Our speaker, Tom Trow, is the lead archaeologist for the effort to open to the public a long-
hidden archaeological and cultural site in Mower County, MN. For about 400 years, ending in
around 1400 CE, the Grand Meadow Chert Quarry was the most important place in southeastern
MN and possibly the whole state, at the time. Families and entire villages came here for the
stone called “chert” (flint is a type of chert), used for everyday tools including awls, hide scrapers,
spear points, and arrowheads. Tools made from this chert have been found at sites in 52 counties
in the state, including Hennepin.