Archaeologists confirm that Warrenville, Illinois has been inhabited for almost 10,000 years

In a collection assessment meeting on February 22, 2021, at the Warrenville Historical Museum (WHM), Assistant Director of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey Dr. Thomas J. Loebel confirmed that artifacts found in the Mack Collection date back to the Early Archaic Period, some 8,000-10,000 years ago. The collection also includes artifacts that represent almost all phases of Illinois archaeology, made from the state’s diverse chert (stone) quarries. 

Figure 1. ZOOM collection assessment meeting (photo credit Warrenville Historical Society 2021).

In the late 1980s, the Mack Lithic Collection (MLC) was donated by Warrenville residents John and Gertrude Mack and has been under curation at the WHM since. The MLC contains over 1400 objects, with lithics (stone tools) making up 99% of the assemblage. From 1960-1975, John Mack (JM), along with members of his family and friends, collected artifacts on Mack family farms and around other areas of DuPage County. He also collected artifacts during visits out west, especially to Colorado, where the couple would relocate before passing away.

Figure 2. John and Gertrude Mack at the WHM in front of the display of their lithics collection donation; at center background is an Adam Emory Albright painting, who, along with his famous twin sons Malvin and Ivan Albright, used the WHM’s as an art studio in the mid-1900s. (photo from the collection of the Warrenville Historical Society).

To proudly display his collection, JM included 10-15 glue mounted artifacts within 62 individual frame boxes that were hung in their living room at their Warrenville residence in a popular folk-art style of the time. Before moving out west, and after deciding that he wanted to donate the collection to the WHM, JM wished for it to become a permanent collection at the museum and even offered to hang the artifacts up himself. 

Figure 3. One of the 17 rehoused picture boxes showing examples of the MLC (photo credit Warrenville Historical Society 2021). 

In 2006, under the previous curator, the WHM aimed to fulfill JM’s wish to display the entire collection in one permanent setting. WHM board members deconstructed the 62 cases and rehoused them in 17 larger picture box frames. Boxes that represented artifacts from DuPage County were framed in light brown edging (n=13), while artifacts that represented the western collection in light red frames (n=4). Boxes were hung and remain in the McCormick Classroom of the WHM.  

Since 2017, the WHM’s current Director and Curator Sara Phalen, and College of DuPage (COD) anthropological archaeologist and Warrenville resident Dr. Dale F. Simpson Jr., have created archaeological, museological, and material culture educational programs for Warrenville and DuPage County, some of which were supported by City of Warrenville Hotel Tax Fund Grants. Throughout this time, they often discussed the MLC, and slowly started to formulate their research design about how they were going to create context, classification, and curation for this most important collection.  

In 2020, the WHM Board & Museum Guild, which supports museum educational programming through fundraising events, made the wise decision to invest in the analysis and display of the MLC. As the project formally launches, Phalen and Dr. Simpson are acting as lead researchers, and plan to work with paid interns each semester for the next three years.  

“It is through collaboration with multiple people and institutions that we have come so far, and it has really been our ability to work together to highlight and celebrate Western DuPage history that helped us start this project off with such a significant finding,” remarked Phalen.

The project’s goals include setting up a work space for staff and members of the visiting public to have hands-on experiences with the collection, and to provide storage and floor space to properly display the collection. For the Spring 2021 semester, WHM internships were awarded to Sofia Walendziak (College of DuPage student) and Jamie McGinty (College of DuPage alumnus), both students of Dr. Simpson. Working with local talent adds an additional educational and collaborative component to strengthen the project and its wider relevancy.   

Figure 4. Dr. Simpson, Sofia Walendziak, and Jamie McGinty working in the McCormick Classroom (photo credit Warrenville Historical Society 2021). 

Sofia is majoring in anthropology at COD and has been accepted to study archaeology at the University of Illinois next semester. “I had taken multiple classes with Dr. Simpson at COD, and one day he emailed me saying that I was one of the best in class and he offered me an internship. Originally, I was interested in paleontology, but working on a research project as an undergraduate is a real unique opportunity. I believe working on this project will help open more doors for me at UIUC and will expand my academic background in the field of archaeology. This opportunity is truly precious,” said Walendziak.  

Jaime graduated from COD and has worked with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey and has conducted fieldwork in the U.S. as well as in international contexts. “Working with this collection not only helps me to fulfil my goals as a professional in archaeology, but also to better connect to the deeply rooted and fascinating pre-contact period of my home town,” McGinty commented. 

In correlation with COD’s school semester, the MLC Project officially began on January 24th, 2021, and has slowly begun to put the revealed erased pieces of Warrenville’s pre-colonial period back together. For the past few years, the WHM has intentionally worked to tell a more complete and inclusive story of the local area.  

“Once this puzzle is complete, it will help us, and the residents of the ‘ville, to celebrate  thousands of years of habitation of our proud town prior to the settler era, and to highlight the similar links between past and present cultures of our area,” said Dr. Simpson. “This project helps us understand the past in the present, for the future.” 

The next steps of the project are to create educational outreach resources and materials for multiple stakeholders and to utilize technological and morphometric analyses, material sourcing studies, residue analysis, and 3D scanning and printing. The team also plans to compare the MLC to other collections in the area, especially the Mier Collection found at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory, and those in surrounding museums to better understand and celebrate 10,000 years of human habitation in Warrenville, Illinois. 

Please contact the Warrenville Historical Society at info@warrenvillehistorical.org or (630)393-4215 with any questions.