DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge museum — Attraction in Blair

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, located near Missouri Valley, Iowa, is home to a premier archeological collection of over 250,000 artifacts excavated from the buried wreck of the Steamboat Bertrand. On April 1, 1865, the sternwheeler hit a submerged log, thirty miles north of Omaha, Nebraska. Bound for the newly discovered goldfields of Montana from St. Louis, Missouri, the Bertrand sank into the depths of the Missouri River; and after initial salvage efforts, her cargo was written off as complete loss.

Using historical documents and a flux gate magnetometer, modern treasurer hunters, Sam Corbino and Jesse Pursell located the wreck on DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in 1968. As the boat was on federal property, the salvors agreed under the requirements of the American Antiquities Preservation Act of 1906, to turn over all recovered artifacts to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for permanent exhibition and preservation in a public museum.

By 1969, the vessel's cargo was completely excavated from its thirty feet deep, mud tomb. Unfortunately for the salvors, the treasure they sought had eluded them. Insurance company divers had apparently removed most of the mercury and other valuables soon after the ship sank. However, what had been left was a diversity of tools, clothing, and food items. The Bertrand's cargo was remarkably well preserved and the refuge's collection is a unique time capsule for researchers and visitors interested in America's 19th century...

Bevy of Birds! We visited the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge to see the migratory flocks of birds—we were not disappointed! We arrived around 9:30am-ish and still had to wait in a long line of cars to get to the pay station for entry (very inexpensive, just a few dollars). Parking around the Visitor’s Center was packed but not impossible, even when very busy; we parked on the side of the rode and walked to the center. The trails around the Visitor’s Center were all roped off to avoid disturbing the flocks. No worries, the Visitor’s Center is fantastic and well worth your visit. The Visitor’s Center has great viewing windows, great exhibits, helpful staff, and bathrooms. On our visit, the Visitor’s Center was pretty crowded, but we still found lots of space to observe the birds (and fellow visitors were universally friendly). We also drove around the lake and found parking to hike the very short Cottonwood Trail (less than a mile, very gentle, wide trail with only a little ice), which gave us a long distance but uncrowded view of the activities from multiple points along the lake. We also saw two eagles from this trail. Overall, the sights of these birds was well worth the time and very small expense—highly...

My dad brought me here as a child. Now I can say I've taken my Grandson! My Grandson is differently abled and uses a mobility aid. I cant tell you how much it means to families to have inclusive and accessible places like DeSoto Bend!!! We were able to get around inside easily and the outside trail was wonderful! My grandson wanted to know how many passengers were on the boat so we went to ask the ranger at the desk. (I wish I would have got his name). It's important for my Grandson to try to do as much as possible by himself however speaking is difficult. If you don't know him he can be hard to understand sometimes. I encouraged him to ask the ranger his question and the ranger understood him! He answered my Grandsons question and offered him a sticker. This was something that may have seemed simple to others, but for us, it means the world! I will continue to return and encourage families with differently abled loved ones to visit. Thank you for being the good and...