Aurora Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village
Encyclopedia
The Aurora Site, also known as the "Old Fort," "Old Indian Fort," "Murphy Farm" or "Hill Fort" site, is a sixteenth-century Huron-Wendat ancestral village located on one of the headwater tributaries of the East Holland River on the north side of the Oak Ridges Moraine
in present-day Whitchurch–Stouffville, approximately 30 kilometres north of Toronto
.
This Huron ancestral village was located on 3.4 hectares (8.4 acres) of land and the settlement was fortified with multiple rows of palisade
s. The community arrived ca. 1550, likely moving en masse from the so-called Mantle Site
located nine kilometres to the south-east in what is today urban Stouffville. The Aurora/Old Fort site is located at the south-east corner of Kennedy Road and Vandorf Side Road, east of the hamlet of Vandorf
in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. The Aurora site was occupied at the same time as the nearby Ratcliff site
.
The Rouge River
trail, used by the Huron and then later by the French to travel between Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe / Georgian Bay, ran through the Aurora site.
The Aurora/Old Fort site was indiscriminately looted by collectors throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. An 1885 report on Whitchurch Township notes that two thousand interments took place on the site, and that another smaller burial site was found two hundred yards from the site beside a large pond.
The self-trained archaeologist William Brodie wrote two archaeological reports on his findings at the Old Fort site (1888; 1901) dating back to his first visit in 1846. In reference to the Old Fort site, Brodie wrote in 1901:
A complete map of the site was produced in 1930 by the amateur archaeologist Peter Pringle.
The Aurora/Old Fort site was completely excavated in 1947 and 1957 by the University of Toronto
. The 1947 dig was the first student excavation by the university, and it was led by John Norman Emerson. Emerson's doctoral work was largely based on the excavations of the Aurora/Old Fort site.
This excavation contributed to the conclusions of archeologists and anthropologists that the Wendat coalesced as a people in this area, rather than further east in the St. Lawrence River valley, as was thought at one time. Findings in the late twentieth century at the Ratcliff Site
and in 2005 at the Mantle Site
have provided more evidence of sixteenth-century settlements by ancestral Wendat in this region.
Oak Ridges Moraine
The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough...
in present-day Whitchurch–Stouffville, approximately 30 kilometres north of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
This Huron ancestral village was located on 3.4 hectares (8.4 acres) of land and the settlement was fortified with multiple rows of palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
s. The community arrived ca. 1550, likely moving en masse from the so-called Mantle Site
Mantle Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village
The Mantle site in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, north-east of Toronto, is the largest and most complex ancestral Wendat-Huron village to be excavated in the Lower Great Lakes region to date....
located nine kilometres to the south-east in what is today urban Stouffville. The Aurora/Old Fort site is located at the south-east corner of Kennedy Road and Vandorf Side Road, east of the hamlet of Vandorf
Vandorf, Ontario
Vandorf is a small hamlet situated in the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, in Canada. It is the most westerly settlement within the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. With a population of approximately 722, Vandorf consists mainly of estate residential homes and farms.Vandorf was founded in...
in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. The Aurora site was occupied at the same time as the nearby Ratcliff site
Ratcliff Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village
The Ratcliff or Baker Hill site is a 16th-century Huron-Wendat ancestral village located on one of the headwater tributaries of the Rouge River on the south side of the Oak Ridges Moraine in present-day Whitchurch–Stouffville, approximately 25 kilometers north of Toronto...
.
The Rouge River
Rouge River (Ontario)
The Rouge River is a two river system. Little Rouge and Rouge River are in the east and the northeast parts of Toronto and begin in the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville...
trail, used by the Huron and then later by the French to travel between Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe / Georgian Bay, ran through the Aurora site.
"Perhaps the busiest and best documented of these routes was that which followed the Humber River valley northward ... although another trail of equal importance and antiquity and used earlier than the former by the French, extended from the mouth of the Rouge River northward to the headwaters of the Little Rouge and over the drainage divide to the East Branch of the Holland River at Holland Landing."
The Aurora/Old Fort site was indiscriminately looted by collectors throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. An 1885 report on Whitchurch Township notes that two thousand interments took place on the site, and that another smaller burial site was found two hundred yards from the site beside a large pond.
The self-trained archaeologist William Brodie wrote two archaeological reports on his findings at the Old Fort site (1888; 1901) dating back to his first visit in 1846. In reference to the Old Fort site, Brodie wrote in 1901:
- "To say that a ton of archaeological material was collected from the County of York sites, is a moderate estimate. Some of it is in European museums, some in the States, and some of it in Laval University, some of it is still in the hands of amateur collectors, and a little of it has been secured for the Provincial Museum, but the greater part of it, once in the keeping of private collectors, is gone, being collected and lost, as private collections often are."
A complete map of the site was produced in 1930 by the amateur archaeologist Peter Pringle.
The Aurora/Old Fort site was completely excavated in 1947 and 1957 by the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. The 1947 dig was the first student excavation by the university, and it was led by John Norman Emerson. Emerson's doctoral work was largely based on the excavations of the Aurora/Old Fort site.
This excavation contributed to the conclusions of archeologists and anthropologists that the Wendat coalesced as a people in this area, rather than further east in the St. Lawrence River valley, as was thought at one time. Findings in the late twentieth century at the Ratcliff Site
Ratcliff Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village
The Ratcliff or Baker Hill site is a 16th-century Huron-Wendat ancestral village located on one of the headwater tributaries of the Rouge River on the south side of the Oak Ridges Moraine in present-day Whitchurch–Stouffville, approximately 25 kilometers north of Toronto...
and in 2005 at the Mantle Site
Mantle Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village
The Mantle site in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, north-east of Toronto, is the largest and most complex ancestral Wendat-Huron village to be excavated in the Lower Great Lakes region to date....
have provided more evidence of sixteenth-century settlements by ancestral Wendat in this region.
Further reading
- " Aurora Site." Partners in the Past: Ontario Archeaological Society / University of Toronto, (webpage).
- Barkey, Jean, et al. Whitchurch Township. Erin, ON: Boston Mills, 1992. Pp. 123f.
- Brodie, W. A. Animal Remains found on Indian Village Sites, Annual Archaeological Report 1901, ed. D. Boyle and R. Orr. Toronto, 1902. Pp. 44-45.
- Brodie, W. A. "Graves in Whitchurch (Old Fort)." In the Annual Report of the Canadian Institute, 1887-8, ed. D. Boyle and R. Orr. Toronto, 1889. P. 47.
- Emerson, J.N. "The Archaeology of the Ontario Iroquois." Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, 1954.
- Dibb, G. "An Archaeological Survey of the East Holland River and Its Environs." Ms. on file, Archaeology Unit, Ministry of Culture and Communications, Toronto, 1979.
- Mulvany, C.P., et al. " The Township of Whitchurch." In History of Toronto and County of York, Ontario. Toronto: C.B. Robinson, 1885. Pp. 149f.
- Sioui, Georges E. Wendat: The Heritage of the Circle. Trans. J. Brierley. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press, 1999.
- Warrick, Gary A. "A Population History of the Huron-Petun, A.D. 900-1650," PhD Thesis, McGill University. Montreal, PQ, 1990 (revised edition published as A Population History of the Huron-Petun, A.D. 500-1650. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008).
External links
- The Huron-Wendat Museum, Wendake, QuebecWendake, QuebecWendake is the current name for the Huron-Wendat reserve, an enclave within Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. One of the Seven Nations of Canada, this was formerly known as Village-des-Hurons , and also as -Lorette....
- Huron-Wendat Nation, Wendake, QuebecWendake, QuebecWendake is the current name for the Huron-Wendat reserve, an enclave within Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. One of the Seven Nations of Canada, this was formerly known as Village-des-Hurons , and also as -Lorette....
. - Agondachia Association, Ossossane Fondation, Wendake, QuebecWendake, QuebecWendake is the current name for the Huron-Wendat reserve, an enclave within Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. One of the Seven Nations of Canada, this was formerly known as Village-des-Hurons , and also as -Lorette....