The Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa were well known for their gardens, in which they grew squash, melon, sunflower, corn, and beans using tools made of stone or bone. Other stone artifacts include projectile points from Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Late Archaic, Middle Woodland, Late Woodland, Plains Village and up to the Historic Period.

The Archaeology Department is responsible for the collection, interpretation and curation of artifacts and information pertaining to the history of the area. The Archaeology Department continues to develop and maintain both a research document collection and an artifact collection. These are available to the general public and research institutions. Please contact the Archaeology Department for more information

Access to the collections is limited and all interested individuals or institutions are asked to contact the Archaeology Department about your requests, prior to arrival. All requests for access to the research documents and / or collections must be received in writing no later than 30 days prior to arrival. Please submit your request directly to the Archaeology Department briefly stating the intended purpose for the visit, what document or item(s) you wish to view, and your planned arrival date. An Archaeology Department representative will be in contact with you. Requests received by e-mail, fax, or letterhead are all appropriate.

The Genealogy Department is one of the newer departments and is still being developed. Our collections include a fairly extensive file of births, deaths, and marriages.  We have several cemetery records and numerous reference and local history books. We also have a microfilm/microfiche reader/printer and several rolls of film for research purposes. The films include a large number of the early newspaper files, and there is a paper archive of the first one hundred years of publication by the Bowman County Pioneer.

Are you interested in the stars? Or do you find yourself looking up at the sky instead of in front of you? Come help us develop this department.

This department needs volunteers and people with an interest in the skys. Please contacts us to express an intrest.

If you really want to see the prairie, you have to get out of your vehicle and walk upon it. So it is with our native plant gardens, and that is why they are called the Prairie Walk. It is one thing to read about a prairie, it is quite another to walk though one. Our mission with the Prairie Walk is to re-create a small sample of this shared natural heritage.

The Dakota prairies are the stuff of legend. Vast herds of buffalo, earth lodge villages, Sitting Bull and his Lakota warriors, cowboys, homesteaders, sheepherders, and pioneers all contributed to the rich and colorful history of this region. It was the prairie that drew them here, and it was the prairie that sustained them. In the course of settlement, the animals, the people, and the prairies themselves went through many changes. Today the prairie exists only in scattered remnants, and is much different from its original condition.

Also on display are military uniforms and memorabilia with local connections from Calvary days, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Currently there are plans to include the Vietnam War and Desert Storm as the display area is enlarged.

The Bowman County Historical and Genealogical Society published the book, A History of Bowman County 1907-2007, as part of the Bowman County Centennial in 2007.   An authentic sod house was constructed in the spring of 2006, located on the east museum grounds. 

The Pioneer Trails Regional Museum in Bowman, North Dakota is providing Day Tours for interested individuals who would like to accompany the museum staff, this summer, when they collect fossil localities. Participants will learn about the local geology, what fossils are present, and the procedures to properly collect them.  Visitors will be able to assist in the collecting as well as learning what takes place in the preparation lab upon returning to the museum.

The tours will begin at 8:30 AM MDT by meeting at the museum.  A short drive will then be necessary to the field site by your personally owned vehicle. The tour group will return to town at noon each day.  After a noon break, participants will return to the museum in the afternoon to learn the preparation and curation processes.  The Day Tour will end at 4:00 PM, unless other previous arrangements were made.