By Staff
NILES -- The seven-part mural depicting the history of Fort St. Joseph started by Janet Seaman in the summer of 1999 is finally complete and will be formally presented to the public at 7 pm on Thursday, June 12, at the Fort St. Joseph Museum.
The presentation program is jointly sponsored by the Support the Fort Inc. and the Fort St. Joseph Museum.
Seaman, a Niles resident, was commissioned to paint the mural to help meet one of the requirements of the grant obtained by Support the Fort Inc. from the Michigan Humanities Council in 1998.
The grant, used to help fund Phase One of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, required that an educational tool be developed from the project.
It was decided that a mural depicting the history of Fort St. Joseph would be an excellent tool to help educate the public about the fort and the Colonial period in America, said Carol Bainbridge, director of the Fort St. Joseph Museum.
Artifacts from the 2003 Fort St. Joseph archaeological dig will also be presented with the mural.
This will be the first public viewing of the artifacts and will include personal, household, occupational and structural objects.
The Michigan Humanities Council grant provided the funds for the cost of the mural materials, but Janet Seaman has donated her time for the project. Members of Support the Fort Inc. and the Fort St. Joseph Museum will present Seaman with a gift of appreciation, although it will be just a token gesture compared to the many hours she has spent painting the mural, Bainbridge said.
For further information call Carol Bainbridge at the Fort St. Joseph Museum, 269-683-4702.