Native Americans on the Fermilab Site

August 1, 2014-December 31, 2018 in the Fermilab Library

August Mier, who was born in Batavia in 1892, spent much of his life collecting ancient arrowheads on the land that later became the Fermilab site. The rare artifcats that Mier and others uncovered led the lab to enlist archaeologists, including Ann Early, to excavate the site. The archaeologists discovered many arrowheads, pottery sherds, and other small artifacts from Native American tribes that passed through this area. Emily Loomis designed this exhibit.

The Exhibit

Additional Resources

  • The Village Crier, vol. 8, no. 14 (April 1, 1976) explains how Fermilab acquired historical street names on site. Many of Fermilab's main streets were named after local Native Americans who lived in the area in the eighteen hundreds. The names are located towards the bottom of the article. For more information, the article provides the historical background of some of these names.
  • The Fermilab History and Archives Project website on Fermilab's efforts to preserve the legacy of Native Americans who once lived near the area occupied by the Fermilab site.