The Volunteer Educators at the Windmill Cultural Center in Fulton, Illinois, invite the public to attend the next program of the season. The February 8, 2017, Wild Winter Wednesdays at the Windmill Cultural Center (WWW@WCC) will teach guests about the Hopewell civilization. The public is invited to gather at 9:00 a.m. for coffee, tea, and refreshments. The program begins at 9:15. The building is accessible to people with disabilities and the program is funded through a grant from the Fulton Association for Community Enrichment (FACE).
Dr. Wolf Koch will present “Hopewell Civilization.” The Hopewell mounds in Sterling’s Sinnissippi Park and those at the Albany Mounds State Historic Site are a testament to an early, highly developed society which inhabited this area more than 2000 years ago and left us with more than 7,700 known sites of their activities throughout Illinois. The presentation will trace the development of mound building, review the significance of the Sinnissippi Park mounds and local pipe stone mining, and summarize current knowledge of Hopewell life and the disappearance of the civilization.
Wolf Koch and his wife Linnea have been studying accounts of Adena and Hopewell archeological research and have traveled to many mound builder sites in Ohio and Illinois. Dr. Koch, a Sterling resident, is a consultant to the oil and petrochemical industry and has been a professor of chemical engineering. Linnea Koch, a graphic designer, produced three interpretive panels for Sterling’s Sinnissippi Park in 2008, describing the history of the Hopewell civilization, the significance of the local mounds and settlements, and local mining, manufacturing, and trading of pipe stone products. In 2009, the Kochs completed a booklet on the Hopewell civilization in the Rock River Valley for use as a resource in teaching local history. They have presented the Hopewell story many times to local civic groups and were invited speakers at the 2009 joint Annual Meeting of the Illinois and Iowa Archeological Societies.
A new feature each week will be the addition of bread for sale by Krumpets Bakery. Guests will be able to purchase bread made with de Immigrant flour at the Windmill Cultural Center. WWW@WCC programs are held on Wednesday mornings at 9:00 a.m. from December to the end of March. Programs are free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Windmill Cultural Center Facebook page or call 815-589-3925