Page 5 - RAGBRAI2008

day 1 - Missouri Valley to Harlan

The first roads in “Archaeology of the Western Iowa
Harrison County Region: Connections with Identified
were trails Sites in Shelby and Harrison Counties”
established by the
various Native Western Iowa has been the subject of formal
American groups archaeological investigations since the late
who lived in or 1800s. From the first reports of the late
traversed the area, prehistoric Central Plains earthlodges in
and many were still Glenwood in the 1880s to the Turin Man
easily visible when discovery in 1955 this region is known for its
the first Euro- major archaeological discoveries. The unique
American settlers character of the Loess Hills provides the setting
moved into the for a long and varied Native American
county. Among the occupation. Investigations conducted in the
early travelers last 50 years in Harrison and Shelby Counties
through Harrison have recorded a number of prehistoric sites.
County were These sites have contributed to the greater
members of the understanding of the prehistoric occupation of
Mormon migration, this area.
gold seekers, and
westward bound Presenter: John G. Hedden Iowa Office of the
wagon trains. State Archaeologist

When: 4:00pm, Where: Main
Sunday, July 20th Campground, Harlan

Of the known The Bertrand
shipwrecks in the Excavation
Missouri River, the
most famous is the Bertrand, Photos courtesy of David
which sank in 1865 near Gradwohl
DeSoto Landing while en
route to Montana. Thought to
have gold, whiskey, and large amounts of money
aboard, the Bertrand’s location was sought out
by many but she was not discovered again until
1968. The remains were found 28 feet beneath
the surface, and 10,000 cubic feet of cargo were
unearthed. No gold was recovered from the
wreckage, but the thousands of ordinary goods
recovered paint an extraordinary picture of
frontier life. The cargo is currently housed in the
Bertrand Conservation Laboratory at DeSoto
National Wildlife Refuge near Missouri Valley.