Battle of Island Mound Field School: Interpreting Missouri's Newest State Park


The Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the University of Missouri-Kansas 
City Geosciences Department and the Bates County History Museum are 
co-sponsoring an archaeological field school June 7 - 28, 2011 in Bates County, 
Missouri. The field school will be offered through the University of 
Missouri-Kansas City, and enrollment in the course is a requirement for all 
participants in the field school. Enrollment is open to all high school 
graduates or current university students in good academic standing.
 
The recently acquired Battle of Island Mound State Historic Site near Butler, 
Missouri is significant because it is the location where the first unit of 
African-American soldiers (1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry) engaged an 
armed opponent during the Civil War. The property owned by the Missouri State 
Parks includes the purported sites of the Toothman Farm, from which the black 
soldiers operated and dubbed “Fort Africa,” and a post-war Methodist Episcopal 
church.  In the spring of 2009, a geophysical survey that included magnetometry 
and electrical resistivity revealed subsurface anomalies consistent with 
structural remains or foundations of the Toothman house and the church. The 
survey provided good information, but further archaeological testing is required 
to verify the presence of farmstead buildings and to enhance interpretation of 
the site in time for the facility’s opening in 2012. This investigation will be 
the focus of the 2011 Field School.
 
Although this program focuses on Civil War-era and post-bellum archaeological 
sites, students will receive training in research techniques employed by 
archaeologists around the world.  This field school is valuable to students 
planning advanced work in archaeology, students seeking employment in contract 
(CRM) archaeology or who merely want to experience field research in 
archaeology. 
 To get an information and application packet, or for questions, please contact 
Ann Raab at [log in to unmask]