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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Two hundred years ago, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft went on a journey in search of lead and wrote his way into southern Missouri history.
People can step back in time to hear what one of this area’s best-known nature journalists had to say about one of this area’s well-known natural features – Christian County’s Smallin Cave – on Friday, Feb. 22 at the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) program “Schoolcraft at Smallin Cave: Then and Now.” This free program will be 7-8 p.m. at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center and is for ages 10-adult.
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft wore a number of scientific hats in his life, but it was a search for lead that led him on a trek across the southern portion of the Missouri Territory from November, 1818 to February, 1819. The most valuable resource this trip produced was the detailed journal Schoolcraft kept of his travels. The notes he took were the earliest descriptions of the interior Ozarks by a skilled observer.
One of the sites Schoolcraft was impressed with was Smallin Cave. Program attendees will hear his musings on this cave through the portrayal of Schoolcraft by archaeologist Eric Fuller, who works at Smallin Cave. Fuller will provide insight about what Schoolcraft saw at the cave and also will discuss the challenges he faced traveling through the Ozarks two centuries ago.
Register for the program at mdc.mo.gov/SouthwestEvents. The Springfield Conservation Nature Center is located at 4601 S. Nature Center Way near highways 60 and 65. Call 417-888-4237 for more information about this program and other upcoming Nature Center events.
