The Logan Creek Site

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Logan Creek was named for Logan Fontenelle, a chief of the Omaha tribe killed by Oglala Sioux in 1855. The first recorded settlers in this area were the Aaron Arlington family, 1857, who settled at the site of present Oakland, and John Oak, 1863, for whom the town was named. The Logan Creek archeological site, located on a nearby stream terrace, was investigated by the Nebraska State Historical Society, 1957-1963 with the aid of a National Science Foundation grant. Nine stratified cultural zones, extending a depth of nearly 12 feet, have been defined. The uppermost zone is attributed to a Plains Woodland people--the first pottery makers in Nebraska, believed to have migrated from Eastern Woodlands. At least five of the lower zones may represent a distinct culture, known as the Logan Creek Complex. Carbon 14 dates indicate these closely related groups periodically camped here between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago. The water, good hunting and fresh water shell fish may have been some of the reasons for the long inhabitation by these hunting, fishing and gathering people. Artifacts from this site show close cultural ties with contemporary Archaic cultures in eastern and northeast America. The findings here are the earliest excavated materials yet discovered in eastern Nebraska. In 1970 the Logan Creek Site was entered on the National Register of Historic Places.