Historic Homestead Survey of Versailles State Park, Ripley County, Indiana

By: Christina Hahn, Connor McCoy, Sean Coughlin, Dana Northam, Joel Sharp, Lindsey Cron, Christine Thompson, and Kevin C. Nolan
Principal Investigators: Christine Thompson and Kevin C. Nolan
Reports of Investigation 109 Volume 1, Applied Anthropology Laboratories, Ball State University

Abstract 

The Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL) at Ball State University was awarded a FY2018 Historic Preservation grant to survey sections of Versailles State Park, Ripley County, Indiana. This Historic Preservation Fund grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Versailles State Park with a focus on developing the histories of homestead sites within the park. Approximately 28 acres (11 hectares) of forested land was surveyed and 26 homestead and other historic archaeological sites were cataloged. The survey recovered 20 prehistoric artifacts and 1496 historic artifacts from 26 survey areas in Versailles State Park. No human remains were discovered as a result of this grant project. Although prehistoric artifacts were recovered from several sites, archaeological evidence of historic occupation dominated this investigation.