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February 10, 2004

Third Sunday Archeology Presentation Explores Historical Trading Post

SIOUX FALLS - The Third Sunday Archeology Presentation continues February 15 with "The History and Archeology of Old Fort Clark Trading Post."

The program, an illustrated lecture by William Hunt, Ph.D., begins at 2:00 p.m. in the Gilbert Science Center auditorium. It is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served and a question/answer session follows the program.

Hunt is an archeologist with the National Park Service working with the Midwest Archeological Center in Lincoln, Neb. He was one of the primary investigators when the Fort Clark Interpretation Project was initiated in 2000. He will address the goals and outcomes of the project, which included clarifying the history and evolution of the fort, recovering artifacts for analysis, and developing interpretative data for visitors.

Fort Clark, located north of Bismarck, N.D., was constructed in 1831 after the consolidation of the Columbia and American Fur companies. It was named in honor of William Clark and flourished with the fur trade on the upper Missouri River.

The fort was also the site of a terrible tragedy. The steamboat "St. Peters" brought the smallpox virus to the fort in 1837, and the resulting epidemic killed vast numbers of the Hidatsa, Arikara and Mandan villagers.

Today, the Fort Clark Historic Site is administered by the State Historical Society of North Dakota and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sunday's program is funded in part by Augustana College's Mellon Fund Committee. It is sponsored by the Sioux Falls Chapter of the South Dakota Archaeological Society and by Augustana College's Archeology Laboratory and History Department.