At 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 13, the Cooper County Historical Society is scheduled to feature Christine Boston, PhD, Professor of Anthropology at Lincoln University, at Prairie Home United Methodist Church.

A news release says Dr. Boston will discuss her archeology dig at the Don Carlos Homestead site in the northern part of Moniteau County, which was occupied from 1828 to the 1950s by the Don Carlos family.

Carter Morgan Don Carlos traveled from Kentucky to Mid-Missouri before Moniteau became its own county. According to family lore, Don Carlos was a Spanish prince who chose to try the New World over taking an allowance from his family after losing his land and title in the War for Polish Secession in Europe.

He built a two-story home near what would become Prairie Home, where he and three wives created a family of 17 children. His descendants were involved in the formative years of the area, helping organize the Prairie Home Fair; drawing railroad lines through the area; establishing phone lines; establishing early stores; and serving in elected positions in Moniteau and Cooper Counties. The homestead was sold in the 1950s after three generations of the Don Carlos family, and the home was eventually taken down.

Dr. Boston’s dig began with the known perimeter of the Don Carlos farmhouse and a half-buried abandoned wagon. A cellar was discovered at the site of what they believe was a blacksmith’s shop. Some of the artifacts she and her students have unearthed include glass and pottery shards; wax paper tin-roofing material; bullet casings; a bridle and varying sizes of horseshoes; a carriage coin; and pieces of a wood-burning stove.

Dr. Boston and her students have spent the last four years digging at the homestead.

All people interested in history of the central Missouri area are invited to come. Refreshments will be served.

Photo of some items that have been excavated provided by Dr. Christine Boston.