Author's Profile

Dana Olson can best be described as a modern day adventurer who has unlocked many of the hidden facts regarding the ancient Welsh tradition, which, until recently, have remained buried in the dark recesses of the past.

Dana Olson was selling insurance in 1974—in 1982, he was publishing a book; the culmination of a six-year quest spent gathering and investigating the facts concerning the Legend of Prince Madoc. What motivated Dana to radically change his career path and devote his personal time in researching and writing about a long-forgotten 12th century Welsh Prince?

Dana was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1948, but grew up in Clarksville, Clark County, Indiana. Clarksville then was a tightly-knit community, with a genuine "hometown" atmosphere. To the residents, a homespun yarn was a form of entertainment taken to an art form, and an expected daily treat for young ears. Then, there were always the stories of George Rogers Clark conquering the Northwest Territory, of mighty Indian chiefs and their fierce warriors, and of the Aztec treasures buried at the Falls of the Ohio. Dana heard the stories told and retold about every corner or meeting place of the small town, as he was growing up.

After graduating from Providence High School, Dana attended Lenoir Rhyne College on scholarship. After his collegiate days, he began selling insurance in 1974, a career he pursued until he developed an interest in writing. At this time, he did not realize that the researching of buried treasure stories that had fueled his imagination as a young boy and the history of the mysterious surroundings of Devil's Backbone in Clark County, would soon introduce him to the subject of his writing.

Originally, Dana had set out to write about the colorful and notorious outlaws, the Reno Brothers. But, as he perused the brittle, moldy pages of antique books in the special collections areas of local libraries, he rediscovered the much more important and long-forgotten story of Prince Madoc of Wales. The more he read about Madoc, the more intrigued he was. Dana was slowly becoming convinced that the Legend was, in fact, a true story.

Totally infatuated with the ancient account, he began a personal crusade to collect as much of the story as he could find, before the legend had entirely faded away and was utterly lost from public knowledge. This led him to conduct personal interviews with many elderly residents, who remembered as children, their grandparents speaking of the frontiersmen exploits. He visited local historians to see what, if anything, they may tell him about the story. He gathered pertinent historical documentation from dusty archives across the U.S. He personally visited and traced out the supposed trek of Madoc's Welsh colonists' migration across the U.S. (Mobile, Alabama, De Soto Falls Tn, Lookout Mountain, Tn, Old Stone Fort, Manchester, Tn, Fort Mountain, Ga, to name a few places). After six years of effort and thousands of miles of legwork, he settled to write his first book: Prince Madoc: Founder of Clark County, IN.

Since then, Dana has become a popular character throughout southern Indiana and has received acclaim for reviving the Legend of Prince Madoc. Recently, Dana was the recipient of a Certificate of Merit, earned from Writer's Digest's 2000 National Book Award Contest. This honor was bestowed, due to his extensive researching efforts and to the unique content of his book.

Had it not been for Dana's book, lectures, and publicity, the Madoc Legend, practically unknown to the present generation, may have been yet another ancient story lost to the ages.

Spirit undaunted by critics who dispel and ridicule the possibility of Pre-Columbus settlements in America, Dana continues to pursue the truth surrounding the Madoc Legend.

If you would like more information on Prince Madoc . . .

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