| Chesterfield Missouri Conducting Comprehensive Archaeological Survey |
Mark Leach |
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Chesterfield, Missouri |
The City of Chesterfield Missouri, sits along the Missouri River bluffs, in west St. Louis County. It has long been known as a very productive area for archaeological study, whether by professional or amateur. Evidence suggests that trench studies at a number of Chesterfield's mounds were conducted over 100 years ago. More formal studies were conducted by well-known amateur archaeologist Leonard Blake in the 1940s. Starting in the late 1950s the area began a transition from farmland to a suburban metropolis. Such development necessitated a number of large-scale archaeological excavations, and it provided a nearly constant supply of freshly graded land for artifact collectors.
It is estimated that less than 15% of Chesterfield's bluff-top land remains undeveloped. Nearly all of this land is slated for development over the next several years. The City of Chesterfield recently formed the Landmarks Preservation Commission to identify and preserve its historic places, including archaeological sites. Relative to archaeology, the Commission's major focus is not centered on stopping or impeding development, but rather on gathering data to construct a comprehensive archaeological record. Much of the data remains in the ground. It may be recovered or destroyed. On the other hand, a wealth of information has already been uncovered. It sits in boxes and files in area university anthropology departments, in cigar boxes and buckets in the cellars of area farmers, and in the display cases of area artifact collectors. If you fit into one of the above-mentioned categories, the City of Chesterfield is asking for your help.
While these artifacts are certainly rewarding to each individual, they do little in isolation to contribute to our overall anthropological understanding.
We don't want your artifacts,
we simply want to learn from them.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission wants to learn from them and then educate the public about its rich and fascinating ancient history. Also, we want to learn from them in order to justify the need to conduct additional formal archaeological excavations on some of the properties slated for development.
If you've found artifacts in Chesterfield, it is kindly requested that you share information about your finds with Mark Leach, Missouri Archaeological Society member and member of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Information on contacting Mr. Leach is provided at the end of this article.
Who you are and how you got the artifact is not important to the Commission. What you found and where you found is vitally important. This information will be added to a comprehensive site map and listing that is being constructed and maintained.
How Will Your Information Be Used?
To file information with the ASM
When appropriate, information about your finds will be submitted to the Archaeological
Survey of Missouri (ASM). The ASM will assign site numbers and open files on your sites. If you then mark the artifacts
with their corresponding site numbers, you will help to ensure the scientific value of your efforts for generations
to come.
To Protect Sites from Destruction
The Commission provides the City Planning Department with a list of Chesterfield's archaeological
sites. The exact locations of sites are held in confidence to protect their scientific integrity. The current list
contains about 75 sites. An additional 45 sites will soon be added, pending processing at the ASM. The City Planning
Department uses the list to determine if a proposed development is in close proximity to an existing archaeological
site. If it is, they ask the Landmarks Preservation Commission to conduct an analysis to estimate the likelihood
that a site may exist on the property being proposed for development. The commission may then seek the advice of
its consulting archaeologist, Patti Wright, of the Missouri Historical Society and University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Based on the Commission's recommendation, the City Council may then ask the developer to submit
plans to address the archaeological issue in order to gain city approval for the development.
To Educate the Public About the Area's Ancient History
Information about your finds will also help our efforts to write a comprehensive book about
Chesterfield's anthropological record, The Guide to Chesterfield's Ancient History. This publication will be made
available to local schools and other interested parties. It will take the reader sequentially through Missouri's
archaeological/cultural periods. Significant Chesterfield sites representative of each period will be highlighted,
as well as artifacts from private collections. For example, the Clovis camp component of The Martens Site will
be featured in a chapter on the Paleo-Indian Period. Work by Joe Harl, of the Archaeological Research Center of
St. Louis, at the Hayden Site will be highlighted as an example of a Late Archaic community focused on the production
and trade of long blades. Several of the emergent Mississippian and Mississippian village sites and their possible
relationship to Cahokia will also be covered.
Too often information uncovered about a site gets reburied in university file cabinets, as professional archaeologists try desperately to address a monumental amount of work at hand. Once prized framed artifacts often end up sold off at garage or estate sales after the collector passes away. Buckets and boxes of old rocks can end up in the garbage or, in one recently reported case, being used to fill in an erosion hole in a suburban backyard.
If you decide to share information about your Chesterfield artifacts, you'll be in good company. Professional archaeologists such as Tim Baumann, Julie & Toby Morrow, Patti Wright and Joe Harl are sharing information pertaining to their work in Chesterfield. Amateur archaeologists such as Dick Martens, Alan Banks and John Crowley are sharing information about their Chesterfield finds. Long-time farm families and local school kids are coming forth as well. Whether you are a professional archaeologist with site information in your files, a collector with artifacts neatly framed in your family room, or a retired farmer with a box of artifacts, the City of Chesterfield kindly requests your help.
To share information about archeological finds in Chesterfield, Missouri, contact: Mark Leach, Chesterfield Landmarks Preservation Commission, 1608 Ansonborough Dr., Chesterfield, MO 63017. Daytime: (314) 249-5116, Evening: (636) 532-2858 Email: hippo7@gateway.net .
© 1990 C.S.A.S.I. Last modified:
December 8 2004