There is not much written history about their travels but we can learn much about their cultures by the many artifacts they left behind. Many tribes at one time lived in West Michigan including the Ottawa and Hopewells mentioned in this story. They also left artifacts behind including many arrowheads and other tools and weapons made from stone and other available materials. The Hopewells also left burial mounds which contained many artifacts buried inside the mound.
My father found some arrowheads on our farm which was the old Klanderman homestead located across the road from a small Native American encampment near the Borculo Cemetery. Many neighborhood kids in the Borculo area would find arrowheads while working in the fields.
A friend of mine, Jason Walters, grew up in Borculo on the
Frank Walters farm located 1.5 miles east of the Borculo Cemetery. One day while weeding a cornfield, he found his first arrowhead. He put it in his pocket that day so he would not lose it. After that day, he usually kept his eyes on the ground as he spent his lifetime (67 years) working and managing the perennial fields of Walters Gardens.
Jason's oldest brother, Dennis, founded the perennial nursery business in 1945 on 5 acres of land located in Zeeland, Michigan. Today Walters Gardens has grown to 1,500 acres with an additional 500,000 square feet of greenhouse space and 350 employees, making this perennial nursery one of the largest in North America.
One of the first land purchases Dennis Walters made as he expanded his business in Zeeland was 35 acres of land at 96th Avenue and Bingham Street south of Borculo. This farm was located across the road from our farm. One of the first things I noticed when they started working the farm was the brand new 1950 Allis Chalmers WD tractor. I often thought if only we could have a tractor like that. Four years I got my wish. Dennis bought a new tractor and sold the WD to my Dad. We used this tractor on our farm for the next 50 years, selling it for parts in 2004 after the engine died.
There is still a large Hopewell Indian burial mound located near the Rabbit River that is still visible today.
The Hopewells moved around over the years going north from Ohio and entering Michigan from the south and moving north along the lake shore. They also moved into the Grand River Valley, establishing burial mounds along the Grand River near Grandville. These mounds were later called the Norton Indian mounds. Some of these mounds were excavated by the Grand Rapids Museum as early as 1878. Many of their artifacts were recovered and destroyed there.
Pictured are some of the artifacts that Jason Walters collected while working on his Allegan and Ottawa farms.
Bill of Sale
NOTE: Born in Borculo, Michigan in 1923 and 89 years old at the time of his passing, the owner of this artifact collection started collecting at the age of 9 on his Grandfathers farm and continued living and collecting Indian artifacts for the next 80 years in the West Michigan area. He had a great respect for the Native American way of life and this is reflected in the vast array of items in his collection. He befriended many local Native Americans and spent much time visiting and enjoying his many friends. He had the basement of his home set up as a fine Native American museum with the artifacts and other items displayed in a large number of nice display cases.
After a little investigation, I found out the man's name was Donald Kiekenveld, who later lived in Holland, Michigan. His grandfather's name was Derk ten Broeke, and the farm where collected his first arrow heads was located two miles north of Borculo and 1 mile east on Polk Street. For those interested in seeing pictures of his entire huge collection, go to http://artsmithauctions.com/auctionpics.cfm?id=333, or view this slide show of the pictures shown on that site.