ADDISON TWP. — The Addison Township Public Library had an archaeological dig conducted on April 9 to check for evidence of Native American occupation at the new library’s construction site.

The dig came up empty, which Addison Township Public Library vice president James Baldiga considers “kind of a relief.”

“The reason that we have to do this is because part of the funding for the library is coming from the federal government,” Baldiga says. “We have to spend a little money to ensure that the money we are getting from the federal government isn’t going to destroy anything of archaeological significance.”

Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota and Ontario became home to the Ojibwe, also known as Chippewa, people around 1,500 years ago after migrating west from their homes along the ocean due to a combination of warfare and prophecies, according to the Minnesota Historical Society.

Baldiga said the dig was recommended by a report containing a map of Addison Township showing that there are seven locations within a one-mile radius of the building site located at 900 Lakeville Road with Native American historical significance, including a burial ground and a former village.

“(Submitting the report is) the last thing, really, that’s preventing us from hiring bulldozers, putting out a mud mat…so that trucks can come in and start building the library,” Baldiga says. “We expect to break ground this summer.”

Best-case scenario, Baldiga says a ribbon cutting for the new 5,000-square-foot library will be by Labor Day 2025. To see renderings of the new library and more information, visit letsbuildalibrary.org.