The Pella Public Library will host Iowa historian and former Pella resident Kevin Mason, author of “Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa: Environmental Transformation along the Des Moines River” on Wednesday, May 27th.
In the book, Mason presents a 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.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing after the presentation. The event will take place at 6:30pm in the library’s Meeting Room, and is free and open to the public. For questions about this or other upcoming events, contact the Pella Public Library at 641-628-4268.
