In Spring 2025, the Tarragindi Archaeological Dig team and our students (aged 5-18) started excavating an almost 200-year-old farm belonging to one of Berrien County's earliest settler families. The dig uncovered a slew of items, including over 750 antique and vintage bottles and the 1780 Maria Theresa Thaler coin (pictured). See our Facebook page for photos of our finds!
Since then, we have added 12 archaeology digs, local history, and genealogy programs that kids and adults can join that are a part of the Tarragindi Initiative. The Tarragindi Initiative is a 501 (c) (3) organization that wants to see people in Berrien County thrive. We use local history, archaeology, and genealogy programming as a catalyst to build connection, good mental health, belonging, and a sense of place in Berrien County. Research shows these are key elements in academic and personal success, maintaining good mental health, overcoming trauma, community engagement, building thriving communities, and encouraging economic growth in the future.
All programs are directed by archaeologist Dr Jan Sigvartsen PhD.
Dig at the Tarragindi Archaeology dig and help excavate a part of farm that once belonged to one of Berrien County's earliest settler families. We have already found some amazing things, including the 1780 thaler coin, and over 750 intact bottles from 1900-1971! (For ages 5-20)
Did you know that people have been living in the area we now call Berrien Springs for 12,000 years! That is before the pyramids and Stonehenge were built! Come and help us excavate a very important historic site that has been lost for nearly two hundred years. (For ages 10-20)
Learn the stories of Berrien County's earliest settlers, many of whom are buried in the Long Lake Cemetery, and what 1830s life was like. Restore their often-forgotten memorials for them while learning specialist stone restoration skills and restoring this historic cemetery - one of Berrien County's oldest. (For ages 10-20)
Did you know people were living in Berrien Springs long before the pyramids and Stonehenge were built! Step back in time and learn how to identify the age of stone tools and points you may find in Berrien County, who made them, and how to make them yourself. (For ages 8-20)
1000 years ago, the Woodland people were large scale farmers and had a specific way of step gardening to make the growing season longer. In this class you will recreate a Woodland period garden from 1000 years ago in a real-world project. (For ages 6-20)
When European settlers arrived in Berrien County, there were no stores. Everything they ate had to be grown or hunted. Through hard work, they thrived. In this class you will recreate an early settler garden in a real-world project. (For ages 6-20)
Each week, we will visit a different historic site in the area. We will learn how to take amazing photos, especially for historic posterity. Students can also submit their photos to a special youth photo archive for future generations to enjoy. (For ages 8 - 20)
Bring your acting skills and reenact some historic trials and learn about justice in the 1800s. The History Center has generously allowed us to use the historic 1839 Courthouse in Berrien Springs for this class - Michigan's oldest surviving courthouse! (For ages 10 - 20)
Want to get really good at writing and publish your work? Dr Jan Sigvartsen has two books published by Bloomsbury (the publishers of Harry Potter, plus nearly 60 other publications) and will teach you how to write your historic stories and publish them. Students will be encouraged and assisted in publishing their best work. (For ages 10-20)
Before television and books, Storytellers were an important part of human life. They entertained and kept historic stories alive. You will learn how to speak publicly, engage your audience, and craft historic stories that 2000 years ago would have made you the storyteller of your community. (For ages 8-20)
Do you know where you came from or how your family landed in Michigan? Were they always here, or did they come from Europe, the Underground Railway, or did they move more recently? Dr Jan Sigvartsen PhD, can show you how to find out and trace your family tree back as far as you can go. He followed his own family's family line back to the 800's and discovered he was a direct descendant of the Viking King, Olaf the Holy. (For ages 8-20)
Build small empires in this board gaming class that teaches you critical thinking, analysis, and strategy using civilization-building board games from Germany and Europe. You will learn how to be a good sport, master in-person social gaming, and make new friends. (For ages 10-20)
This summer, Dr Jan Sigvartsen PhD and over 100 community members continued their search for the lost 1838 Berrien County "Old Jailhouse" behind Michigan's oldest courthouse. The most significant finds included an 1804-1807 "Drapped Bust" United States quarter coin, and a black, fossilized deer rib bone. Several "dud" arrowheads were also found along with a large number of chert shards that suggested arrowhead making took place on this site in the past. A large uneven hardened clay pan with charcoal and chert shards embedded into it was discovered in both squares at 35cm.
An amateur dig in 1975 failed to locate the 1838 Jailhouse. An 1860 map of Berrien Springs showed that the Old Jailhouse orientation was different to what was expected by the 1975 dig team and resulted in them digging in the wrong location. The 1975 amateur dig was also searching for a running foundation, or a basement, and may not have considered an alternative foundation structure. One of the sides of Square 1 in the 2026 dig by Dr Sigvartsen and his team revealed a deposit of gravel, suggesting it may be disturbed gravel backfill on a pole structure building. It is possible that the 1838 Jail was a pole structure, much like a barn. As such could have been completed in a matter of weeks, given buildings at the time did not have plumbing, electrical, insulation, or installed kitchens and bathrooms.
The 1838 Old Jailhouse was moved in the 1870s to the corner of Main and Ferry Streets to become the rear of Kephart's Pharmacy, which was later torn down and a brick building built in its place. The Old Jailhouse was then moved to another location and used as a house until the 1960s when it was demolished. A photo of the Kephart pharmacy exists (see insert photo), and if new siding was not put on the Old Jailhouse, it appears it may have resembled the Courthouse. A dig at this site will continue in the Fall 2026 semester and will look for similar gravel deposits to confirm if the building was indeed a pole structure.
Dr Sigvartsen would like to thank the Berrien Community Foundation and Tarragindi Initiative donors who made this dig possible. You can look at some of our finds on our Facebook page.
The Tarragindi Team recently raised the funds for the Berrien County Historical Association to purchase period appropriate chairs for the 1839 Courthouse, Michigan's oldest Courthouse.
"The former modern conference chairs looked a little odd in Michigan's Oldest Courthouse," says Dr Jan Sigvartsen, Archaeological Director. "The 1839 Courtroom is an extraordinary space that we use for some of our programs, so it made sense for us to help bring this beautiful old courtroom back to the 1800s." The Tarragindi team also donated their time to rearrange the courtroom back into an 1800s courtroom... and open up 30 boxed, brand new, period chairs.
A big thank you to the Berrien Community Foundation for their contribution to our 1838 Old Jailhouse Summer Archaeology Dig program.
In the Fall 2026 semester, the Tarragindi team will be adding a number of new programs.
These will include our archaeology digs, genealogy 101, historic ancient tools, historic gardening, the Archaeology plus restoration project, historic photography, historic court trials, historic writing, and historic storytelling.
These programs are all designed to use our local history and archaeology as a catalyst to build a sense of belonging and place among young people and their parents. Belonging can have a powerful effect on learning, success, recovery from trauma, and mental health in young and older people.
This semester, the Tarragindi Team raised funds to replant and mulch the gardens at the Historic Courthouse Square in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
Members of the Tarragindi Team also donated their time to weed, plant, and mulch. Local residents also donated plants, including Mrs Virgina Clark, who at 95, is one of Berrien County's oldest residents. A retired schoolteacher, her home was formerly the Long Lake Schoolhouse, built in the mid 1800s and one of Berrien County's first schools.
"We just love that Mrs Clark, one of the county's oldest residents, donated plants to another oldest resident of Berrien County - our very own 1839 Courthouse, Michigan's oldest Courthouse," says Leanne Sigvartsen.
