SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa — Dickinson County Museum volunteer Kathy McNeill loves to research history. In 2023, she was reading through 1930s editions of the Iowa Historical Society publications and found letters with firsthand accounts of the discovery of the Spirit Lake Massacre.

Thirty settlers were murdered in 1857 near Spirit Lake by Native American raiders, after a dispute developed over food in the long, cold winter here.

McNeill discovered letters written about the Spirit Lake Massacre between Orlando and Maria Howe. Howe was looking for a place to live for his family in Iowa, his wife was back in New York State.

“That was March 8 of 1857 he came back to lake and was the second person to discover what happened here in the area,” said Mary Dreier, former director of the Dickinson County Museum. “He was just horrified of course went back to Fort Dodge and became part of the team that came back to try to rescue, and find the folks that were involved. It ended up being a burial party, but he was here during that time these letters have a very graphic and interesting description of what he found.”

Text of the letters was written into a readers-theater type presentation. The first reading was given in March of 2024.

Here is an excerpt of one of Orlando Howe’s letters:

“We did not count the bodies lined there, from recollection as to the position they were lying in, and from recognizing several of the persons can positively identify seven, although they were probably several more.”

In a report to the Government about the issue, Howe wrote:

“The best information we have we are sure there were about 40 persons at the lake from 12 to 20 have been seen dead. The others are probably either besieged prisoners or dead.”

Now, another letter about the massacre has been discovered. It was written by Howe’s daughter, who moved to the area as a child right after the massacre.

That letter will be part of the July 2025 Readers Theater Howes Letters presentation.

When: Wednesday, July 30 at 7:30 PM

Where: Pearson Lakes Art Center, Spirit Lake, IA

Cost: Free (donations welcomed)

Reservations: Not required

The Howe Letters presentation will be live-streamed on the Dickinson County Museum Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/dickinsoncountymuseum/

The event is presented by the Dickinson County Museum, Friends of the Abbie Gardner Cabin, and Lakes Area Museum Alliance. Supported in part by the Spirit of Okoboji.