burial, but may be just a pile of fields stones. It is near an old privy site. To determine the size, you can see a Quarter just to the lower right, middle of the picture. |
 |
| This point was found in the Webster Site area while the area was being cultivated. This is one of many artifacts that belong to S.F. and the site is named after her family. This is beleived to be about 2000-3000 years old. |
 |
| This is the edge of a burial mound located in the White River area. You may be able the see the base of the mound onthe left side and the higher part of the mound toward center. This is about 3ft tall and about 25 ft wide. The dark trunk is a large pine tree on the ridge of the mound. I was able to document the location in June, thanks to the land owners permission. |
 |
 |
 |
| Here is a sample of some logging artifacts. I have not identified the print yet, but it was a typical scene along the Muskegon and White Rivers. These items came from the Freye Collection. Richard Freye was a local Historian and Archaeologist. I wished I could have met him and compared notes. He will be missed. |
| All photos are property of Ken Price. Copying or preproducing these photos are prohibited unless written permission is granted. |
|