Stolen Artifact Recovered By FBI In Dearborn

DEARBORN, MI — An artifact stolen more than 60 years ago has been recovered, announced Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Division, Michael Harpster, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, Timothy Carpenter, Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI’s Art Crime Team, and Ronald Haddad, Dearborn Police Chief.

The artifact, a powder horn made in 1757, was returned to the Detroit Historical Society this afternoon, at a presentation in Dearborn. The powder horn was stolen from the 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.

The powder horn was made at Fort #4 in Charlestown, New Hampshire, on June 30, 1757, for a soldier by the name of Lt. Abel Prindel. It 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

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. It is unclear how Nowlin initially came to possess the powder horn. However it had been handed down through several generations of the Nowlin family and remained in the Nowlin family’s care and possession until June of 1947 when it was sold to the Detroit Historical Museum.

The Dearborn Police Department conducted a theft investigation that initially yielded no clues. 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 the assistance of the FBI. In late 2018, FBI’s Detroit Division and Art Crime Team – Philadelphia Division were able to recover the powder horn.

SAC Slater thanked the Dearborn Police Department for its investigation of the 1952 burglary and subsequent assistance with the FBI’s Detroit Division and Philadelphia Division Art Crime Team. Slater and Haddad also credited the Dearborn Historical Museum and Detroit Historical Society with helping the FBI return the artifact to the Detroit Historical Museum.

Once it is returned, the Nowlin Powder Horn will be on short-term display through Spring 2019 at the Detroit Historical Museum. Following that, it will be used in “Frontiers to Factories,” a permanent exhibit that focuses on the city’s early history.

Image via FBI