A Recent Trip to Kampsville

A panorama view of the middle of town where all of the dorms and labs used to be.

A most recent trip to Kampsville

Recently I had a chance to spend a few days in Kampsville, visit some old friends, make some new friends, and photograph.

For the first time in over half a century there was no excavation or field schools during the summer 0f 2020.  Covid-19 did something the river was not quite ever able to do, shut down most of the program.

However, the Center for American Archeology still had some staff hard at work and a handful of graduate students doing research.  My thanks go out to these to these fine folks for welcoming me in and taking the time to educate me on some of the ways the advancement in technology has changed the way we analyze data, and the unexcavated sites using current methods.

Sadly, parts of the town continue to be whittled away.  There are buildings in Kampsville that are still standing, now, that are already scheduled to be razed.  And, there a few buildings that are being re-purposed and have found a new life.  It is still a town in change.

Elsewhere in surrounding towns I continue to see decline.   Shuttered small banks, post offices with auction signs, and abandoned buildings.  Erosion of small-town life continues on.

While in the area I did drop in and visit the Koster site.  It is getting harder and harder to visualize the excavation that once was.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to look at my images.