We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site

About the Book

We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site is a detailed account about how Chuck and Sheri Bowen used eyewitness accounts to find places to search for artifacts on his family’s cattle ranch. The research began in 1995, and by 1997, Chuck had discovered over 3,000 1860s artifacts. The ranch included over seven miles of the creek, starting two miles above the Sand Creek monument. The book includes dialogue which separates it from most history books. It is the only book based on eyewitness accounts, discovery of artifacts and how they affect the traditional Sand Creek story. There are a lot of misunderstandings concerning Sand Creek, and this book provides clarity on information that hasn’t been made available before. The location of the artifacts, including cannonball fragments, sheds new light on where things happened. Artifacts were found over several miles, showing how spread out the village and running battle locations were.

About the Author

Chuck grew up on a cattle ranch adjoining the traditional Sand Creek site. He graduated from Eads High School in 1970 and attended college for a few years. His childhood passion for antiques grew into a love for local history, particularly Sand Creek. He became fascinated with metal detecting and learned to identify Civil War and Indian war era artifacts. He’s spent his life on Sand Creek and used that experience to discover thousands of artifacts. Chuck is a board member on the Prowers County Historical Society, a member of the Smoky Hill Trail Association, Civil War & Indian Wars Relic Identification, and the Santa Fe Trail Association Bent’s Fort Chapter. His Facebook page is @BowenHistory. The book is co-authored by Chuck’s son, Mike. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado Christian University and is a former editor and reporter of a weekly newspaper, The Lamar Ledger.