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ROCK STARS
David Dale Owen (1807–1860): Frontier Geologist

William Elliott, Dept. of Geology and Physics, University of Southern Indiana, 8600 University Boulevard, Evansville, Indiana 47712, USA

Fellenberg’s school at Hofwyl, Switzerland. While attending the
Swiss school, he received instruction in chemistry, geology, and
natural history. Owen, along with his brother Richard, returned
to Scotland in 1826 to continue their education in the natural sci-
ences under Andrew Ure at the Andersonian Institute at Glasgow
(Hendrickson, 1943).
In 1827, Owen, along with his brothers Robert Dale and Richard,
sailed to America with their father, Robert Owen, arriving in New
York City in January 1828. While in New Harmony, Owen inter-
acted with several competent artists who focused on scientific illus-
tration, such as Virginia Poullard DuPalais, Charles Alexandre
Lesueur, and Lucy Sistaire Say. To continue refining his artistic
talents, Owen spent a year in New York City in 1830 with his
brother, Robert, improving upon his drawing and painting. Through
these experiences, Owen became an accomplished artist who drew
sketches and drafted illustrations that were reproduced as litho-
graphs or engravings with his publications.
David Dale Owen at about 40 years of age from a self-portrait included with In 1831, Owen traveled to England and studied chemistry and
the Report of a Geological Survey of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, and geology at the University of London. Upon his return to the United
Incidentally of a Portion of Nebraska Territory, published in 1852.
States in 1833, he began remodeling the Harmonist Shoemaker’s
Shop in New Harmony to be used as a geological workshop with
NEW HARMONY a lecture hall, laboratory, storage room, and museum. By the early
In 1825, Robert Owen, noted Scottish social reformer and philan- 1830s, New Harmony had gained global notoriety through its
thropist, collaborated with William Maclure, “Father of American association with Charles Alexandre Lesueur, William Maclure,
Geology,” to establish an experimental utopian community in the Robert Owen, and Thomas Say.
United States. Coincidently, the Harmonist Society led by Father Beginning in 1835, Owen studied anatomy, chemistry, and
Johann Georg Rapp was entertaining potential offers for their self- osteology at the Ohio Medical College in Cincinnati, earning a
sufficient town of New Harmony, founded in 1814 along the Wabash medical degree in 1836. He also continued to improve upon his
River in Posey County, Indiana, USA. After Owen and Maclure sketching, especially in regards to anatomy. Although he never
purchased the town from the Harmonists in 1825, Maclure recruited established a medical practice, he used these skills to describe
many artists, educators, and scientists from Philadelphia to partici- and illustrate fossils, reconstruct vertebrate skeletons, and conduct
pate in their social experiment, including Virginia Poullard geological investigations.
DuPalais (artist), Marie Duclos Fretageot (educator), Charles
Alexandre Lesueur (artist and zoologist), Thomas Say (entomologist EARLY CAREER
and conchologist), and Gerard Troost (geologist). Owen acquired his first professional experience as a geologist
On 8 December 1825, this group began their journey to New at age 29 by assisting Gerard Troost with a geological survey of
Harmony from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, navigating down Tennessee. Through this work, Owen gained valuable experience
the Ohio River on a keel boat named Philanthropist, later referred in conducting geological surveys, understanding the significance
to as the “Boatload of Knowledge” (Straw and Doss, 2008). Even of fossils in determining the age of sedimentary rocks, and docu-
though the experimental society in New Harmony dissolved by menting the extent and grade of mineralogical and coal resources.
1828, the community became a beacon for scientific investigations He also conducted chemical analyses on mineral, ore, and rock
on the frontier. Specifically, geological work endured for more samples to determine their elemental composition.
than 50 years in New Harmony, serving as the headquarters for Afterward, Owen returned to New Harmony, and in March 1837,
numerous state and federal geological surveys conducted by David the Indiana General Assembly commissioned him to conduct a geo-
Dale Owen and those whom he trained as geologists. logical survey of Indiana. During the first year, Owen focused on
the building stone and coal and chemical analyses, distribution, and
EDUCATION physical properties of minerals and rocks. In March 1838, Owen
David Dale Owen was born on 24 June 1807 in Lanarkshire, was reappointed as geologist for Indiana and continued to gain valu-
Scotland, to Anne Caroline Dale and Robert Owen. He was the able field experiences. From his previous work in 1837, he proposed
third youngest of eight children in his family, with six of his sib- the further study of ironstones, extent and access to coal resources,
lings surviving infancy: Robert Dale, William, Anne Caroline, the occurrence and quality of brine wells used for salt production,
Jane Dale, Richard Dale, and Mary. In childhood, Owen was pri- and the origin of native copper in Indiana. Through this work,
vately tutored at his family’s Braxfield House prior to his three Owen emphasized the practical application of geology to the discov-
years of education under the tutelage of Philipp Emanuel von ery and evaluation of natural resources.

20 GSA Today | August 2021