Backstage Pass to North Dakota History

This blog takes you behind the scenes of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Get a glimpse at a day-in-the-life of the staff, volunteers, and partners who make it all possible. Discover what it takes to preserve North Dakota's natural and cultural history.

In the archaeology collections, we are preparing for the upcoming North Dakota Military Gallery expansion at the ND Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck. Much of our current work involves identifying what is in these collections so those planning the exhibits have an idea of what is available.

Volunteers are helping inventory the contents of artifact boxes from Fort Abraham Lincoln, now a state park. These artifacts are from projects in the 1980s and 1990s when some of the fort buildings were reconstructed. With more than 80 boxes of artifacts, this will take some time.

Just a small portion of the Fort Abraham Lincoln collection.

Thank goodness the boxes are labeled! However, the old labels sometimes leave us with more questions than answers, such as what kinds of artifacts and materials are in the box. This project is helping us answer those and other questions. Ultimately, the labels will be improved so that it will be easier to locate the artifacts for exhibits and research.

The old box labels left much to the imagination.

A mock-up of a new box label. These will include more detailed information about what is in each container.

Because these excavations are from the sites of original fort structures, it isn’t surprising that most of the contents are building materials, including many bags of plaster, brick fragments, wood, and nails. While some may not be “exhibit quality”—items likely to go on display—these elements are part of the original fort buildings.

Brick and mortar fragments from Fort Abraham Lincoln. SHSND AHP 89.340.2960

Wood from Fort Abraham Lincoln. SHSND AHP 89.340.1098

Pieces of glass are also frequent. Some are shards of flat glass from windows. Others are fragments from bottles.

A bag with two curved brown glass shards likely from a bottle. SHSND AHP 89.340.1334

Here are a few of the other artifacts found so far. Another volunteer is helping us photograph select artifacts. These photos will also be used to help locate and identify artifacts for future exhibits and research as well as for posters, projects, and blog posts like this one.

These military buttons (top) as well as this .38-caliber bullet and percussion cap (bottom) all came from the central barracks at Fort Abraham Lincoln. SHSND AHP 92.118.547, .564-.565; 92.118.649, .695

Many thanks to the volunteers who make this work possible! Your dedication is appreciated.