STONEWATCH

NEWSLETTER of the GUNGYWAMP SOCIETY

Written & Edited by the Board Members of the Gungywamp Society      

Vol. 18, No. 1                          ISSN 0892-1741                                Winter 2000-01

A YEAR IN TRANSITION

As many of you know, our president, David P. Barron, was in ill health the last two years, and in July of this year we were grieved by his passing. Prior to his death, he and the Gungywamp board members discussed the continued goals and direction of the Society, and we are pleased to announce that we are staying on the course we outlined in those meetings.

During this past year we have continued to give tours throughout the Gungywamp complex, and we have conducted a few exploratory digs in areas which had not been examined previously. One site which we reexamined was the controversial "Christogram" site. After much root cutting and a little bit of dirt sifting, we noted that the site directly in front and around the rock etching was on a small ledge. No artifacts were found at this site, but at another site we uncovered the remains of another small colonial house, complete with root cellar/chamber. At this site we did find a few artifacts, mostly pottery and china bits typical of the colonial period.

CONTACT WITH THE YMCA

One of the most significant activities we have accomplished this year has been a meeting we had with one of the board members of the YMCA. The Y owns a good deal of the Gungywamp land and at present the Y has tentative plans to develop recreational programs at their Groton camp. These programs would center around water activities at their pond and would also include the maintenance of hiking trails throughout the Y-owned land. In October, Y board member John Atkinson called our treasurer, Sharon Mason, about meeting with the Gungywamp Society to discuss mutual plans for the Y lands, including the Gungywamp sites. On October 31, Gungywamp board members Paulette Buchanan and Carol Hallas met with John, and the result was quite productive. One of the proposals we made included having at least one reciprocal board member from each group who would attend each other’s board meetings. Another plan included joint tours throughout the Gungywamp sites. Most important to each group, we discussed the mutual need for more volunteers.

T T T T T T

The Gungywamp Society now has its own official website, Gungywamp.com. Our website lists our board members and their functions, and it describes our mission statement. Our site also has links to Connecticut’s tourism website and the state’s archaeology website.

There are some other websites on the Internet which have Gungywamp in their names, but some of these sites do not represent who and what we are. For this reason, it is important to us to have our own website which describes clearly and accurately the Gungywamp sites.