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u ig KocK. rnotograpn Dy bIip urew, iY7.
In October 1835, Samuel St. John and his wife and three children arrived. During the St. John
family's first winter along the Rock River, they lived in the small cabin with Inman, Follman,
and the Holmeses. In 1841 the federal government sent a military detachment to secure
obedience to the order confining American Indians to territory beyond the Mississippi.
However, small groups returned to their homelands in southeast Wisconsin throughout the next
few decades.
Potential Associated Site Types
Numerous accounts are found in Rock County histories describing the interactions of early
settlers and American Indians in the Janesville area. However, urban development in
Janesville has probably obliterated any cultural resources associated with the contact between
American Indians and settlers. Documented sites include settlers' cabins and American Indian
trails and paths (described in detail in "American Indian Transportation Routes".
Undocumented sites may exist in the form of American Indian village or camp locations.
Newly Developed Themes
Woodland Mound Construction in the Janesville Area
The archeological literature abounds with detailed reports of Woodland-period
investigations. A general overview of the Woodland Period in Wisconsin is presented in the
"Introduction to Wisconsin Archeology"(Green et al. 1986) management plan, and subsequent
archeological investigations have added to this. An overview of the Woodland Period in the
Janesville area was outlined earlier in this chapter. To reiterate, the Woodland Period in
Wisconsin generally dates from 3000 B. P. to 400 B. P. During this time highly developed
mortuary practices emerged. During the Early Woodland Period, mound construction began in
Wisconsin. Few sites in southern Wisconsin can be dated as Early Woodland in nature. The
apparent lack of sites is due to the fact that the main Early Woodland cultural manifestations
occurred further to the south. It is possible that some of the conical mounds in the Janesville
area relate to Early Woodland occupations; however, none have been positively identified as
Early Woodland.
Some Middle Woodland sites in Wisconsin are associated with the Hopewell Culture. At this
time, a complex interaction sphere, coupled with an elaborate mortuary ritualism, developed.
Cultures that developed north of the Hopewellian centers, in the Ohio River Valley and its
tributaries, shared a number of basic traits with Hopewell. However, these northern cultures
lacked many of the elaborate art styles and mortuary practices, the scarcity of which suggests
less development in social patterns. Middle Woodland's mortuary ritualism was related to
Prehistoric and Historic Native American Occupation