GREAT NEWS!
!!Elizabeth Parker Matching Donation for Construction of the Aztalan Visitor and Interpretive Center!!
Great news for all of the friends of ancient Aztalan and Aztalan State Park. Elizabeth Parker, a resident of the Lake Koshkonong area, has offered a limited time matching donation to help build the much needed visitor and interpretive center at the park! She is offering a dollar for dollar donation for money raised by the Friends of Aztalan State Park during a special fund raising period that will last until December 15, 2012. The matching donation will come from the trusts of George S. Parker II of Janesville.
The construction of a visitor and interpretive center, which will cost over a million dollars, is part of the Department Natural Resources master plan for the park and preliminary steps towards this goal have been completed. These included an archaeological survey of the proposed site of the building to ensure that construction will not impact ancient features or deposits. However, construction is contingent upon a substantial amount of outside donations.
The Friends of Aztalan State Park has committed itself to raise money for construction as a major goal of the organization, and has been raising funds through the years that have, in part, been used to purchase and operate the small, temporary visitor center now at the park.
The board of the Friends of Aztalan State Park has set a goal of $50,000 for this special fund raising effort to be matched by $50,000 from the Parker Trust for a total of $100,000. Please help take advantage of this wonderful offer by making a generous donation which will then be doubled by the Parker donation. Contributions are tax deductible and your contribution will be permanently acknowledged at the visitor center when it opens. Please use the attached form for your donation.
Thank You from The Friends of Aztalan State Park Board!!
Oct 20, 11:30am: Aztalan State Park Birthday. National Archeology Day. Event co-sponsored by Friends of Aztalan State Park and The Wisconsin Archeological Society. Archeologist guided tours of Aztalan at 11:30am and 2pm. Bring your artifacts. Artifact Identification by Archeologists.
Oct: Annual bus trip to the Effigy Mounds of Dodge County. Date and time to be announced.
For further information contact president Kurt Sampson at ksampson@wi.rr.com or (414) 405-4367.
Park photos by Dan Seurer: SLIDE SHOW
Aztalan State Park is 2 miles off I-94 at Lake Mills, 1 hour from Milwaukee or Madison. Slide show photos by Dan Seuer. Check out his website http://seurer-photography.com
Group tours can be arranged for adults and schools. Call Bob Birmingham at (608) 241-4958 or email birmi@sbcglobal.net for more information.
Tours every Sunday at 2:00, May - Sept: Free guided tours, weather permitting. Wisconsin State Park sticker required.
Historical Summary
Aztalan State Park is the site of a ceremonial and residential Native American town established in 1100 AD (approximately). This site has provided insights into ancient agriculture and gardening.
While people lived along the Crawfish River in Wisconsin's Jefferson County before 900 A.D., the Mississippians arrived at ancient Aztalan between 1050 and 1100AD. They established a heirarchal society that was culturally exotic for the area.
The Mississippian people built earthen pyramids used by the religious and ruling leaders. The largest Mississippian site is Cahokia, located near St. Louis. Aztalan is the most northern outpost.
The Aztalan people built three earthern pyramids and a protective stockade complete with guard towers. Two of the pyramids and sections of the stockade are reconstructed.
In 1837 Nathaniel Hyer mapped the site and, believing that it was built by people from the ancient Mexican city of Aztalan, named the Wisconsin site Aztalan. Though it is now known that the inhabitants were not from Mexico the name of the site was not changed.
The Book by Bob Birmingham, Executive Manager of Friends of Aztalan, former Wisconsin state archeologist and Lynne Goldstein of Michigan State University.
See the video, purchased by the Friends of Aztalan to raise awareness of the historical uniqueness of Aztalan, and funds for an on-site visitor's interpretive center.
The charter of the Friends of Aztalan is to raise money to augment the state's budget for an Aztalan State Park Interpretive Center. In the spring of 2012 Friends of Aztalan State Park purchased the large office trailer which was used last year as an interim interpretive center. It provides information and books about the site and related places of interest in the region.
Site designed/developed by Marifrances A Cataldi
9/1/2012
This website was developed and is maintained by the Friends of Aztalan State Park. We invite you to learn about the Mississippian culture from the information presented here and the links to other Mississippian sites that we found of interest.
Friends of Aztalan State Park
P.O Box 855
Lake Mills, WI 53551
