Monday, May 7, 2001
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 7
Digging in the mud uncovers important history
Archaeologist finds ties to Oregon Trail by Wakarusa River
Archaeologist Frank Gagne points out what he believes is a caved-in water well. Gagne is excavating a site south of Lawrence thought to be the home of Napoleon Bonaparte Blanton, an important figure in local Oregon Trail history. Photo by Thad Allender/KANSAN
By Thad Allender and Jessica Kallner writer@kansan.com Special to the Kansan
Near the southern bank of the Wakarusa River, Wichita archaeologist Frank Gagne squats in the deepest part of a stair-stepped hole. His mudcaked hands feel their way along the mossy ruins of a limestone and plaster home.
"Don't get too close." Gagne warns, "I think we're on top of the Blanton's water well."
Wide and deep enough for Gagne to fall in, the well is the only feature Gagne has left to excavate of the 150-year old Blanton homestead.
Funded by a grant from the Kansas State Historical Society, his archaeological dig is revealing layer by layer some of the only physical evidence that remains from the frontier days
Archaeologist Frank Gagne displays a meticulously crafted ceramic pipe with a woman's face painted on it. Gagne believes the pipe was made during the 1850s. Photo by Thad Allender/KANSAN
in Douglas County. He has unearthed faceless coins and jewelry colored green with age.
Most important, Gagne said, he has learned about the living habits of Napoleon Bonaparte Blanton. Blanton was a prominent figure in Oregon Trail history because of a bridge he built across the "Wauky," which served as the hub of trade and travel during the mid-1800s.
Steve Jansen, director of the Watkins Community Museum, 1047 Massachusetts St., said Gagne's find was rare. The amount of physical evidence of Oregon Trail history discovered diminishes every year because most sites are lost to urbanization.
"It's easy to convince Americans that old buildings aren't needed and new ones are," Jansen said. "We're not trying to stop development; we're just trying to preserve what's in the ground."
Jansen said he believed that archaeology, particularly in Lawrence, made local government consider historic sites culturally important to America. He said work like Gagne's served not only as a science but also as a social and cultural consciousness and hoped there would be more of it in the future.
Like most historic sites, the future is the Blanton relics' worst enemy. Officials from the Kansas Department of Transportation have revived plans to finish the eastern leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway. One proposed route would take the trafficway south of the Wakarusa River, near 38th Street, dangerously close to the Blanton excavation. Jansen said he had seen this happen too many times.
Gagne said he was reluctant to reveal the site's exact location because he was afraid vandals might damage it.
But at least for now, Gagne can continue his research in peace.
"Ifound their trash pit," Gagne said. "That's where the treasure is, metaphorically speaking, of course."
But Gagne is no garbage man. He's 100 percent scientist as the four tripod-mounted cameras, the 20 photocopied maps and the rusty trowels all suggest. The back seat of his Chevy Blazer is littered with profiles, cross sections and topographical plans of the Blanton site. He must be precise and meticulous, and he must document every inch of subsoll he removes and screens for artifacts.
"Digging is the fun part," Gagne said. "Mapping the site takes time and can be extremely
"I found their trash pit. That's where the treasure
is, metaphorically speaking, of course"
Frank Gagne archaeoloist
t tedious because you have to represent on a grid each square foot of soil both vertically and horizontally."
Numbered orange flags flap around the site, marking the specific location of artifacts that Gagne has found. Directly north of the foundation is a 4-by-4 foot metal screen with a heaping pile of soil beneath it.
"I dug out about four feet of soil just to get to the foundation," Gagne said.
"It all goes through the screen once it's been excavated. I found this there," he said as he pulled a wadded up plastic bag from his pocket.
Gagne thumbed a ceramic pipe with a young woman's face painted on it. He speculated that it was Blanton's wife or one of his two daughters, but he didn't commit either way.
"I'll need to do some research to make sure." he said.
Dedication to research is why Gagne has been successful in archaeology.
"Doing research is definitely not my favorite aspect of the job," Gagne said, "but for this site, every inch of land is important."
Edited by Leita Schultes
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