STONEWATCH

NEWSLETTER of the GUNGYWAMP SOCIETY

 P.O. Box 592, Colchester, CT  06415-0592

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. There is a tentative plan to have a joint informative meeting for the public at the Groton Public Library sometime in 2001. At this informative meeting we hope to get the public interested in the recreational and educational features offered in the beautiful woods of the Gungywamp.

If you would like to volunteer your time and energy to join us on digs or assist us on tours, please don’t hesitate to let us know! If you know of others who would be interested in digging with us or assisting in tours, pass the word along of our need for dedicated 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 clearly and accurately describes the Gungywamp Society.

One of the most important goals of the Gungywamp Society has been to continue both field and document research. As we "unearth" facts pertaining to the Gungywamp area, we have developed a clearer picture of the sites, particularly of the colonial sites. Carol Hallas continues to conduct extensive research into the documents which mention or possibly allude to the Gungywamp sites and to colonial sites as a whole. Jack Rajotte has also combined his talents in both field and document research so as to provide some more interesting insights into our knowledge about the Gungywamp sites.

Currently, Carol is researching the process of gaining state and possibly federal recognition of the Gungywamp sites, particularly of the colonial sites. Carol’s research of the Gungywamp sites indicates the possibility of a primitive colonial leather goods manufacturing site, centering around the tan bark mill. Should more field and document research concerning this area of the Gungywamp uncover definite proof of a colonial manufacturing site, then this evidence could be instrumental in our ability to obtain official preservation status from the state. A number of colonial dwelling places exist within the Gungywamp complex, and those, along with the more enigmatic and controversial sites within the complex, certainly have historical importance and should therefore be preserved from modern development.

Jack Rajotte’s field and document research has included the discovery of more colonial dwellings, and he has come across some documents which indicate that Governor Winthrop’s sons owned some parcels of land in the Gungywamp complex and possibly ran a primitive iron-ore mining operation. This would certainly provide an explanation for the bits of slag iron which are quite prevalent in and along the stream which runs through part of the of the Gungywamp complex.

As with any historical and archaeological research society, there is a continued need to update our knowledge of the Gungywamp complex and its sites. For that reason, we will periodically issue new editions of our guidebook, The Greater Gungywamp, so as to keep our publication as up-to-date as possible.

Both Carol and Jack have worked with Dr. Nicholas Bellantoni, Connecticut’s state archaeologist, in document research and field work. During the 1990s, Dave Barron and Nick Bellontoni conducted a number of joint, or "dual/duel," tours through the Gungywamp sites, with each presenting his particular interpretation of our more controversial sites. Dr. Bellantoni’s expertise and his continued interest in and support of the Gungywamp Society’s work is greatly appreciated.