Under the Prairie Archaeological Museum 2001-2008

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The Under the Prairie Archaeological Museum operated in Elkhart, Illinois between 2001 and 2008. It was owned and operated by the Sangamo Archaeological Center, a private archaeological research organization directed by Robert Mazrim. The Under the Prairie exhibits included the largest collection of early 19th century, frontier-context archaeological artifacts in the Midwest. The exhibits focused on life on the America frontier period of the region (circa 1790-1840), and featured authentic relics of daily life excavated from a variety of sites across the Midwest. The core exhibit, “Life in the Log Cabins”, included an exhaustive overview of all forms of archaeological material culture associated with log cabin communities such as the nearby extinct village of New Salem, where Abraham Lincoln lived during the 1830s.

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The exhibits were designed by Robert Mazrim, an Historical Archaeologist also affiliated with the University of Illinois. The museum and SAC collaborated with Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site, the Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program, the University of Wisconsin, and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

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The museum and its activities were covered widely in regional press. The exhibits were featured on C-SPAN’s Looking for Lincoln (2005), and included in Fodor’s Great American Vacations (2003). The museum was funded entirely through private donations and ticket sales, and was closed in 2008 due to declining tourism and unsustainable financial support.