Wyatt Schmitz, 9, of St. Charles, Mo., looks at an archaeology map with Jeff, his dad, at the Heritage Museum in St. Charles County, Mo.

The remnants of life prior to colonization and early Missouri settlers are now on display at the St. Charles County (Missouri) Heritage Museum at Heritage Park. Using the tagline, “And, the Old Becomes the New,” the museum houses more than 20 artifacts from the University of Missouri–St. Louis’ archaeological collection. Stone arrow and spear points, drills, scrapers, grinding stones, hematite plummets, ceramic pottery shards and more are on display.

UMSL’s archaeological collection from east-central Missouri is the largest in the state. Two rooms in the museum are dedicated to archaeology and prehistory of St. Charles County and are filled with items from UMSL.

“They artifacts were mostly collected from the late 1970s through early the 1990s when UMSL sponsored an archaeological contract and research program,” said Patti Wright, associate professor of anthropology at UMSL. “The exhibit gives the public an idea about the rich prehistory of the region, and the use of our artifacts helps showcase some of the activities, in this case, archaeological investigations that occur at UMSL.”

The old brick home that houses about half of the museum’s collection was built in 1857. The home offers five display rooms. Attached to it is a reconstructed barn that houses an exhibit outlining the reasons why German emigrants settled in St. Charles County.

The St. Charles County Heritage Museum at Heritage Park is situated near the intersection of the Page extension and highway 94 at 1630 Heritage Landing.

More information:
http://tinyurl.com/22s7rgj