The Search for the Lost and Alleged French Fort Sites on Prairie Island, Goodhue County, Minnesota.

In 1885 archaeologist Theodore Lewis mapped the remains of site GD-88, an old palisaded work on Prairie Island near Red Wing, Minnesota. Lewis description led many scholars to believe that he had found the site of an early French trading center that was guessed to be either Pierre Le Sueurs 1695 post of Paul Marins 1750s For La Jonuiere. Despite the obvious importance of such a discovery and the apparent detail of Lewis observations, no one has ever duplicated his find. The site of the old palisaded work has become lost and even after a century continues to elude archaeologists. This report summarizes recent efforts by the Institute for Minnesota Archaeology to relocate GD-88 and assess the extent of French presence on Prairie Island.