“Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa" at the German American Heritage Center -- November 15.
Sunday, November 15, 1:30 p.m.
German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport IA
With the program blending environmental history, Indigenous perspectives, and the spirit of firsthand travel, Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa will be presented at Davenport's German American Heritage Center on November 15, this latest event in the venue's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series revealing how Iowa’s landscape still echoes with the stories of its past.
Heritage Center patrons are invited to join historian Kevin Mason for an immersive journey along the 1835 First U.S. Dragoon Expedition route in Iowa. Drawing from his new book Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa, Mason uncovers how the state’s prairies and wetlands evolved into the farms, towns, and highways we know today.
In 1933, the State of Iowa opened the Dragoon Trail, a scenic and historic drive along the Des Moines River. The trail follows the path of the 1st U. S. Dragoons, the country's first mounted infantry unit, on their historic march in the summer of 1835, to scout Iowa after the Black Hawk Purchase of 1832 put the area under U.S. control. The march led to the establishment of outposts from present-day Fort Dodge and Webster City through Des Moines to Pella and Knoxville.
The Trail is about 200 miles long and passes cultural, historical, natural and scenic attractions including Lake Red Rock, Ledges State Park, the Kate Shelley High Bridge and Dolliver Memorial Park. It starts with two branches originating from Fort Dodge and Webster City that join near Stratford; from there it runs through Boone and Des Moines to the Red Rock Dam between Pella and Knoxville.
As stated at MSUPress.org: "In Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa, historian Kevin T. Mason presents a vivid and deeply researched account of Iowa’s evolving landscape, beginning with the 1835 expedition of the First U.S. Dragoons. Drawing from archival records, maps, government surveys, Indigenous histories, and ecological data, Mason explores how Iowa’s prairies and wetlands gave way to farms, towns, and transportation networks. He situates these environmental shifts within the broader forces of Manifest Destiny, military expansion, and settler colonialism, while amplifying the voices of the Sauk, Meskwaki, Dakota, and other Indigenous nations whose histories are often marginalized.
"But Mason doesn’t just write about history – he walks it. His 371-mile journey retracing the original dragoon route across Iowa blends scholarship with storytelling, captured through video essays, photography, and writing. This modern-day trek, featured on Iowa PBS’s Iowa Life and Iowa Public Radio’s Talk of Iowa, brings the past into the present, offering a compelling look at how landscapes remember. The result is a powerful contribution to environmental history, regional studies, and Indigenous scholarship – one that reveals the layered interactions between land use, policy, and historical change."
Mason's program Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa will be presented at Davenport's German American Heritage Center on November 15, with refreshments for this “Kaffee und Kuchen” event served at 1:30 p.m. and the program beginning at 2 p.m. Guests are welcome to bring their own mugs if they wish; disposable cups are provided, but mugs from home will help the venue reduce waste. Participation is free for Heritage Center members and $8 for non-members, and more information is available by calling (563)322-8844 and visiting GAHC.com.
