FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) - A retail store could be coming to an Iowa site that was a battleground in the War of 1812.
The Fort Madison City Council voted unanimously to approve the division of the former Sheaffer Pen Co. factory parking lot. The decision could allow construction of a Dollar General on the property, which has been for sale for seven years, The (Burlington) Hawk Eye reports (https://bit.ly/1lzWWmM .)
The lot is near the original Fort Madison, which was built about a year before the war began, state archaeologist John Doershuk said. Native American tribes sympathetic to the British laid siege to it on various occasions.
City Manager Byron Smith said a test archaeological study conducted in 2009 determined that the eastern side of the parking lot is more historically significant than the other side. Archaeologists have evidence of a battle there, including remains where a Native American chief would have been. The Dollar General would be on the other side of the lot.
But members of the Standing Bear Council, a group that educates people about Native American history, said test studies don’t reveal everything.
“If a battle happens here, some people wandered off and died,” member Becky White said. “Anywhere along that river, there’s potential for bodies. It wasn’t just the fort people died at.”
Nick Colbert, an Old Fort Madison volunteer, said he doesn’t think any bodies were buried near the parking lot.
“As far as we know, a burial site for soldiers would have been in Old Settlers Park. The battle we are talking about killed five soldiers in a matter of 10 minutes,” he said.
Other people at the meeting suggested putting an interpretative center on the site.
White said the entire area is sacred ground and should be treated as such. She said the site’s significance calls for proper conservation.
“We don’t want a museum. We don’t want anything there. To put anything else there is still a building on our ancestors,” White said.
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Information from: The Hawk Eye, https://www.thehawkeye.com
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