DEARBORN (WWJ) - A rare artifact that mysteriously disappeared from Dearborn 60 years ago has been found and returned to its rightful owner.
The powder horn was stolen back in 1952, according to the FBI, and popped up at auction last November with a starting bid of $13,000.
Reporters snapped photos and bystanders clapped as Special Jacob Archer, with the FBI Art Crime Team, officially presented the horn the Detroit Historical Society.
Made at Fort #4 in Charlestown, New Hampshire, on June 30, 1757, for a soldier by the name of Lt. Abel Prindel, the horn is engraved with Lt. Prindel’s name, rank and the date on which it was made.
It also has the following verse carved into it:
"I powder with my broth ball
A heroe like do Conquer all
Tis best abrod with foreign foes to fight
And not at home to feel their hateful spite
Where all our friends of every sex and age
Will be exposed until their creuel rage"
The artifact disappeared from Dearborn Historical Museum in 1952 shortly before an exhibition entitled “Saga of a Settler” was open to the public. At the time of the exhibition, the powder horn was on loan from the Detroit Historical Society.
Prindel’s powder horn was to be one of the most significant artifacts in the “Saga of a Settler” exhibit because it had belonged to John Nowlin - one of the earliest settlers of “Dearbornville” (now Dearborn). In 1833, Nowlin came by wagon to Dearbornville from his homestead in New York -- but it's unclear where he got the horn. It was handed down through several generations of the Nowlin family until June of 1947 when it was sold to the Detroit Historical Museum.
Dearborn police conducted a theft investigation that initially yielded no clues. Then, in 1991, the powder horn appeared for auction at Christie’s Auction House and was sold to an unknown buyer. In 2017, the Dearborn PD requested help from the FBI; and in late 2018, the FBI’s Detroit Division and Art Crime Team – Philadelphia Division were able to recover the artifact.
"It turned up at an estate (in Philadelphia) of a person who had recently passed," explained Stan Kolakowski of Dearborn police. Although that person is not beleived to have been involved in the theft.
As for who did steal the horn, that's still unclear.
"After getting that lead from the auction house records, we were able to track (the item's source) down to a person who we had prior experience with...who's again, a potential unwitting person in this..." Archer said.
The horn will be on short-term display through Spring 2019 at the Detroit Historical Museum. After that, it will be used in “Frontiers to Factories,” a permanent exhibit that focuses on the city’s early history.