The University of West Florida Archaeology Institute is leading the search for Fort Kirkland in Okaloosa County, Florida, thanks to a $250,000 grant from the Department of State. UWF students, faculty, archaeologists, local families and veterans with Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation are working together to study and memorialize the fort.
Following Florida’s transition to an American territory in 1821, families from neighboring southern states such as Alabama and Georgia began relocating to the region to establish new homes. At the time, Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole communities still inhabited much of the area. As American settlers moved in, tensions escalated and ultimately led to violent conflict. These events culminated in what became known as the Second Seminole War (1835–1842). Historical evidence suggests that the site of Fort Kirkland was likely destroyed during this conflict. Many descendants of those involved — both settlers and Indigenous communities — still live in Northwest Florida today. The study will detail the historical background of the fort, survey the land where the Fort Kirkland site is potentially located, and create a historical landmark to honor this history.
Jennifer Melcher’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Anthropology class spent several weeks of the class fitting historic maps to the modern landscape and digitizing roads and settlements to guide potential fieldwork locations. Students from the Anthropology program spent the latter part of their spring break immersed in the experiential learning opportunity, which involved conducting fieldwork and searching for the fort.
“This project allows students in my class to work with project data in real time,” Melcher, a faculty research associate with the UWF Archaeology Institute, said. “Normally, the class works with created practice scenarios; in this case, their work is creating important data for the search for Fort Kirkland.”
Students will spend the rest of the semester reviewing their findings and figuring out if more fieldwork is needed. Nick Linzy, a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology, participated in both the training and fieldwork last week.
“Documenting our search for Fort Kirkland is important to me because archaeology is more than just the artifacts we find; it’s the set of tools and methods we use to find these historic sites and our interpretation of what we find,” Linzy said. “With such limited historical documentation, archaeology is our best hope for reconnecting with this lost part of Florida’s history.”
Nicole Grinnan, assistant director of the Archaeology Institute, coordinated the training and fieldwork exercise. She invited the veterans’ group to be a part of it. She has worked with them since 2018 during underwater archaeological projects for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
“Training veterans to help archaeologists and students conduct a metal detector survey to look for this historical site brings together a number of important audiences around the subjects of public archaeology, education and service,” said Dr. Ramie Gougeon, director of the Archaeology Institute, chair of the Department of Archaeology and professor.
Gougeon said they hope to be in a position to present text and a proposed location for a historical marker to Rep. Patt Maney in Fall 2025.
For more information about the Archaeology Institute, visit uwf.edu/archaeology.
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