What lies buried beneath the layers of history in Minnesota’s state parks? For 37 years, Dave Radford made it his life’s work to find out. As the lead archaeologist for Minnesota State Parks, he unearthed discoveries that deepen our state’s understanding of natural and cultural history.
Dave’s archaeological journey began in the mid-1970s at Hamline University in St. Paul. “I was into both biology and archaeology and just being outside, working outside, and working with things that I didn’t know much about,” he recounts. “But I had to learn fairly quickly when I was at an archaeology field school. I really decided to go into archaeology at that point.”
He went on to study archaeology at the University of Southampton in England, with a focus on identifying plant remains.
Entering the workforce, he spent five years with private archaeological consulting firms in Wyoming, North Dakota, Colorado, Iowa, and Minnesota, before landing a role with the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS), where he would spend 37 years, until retiring in 2021.
With the MHS he focused on state parks and made some incredible discoveries — one of his most exciting was at Lake Vermilion Soudan-Underground Mine State Park. Here he unearthed obsidian flakes that he sourced to the famous ancient quarry at Obsidian Cliff in Yellowstone National Park.
The slow unearthing of this incredible find started with a humble shovel test — a small exploratory hole used to sample the soil. That shovel test returned four obsidian flakes, enough to prompt him to expand the dig site. He and his team continued methodically digging, starting with a 1-by-2-meter site. This yielded an additional 155 obsidian flakes and a thousand flakes of other materials, mostly local in origin. Among the non-local materials found was Knife River Flint. “That was a real exciting find,” said Dave.
They continued digging, until eventually discovering a fire hearth containing burned animal bones. The bones were radiocarbon dated, which helped to establish the age of the campsite. It came back as 650 years old — making this site eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Places.
“It was a surprise — you hardly ever expect to find obsidian and are able to radiocarbon date the occupation of the people that lived there,” explained Dave. “We figured it was a small campsite or habitation site, and it was at a beautiful location right on the edge of the shoreline of Lake Vermilion.”
But the discoveries are only part of the story. Throughout his career Dave has worked closely with tribal preservation officers and indigenous community members to ensure Native nations’ interests are central to protecting natural and cultural landscapes.
“It’s common practice now of being really conscious that there’s good consultation with Native American Tribes that have an interest in those areas.” Dave said.
Dave emphasizes that consultation with Native nations isn’t an afterthought — it happens before any fieldwork begins. Construction plans are shared with the Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) well in advance, giving Tribal representatives the opportunity to review potential impacts to cultural and historical resources. If objections were raised, they weren’t brushed aside — each concern was carefully weighed, often reshaping the project’s approach to ensure sacred sites and cultural history were respected.
This commitment to consultation isn’t just policy — it plays out in the field, as seen in Dave’s efforts to preserve cultural features throughout his projects. One example dates back to the early 2000s, when a golf course renovation was planned at Fort Ridgely State Park. Here, the team uncovered an intact stone fire ring believed to be 3,000 years old or more. The course was redesigned to keep the stone ring undisturbed in the ground, preserving the cultural history.
You’d think five years of retirement would slow anyone down — not Dave. He’s channeled his archaeology skills into volunteer work for the Minnesota Historical Society at Split Rock Lighthouse, keeping his passion for discovery alive. Beyond that, Dave’s calendar looks a little different — spending time with his new grandson Davin, cheering at Minnesota United soccer matches, or casting for trout, salmon, and walleye along the shores of Lake Superior. And of course, Dave also enjoys going camping in Minnesota’s state parks with his wife Wanda – a hobby that carries a little extra meaning given that Dave says he has been to all of Minnesota State Parks and Recreation areas during his time working with the agency. “I know the great campsites that I now get to relax in!”
Dave spent a lifetime uncovering Minnesota’s history through his work. In the end, he became an important part of it.
Coming after the event.
