Excavations at Fort Stevenson, 1951

The investigation and analysis of the archives of Fort Stevenson are part of studies now under way pertaining to the new reservoir area, which have as an objective the proper recognition of historical values and their conservation. For this, by Act of Congress, the National Park Service of the United States is responsible. These historic resources, for the areas in which the various federal agencies are at work, are similar in importance to prehistoric and paleontological sites for which the National Park Service is also responsible and which likewise are receiving due attention.
Much of the field work has already been accomplished by agreement with the Smithsonian Institution through the Missouri Basin Project of its River Basin Surveys which were established to cope with salvage problems, and by several cooperating agencies, among which in the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Thus, at the site of Fort Stevenson, which will be flooded beyond hope of later study, efforts have been made to obtain and preserve as complete a record as can now be made of the physical remains of the post. Actual excavation of the site was undertaken to extend and implement as far as possible the surviving documentary record, both by new data and in object collections. This work, a unit of the Missouri Basin Project, was under the writter’s supervision and the present brief account is intended as a general report on the accomplishments. It will be apparent that the archeological field work was complementary to the archival research previously done by the National Park Service. The goal of such work is a broader, deeper understanding of specific topics within American history. Such endeavors contribute to the increase and diffusion of knowledge, for which purpose the Smithsonian Institution was established.