Overview

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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Kevin T. Mason
Publisher:   Michigan State University Press
Imprint:   Michigan State University Press
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9781611865684

ISBN 10:   1611865689
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   01 April 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: First Fort Des Moines Montrose Chapter 2: Farmington to Bentonsport Chapter 3: Bentonsport to Leando Chapter 4: Leando to Eldon Chapter 5: Eldon to Ottumwa Chapter 6: Ottumwa to Eddyville Chapter 7: Eddyville to Eveland Access Chapter 8: Eveland Access to Cordova Tower Chapter 9: Cordova Tower to Yellow Banks Chapter 10: Yellow Banks to Second Fort Des Moines Chapter 11: Second Fort Des Moines to Big Creek State Park Chapter 12: Big Creek State Park to Ledges State Park Chapter 13: Ledges State Park to Don Williams Recreation Area Chapter 14: Don Williams Recreation Area to Dolliver State Park Chapter 15: Dolliver State Park to Kennedy Park Campground Chapter 16: Kennedy Park Campground to Rose Mill Chapter 17: Rose Mill to McKnight’s Point Chapter 18: McKnight’s Point to Robert Mulroney Recreation Area Chapter 19: Robert Mulroney Recreation Area to Osgood Chapter 20: Osgood to Fort Defiance State Park Chapter 21: Fort Defiance State Park to Mini-Wakan State Park

Reviews

In the current movement to revive the study of the American Midwest, few people have outworked the historian Kevin T. Mason. He has brought his masterful lectures to podiums all around the region, his lessons on Midwestern history on social media know no equals, and his podcasts are first-rate. In his new book, Mason gives the reader a brilliant tour of Iowa, the most Midwestern state, which will help people from all regions understand the center of our country. Join Mason, Mr. Iowa History, on this journey, and you will encounter a whole new dimension of American life. -- ""Jon K. Lauck, editor-in-chief, Middle West Review"" (9/18/2025 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

Kevin T. Mason is an assistant professor of history at the University of Northern Iowa. Mason formerly served as an associate professor of history at Waldorf University, where he chaired the Department of History, Geography, and Political Science. He is the author of “Inkpaduta in Iowa: Dakota Decline, Dispossession, and Erasure” in The Annals of Iowa, a Mildred Throne & Charles Aldrich Iowa History Award winning article. He has also published in Little Village, the Middle West Review, and the Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.

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