Archaeologist Looks For Remains Of 200-Year-Old Green Bay Military Fort

An archaeologist at Green Bay’s Neville Public Museum has spent the summer looking for evidence of the remains of Fort Howard.

Kevin Cullen, deputy director of the museum, is using ground penetrating radar to locate the outline of the fort on what is now an industrial lot just west of the Fox River.

The radar looks like a push snow blower or lawnmower, but it can see up to 30 feet underground.

“Archaeologists are using this now in the U.S. and around the world to document and try to find foundations, particularly, or any kind of ground disturbance,” Cullen said.

The same type of radar was used to discover the remains of King Richard III under a parking lot in Leicester, England in 2015. Cullen said the radar works well in almost any situation, “particularly in parking lots where you’re not going to be digging anywhere.”

The suspected site of the fort isn’t paved, but Cullen is using the radar to strategically dig.

So far, he’s found shards of crockery and more, including a clasp that might be from a uniform.

“It’s a buckle anyway, it’s either from a belt or a shoe. It’s hard to say, it’s all copper, definitely the 19th century, but it’s a matter of — we’d have to figure out what it came off of,” Cullen said.

Fort Howard was established in 1816 and decommissioned in 1852. It never saw much military action, but future President Zachary Taylor was stationed there for a time.

Mary Jane Herber, a historian with the Brown County Library, said the sleepy fort was important because of the threat of another British invasion coming on the heels of the war of 1812.

“The possibility of the British or any other group being able to get into the interior of the continent, this Fox River waterway is a perfect strategic route for movement of troops through Wisconsin down the Mississippi and then to the rivers that run west off the Mississippi,” she said.

Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien also offered protection.

Cullen presented his findings in August to a small group of history buffs. Carrie Jaquet said she wanted to learn more about something she’s heard about for years.

“I’ve lived in Green Bay all my life, and I’ve heard of Fort Howard all my life and seen the buildings at Heritage Hill and have been intrigued why they didn’t do this sooner,” she said.

Along with the radar, Cullen is using photographs taken shortly after the fort was shut down and old railroad maps. The museum, which is across the street from the site, also has an exhibit on display, including artifacts thought to be from the fort.

However, there are plans for a row of townhouses to be built on the site, adding urgency to completing the research.