Abstract

The project involved the archaeological excavation of a 19th century buried village and partnering with the public in our outreach efforts

Issue

Archaeological work at Robert H. Treman State Park.
Historic preservation of archaeological resources has been a major concern throughout the country. While there are preservation laws that impact projects that have federal and state funds involved, thousands of other archaeological sites are destroyed each year, especially Indian villages and burial grounds, 19th century rural sites, and farmsteads. The issue is about the sustainability of our cultural resources and our heritage. In order to protect these sites we need to engage the public and create "grassroots preservationists." We need to educate the public so that they will care about preserving the rich archaeological heritage of North America.

Response

In order to understand and appreciate the outreach component of this current project, it is important to provide some background. I was the first City Archaeologist for New York City from 1980 to 1990, and involved in high profile archaeological excavations. I also brought archaeology to the public through tours of the excavations and allowing the public to become part of the City Archaeology Volunteer Program. I trained people to work on the excavations. People from diverse professions participated, including doctors, nurses, and public school teachers. This commitment to engaging the public in New York State archaeology has continued through my 14 years at Cornell University. For the past four years, I have been involved in an archaeological project with both the state parks and local community members excavating a buried 19th century village in the Robert H. Treman State Park. Our work on "Rediscovering Enfield Falls" involves partnering with the public. Students have participated in oral history projects with descendants of this community. We have had "open house days" at my archaeological excavations at the state park. We have also developed small traveling exhibits. In addition, we give talks at schools, senior citizen centers, and local museums. We have researched, planned, designed, and mounted a permanent archaeology exhibit at the mill museum at Robert Treman State Park.

Impact

Many local citizens and tourists have enjoyed the archaeological tours of "a real archaeological site." Students on the dig ask if they can bring their parents to excavate for a day, so we have lots of parents, sisters and brothers joining our digs as volunteers. Other local citizens have asked to volunteer and have been invited to join us for an afternoon. Volunteers are carefully supervised and have always been extremely careful workers. People leave the exhibits with a sense of excitement about archaeology and a sense of pride in the history buried in their own state. The exhibit has attracted a lot of visitors and has provided good publicity for both the park and for Cornell. These diverse programs -- tours, volunteer digs, public talks, and exhibits -- help create "grassroots preservationists," people who are willing to protect the rich archaeological heritage of New York State.

Funding Sources

• Private (e.g., commodity groups, foundations, companies)
• Hirsch funds
• Faculty Fellow-in-service funds

Topic Description

• historic preservation

Collaborators

• Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park
• Robert H. Treman State Park
• Finger Lakes Parks Commission

Key Personnel

• Molly Adams, President, Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park
• William Brown, Superintendent of Robert H. Treman State Park
• James Dunn, Assistant Superintendent of Robert H. Treman State Park
• Sue Poevordee and Sara Fiorello, Finger Lakes State Park Commission, Trumansburg, NY