Posted on 12/13/2011 2:30:15 PM PST by NYer
Irene’s flood waters tore up the parking lot at the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, uncovering remnants of an 18th century fort.
“For the first time we now know where one block house of Fort Hunter was,” said Archeologist Michael Roets with the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Roets talked to reporters Tuesday while standing in middle of a block house, built by the British to accommodate about 20 soldiers.
“We never would have had this exposed without the flood,” Roets said.
During Irene, raging flood waters ripped up the parking lot and unearthed the foundation of a 24-by-24 foot block house and curtain wall.
Roets said they had found remnants of a Mohawk Indian village in the past and knew there was more artifacts on the property.
“For us, we didn't know how much remained under that parking lot,” Roets said.
Archeologists and residents always knew the British built a fort back in 1712, hence the name, Fort Hunter. But the big question remained, where exactly was it?
The recent discovery is a big hint.
“We’re hoping that when people come visit they are in awe and they can actually see a bit of history, and in a sense feel a bit more connected to their environment and their town,” said Archeologist Kristin O’Connell who was busy excavating the property on Tuesday.
Experts aren't just interpreting the stone structures, but dozens of artifacts like cuff links, musket balls, and colonial coins made into jewelry. Plus, smoking pipes and wine bottles, all of which help to paint a picture of what life was like in the mid-1700s.
“Being a soldier out here, I would imagine you have lots of time to get into trouble,” Roets said laughing. “There was a lot of drinking and smoking, and historical accounts of confrontations between the Indians and soldiers.”
Experts say the new findings will help write history about the British and the Indians cohabitating in the Mohawk Valley.
The site will be preserved through winter and will eventually be open to the public as part of the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site.
The State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation just received a grant to help restore all the landmark signs destroyed by Irene.
mark
Schoharie Valley was a critical theater during the War of Independence. There is an excellent history of the valley up to about 1820 available online. I highly recommend it for a view of what the war was really like. We tend to get a highly sanitized version of it these days.
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The RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list
[Posting this from an Amtrak train going about 85 mph between NYC and Washington DC somewhere in the wilds of NJ...the WiFi works...and it's free!! Whatta country America!]
Thanks for your personalized info on this post; just want to emphasize a point you made about the Oneidas for those that may be unaware of their singularity: when the rest of the Iroquois Confederacy supported the Brits, the Oneidas were the only tribe supporting the patriot side. If you have a chance to support them, please do. While some remain in NY State, I believe most now live in Wisconsin.
One of their characteristics that is very noteworthy is they had an immigration policy and allowed European origin people to move in, set up shop to do stuff, and to farm, or teach farming.
That was their downfall as well. About 1830 New York, always greedy for more land to give away to illegal aliens, declared that the Oneida were thoroughly "white". They then seized the Oneida lands on the grounds that "whites" were not allowed to own reserved Indian lands.
The former Oneida territory turned to poop as everybody moved away.
It was up on milk crates, but that was okay, I’d stolen it from Al Gore.
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