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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFort Corchaug - A Brief Perspective On Its Origins AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAkAAAAAAAAAA; ► 4 Poo t ► 'VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVvvvvvvvvvv 11 The At CORCHAUG'S VILLAGE r r r Y1 doh /Z' � 1 o Q i000 v a 0 0 f 0 � � ____��. Downs I Creek 0 � p -_~- 0 � 0 0 ! 00 0 p®4 Hall's p Q a 00 Creek rJ 00 60� FORT NECK Peconic Bay We know that Indian Villageswere laid out in some symmetrical ymmetrtcal pattern.This illustration is a suggestion based on fact and conjecture.Extended families are pictured in groups of wigwams surrounding the largest known Indian farm on the North Fork.One can view the fort site from the fifth green of the North Fork Country Club(note flag below compass symbol).This suggested layout would accommodate about 250 natives,but the population of Corchaug village rose and fell with changing circumstances through the years.The north/south road is Moore's Lane alongside the country club.The east/west road connects New Suffolk and Mattituck along the bay,and is shown to indicate one of the many modem introductions which are changing the ancient Indian camp.The fort(opposite flag)was the last addition to the camp,and was an afterthought as its position suggests.Its enclosure would have accommodated the suggested population, but not many more.The area within the dotted line belongs to Southold Town.The private property below will be protected at least for the near future,and contains the major portion of the artifacts. i The Historic Site Of CORCHAUG Recent evidence suggests that long before the American Indian arrived, the present site of Corchaug was occupied by people ,4 whose identity and culture remain,somewhat of a mystery. Ralph Solecki and William Ritchie discovered artifacts at the well site of Corchaug which pre-date the Indians by several thousand years. Those earlier inhabitants are called"the Orient focus people" after Latham's first discovery of them on the hills of Orient overlooking Long Island Sound. Successive discoveries connect Corchaug with these people throughout Long Island. In those long ago times it is thought that Corchaug was far from the sea, the melting glaciers not yet having completely flooded the Atlantic coastal plain. It appears that different epochs left their different signatures eventually forming the Long Island we know today, and different artifacts lie within each of these layers. The Orient Focus culture engaged in religiuos burial rites wherein their dead were interred on the heights whereas their encampments were at lower sites. Unfortunately the Ii still rising sea is covering what is left of those earlier people and even some of the Indian culture as well. We are indeed I� fortunate to have at least a small portion of this ancient site 1 preserved for future study. Perhaps new technologies may even allow research to be conducted below sea level as we attempt to discover Corchaug's long history as an encamp- ment of our predecessors on this North Fork. It is now believed that the Indians occupied the place only since 600 A.D., and that prior to them the Orient Focus culture lived there for perhaps as long as 3,000 years prior. It would be interesting to discover if those earlier peoples were caucasian immigrants out of Europe across the glacier, and whether or not they intermarried with the Indians to produce the varia- tions of body type and complexion recorded by early European explorers. Certainly the western Indians exhibit differences from eastern native Americans. Perhaps the Indians may lose their title, "Native Americans", in light of new research. Corchaug may be the key to unlocking these intriquing mys- teries. We may even discover - as I suspect - that the glaciers did not completely cover all of their respective assigned areas leaving us with sorting out yet other complexities of archaeol- ogy. Perhaps we need to move slowly developing this ancient site into an attraction. .ta - . •� 3�'yam$ The people before the Indians. The FORT Of the twelve knownor rumored sites of Indian stockades in what is now Suffolk County only this,one remains in rel- atively good condition. Two in Montauk are lost. Two in Massapequa are known but only one is partially accessible. Two in Southampton are gone, and the rest are preserved only in legend and lore. One on Shelter island, one on Gardiner's Island, one on Hallock's Bay in Orient, one — Mummonock, in Hither Hills, another —Wegwahonock in Sag Harbor, and one in Hashomomuck in Greenport. It would be fitting if Corchaug might be dedicated and named in the memory of its builders and in habitants in some permanent fitting monument. When one considers the explosive growth of our island, it is practically a miracle the site of Fort Corchaug still exists. No doubt our slow pace through the years has been a major influ- ence, and the fact that our North Fork has remained a farm- ing community since colonial times, in particular, accounts for its continued existence. It has been the custom of most farm- ers to skirt the edges of creeks, leaving a border of trees between their farm and the water. In addition, a woodlot was an essential part of a farm for fuel and fencing, wagon parts and tool handles. Since Fort Corchaug was built only a few yards from its adjacent creek, in a stand of trees, its survival may have been as much a matter of chance as a direct miracle. Yet we cannot ignore another factor. The Indian farm which had existed on the site, was continually enlarged by the suc- cession of white owners, but always to the west of the site, and north of it. Woodland was in fact removed, but negligably along the.creek. In their own struggle to establish themselves, the founding fathers viewed the Indians as an obstacle like the very forest they lived within. Only land transactions, and/or problems with the original native population, warranted recording in the town records. Therefore, stories such as this one must be pulled together from isolated sources, both near and far. In fact "local"politics actually were dictated at some distance from the North Fork, as we shall shortly see. For the English settlers to have"found"Fort Corchaug in 1640 suggests its having been recently constructed. The English records of the period give no mention of its existence despite an English presence here from 1633 onward. Further, its construc- tion departed from traditional round stockade form.And while its erection has much in common with the sudden and simulta- neous appearance of new forts at Massapequa, Shinnecock, and Montauk, Corchaug has a somewhat different story. Only a full reading of the complex events of the early colonial period can convey a true sense of those far away times. This brief story is rather an outline - a condensation, if you will. Southold was not "discovered" in 1640, nor were its native inhabitants. It had been known of and visited by the Dutch from as early as 1614, years before its later Puritan founders even thought to come to the new world. The shrewd Dutch merchants quickly discovered the value of wampum in their fur trading, and encouraged its production upon all shore tribes from Carnarsie out to the Peconic Bay tribes, where the best of it was produced. Cloth, do-dads, guns, rum and more were given in exchange; the wampum was then taken inland where it purchased more furs than any imported good did. And so, before Southold came into existence, the local Indians were longstanding trading partners of the Dutch. By the time the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, wampum was in wide use. The English began their own trade with neighboring tribes in Massachusetts and Rhode Island - even into eastern Connecticut. The ambitious Dutch saw an opportunity to expand the use of wampum as currency. So in 1627, they introduced it to the English who immedi- ately began a flourishing business with it. William (` Bradford in his history. of the Plymouth Colony sadly laments the awful consequences that followed: "...And strange it is to see the great alteration it made among the Indians..., the Narragansett and Pequot grow rich and potent by it, where once they were poor and beggarly... It may yet prove a drug in time... making them proud and powerful... with guns, powder and shot which no laws can control among the English, Dutch and French, and may turn to the ruin of many." Wampum then accelerated both the decline of the Indians and the settlement of eastern Long Island. Peconic Bay became known among the Dutch as "The Mint of the New Netherland". But they found their introduction of wampum among the English to have been a mistake. Not only did southern New England shore tribes begin extorting it from the eastern Long Island tribes, so did the English. Only the Dutch traded for it. Demand quickly exceeded the Peconic Bay Indians ability to produce it. Unless the Dutch ,I moved to protect their share of the,wampum market, they risked a serious economic setback. By the year 1635 the local Indians had enjoyed many years of uninterrupted trade with the Dutch with whom they were friendlier. During these years, the local Indians were being asked to take sides with other-tribes, as well as with the Dutch and English. While the Dutch always denied the charge that they were arming the Peconic Bay Indians, it appears that in fact they were. Plots and conspiracies were rumored everywhere, including a Dutch scheme to interrupt further English settlements on eastern Long Island. It was in this period that four new Indian stockades were suddenly built. In all likelihood the Dutch had encouraged the Indians to erect them, ." �F not only to protect the k" , wampum production, but themselves, as well. That the English would have encour- .h.� . `` . z: aged fort building is - unlikely, because at this time they were plotting the removal 4 , = of several tribes. In :,* fact, in May of 1637 the English burned :' the Pequot fort and aJ m nearly removed the tribe entirely. Nor hadSµr. 'r'= they any love for Long : Island Indians who Lion Gardiner implic- itly threatened to " remove if they :; W The Dutch supervise the building opposed the English. of Fort Corchaug. t As for the Indians erecting their own forts, it was probably their labor, with Dutch supervision suggested by the type of construction all four forts exhibited - all were square. Traditional Indian stockades were always round. There is circumstantial evidence to suggest that Fort Corchaug was actually delayed, and that the other three were completed first. Further, there has been a longstanding t i x a THE SITE r.w 1.....a JI �y-• ............. Fort Site ry Looking south over the site. Looking north over the site. �sd M Fs u �; r«� y etas * t. .. pm Hall's Creek- North. �9 Hall's Creek- South. s a a WkIma, R � a Down's Creek- North. Down's Creek- South. w_. e d The Indian farm today looking north from the New Suffolk road. ` may 3 v t 411 The Indian spring. A sample page from Ralph Solecki's Report SOLECKI: ARCHEOLOGICAL POSITION OF FORT CORCHAUG 21 .add similar romaine, were found eesooleted reOODstructiea of neavy outwara-leaning posts rich the Pali ads- ditches (Figs, 7: 8; end lighter supporting posts on the outer 9, bottom; 10, tom) Most of the refuse is side Is Suggested by the ditches, A heavier to e�tound on the inter for of the fort in palisade wall may have been Justified on the toe borrow ditches, Probably these served as creek Side for I Oteatlon agelast attack by • oonvealent disposal place for refuse and water, but it does not appear reasonable, at debris, although there is a strong possibll- The complexity of the palisade features ed Sty that the natives had some sort of dwell- the southeast coiner was probably arranged Ing errengeme ate next to the walla. If the to protect the entrance, This contrasts quantity of wampum leavings is any Indica- with the simple corner at the southwest end, tion, much of the wampum we made within Possibly the ditches represent a quadruple walla of the fort. The storage pit in Exca- palisade at the southeast corner which was vation D has been noted. This pit, within interlocked at the top, as mentioned above the fort well, may have been associated with (Fort Construction), or a double set of pa11- a house, whose remains could not be found, sadea as described by Van der Donck (also above), This would leave a passage way be- Two other test excavations, 250 feet and tween the two sets of double palisades) con- 1000 feet south of the fortification, were forming better to the evidence (Fig, 41. made during the survey. Toe first of these The flrebed in Excavation E may have been was 20 feet square, and contained aboriginal situated in the passageway between such a and ooloniel material similar to that found set of walls. It is evident from the occu- et the fort, The second test was near an old pational remains toot the palisade wells cattle well above the score lice of the marsh, were a favorite haunt. Some form of light which Mr. Downs says was there as long as he shelter for domestic living may have been could remember. It is very likely that this constructed against the walls, although this is the well figured in the Southold Town procedure does not conform with the beat Records (above), Stratified evidence of two fortification practices, occupational zones was found around this well, The lower stratum is non-ceramic and The Corchaug Indiana took care to set may link with an early focus, while the upper their palisade posts firmly in the ditches is clearly late because It contains Windsor dug around the site, They heaped an embank- pottery, gent of earth against the posts to hold them better. The posts, however, were not buried as deeply as they might nave been, tied the Summery natives possessed Europeen implements with which to nig the colas. The use of the con- In the rather small-scale excavations tinuous aitch for the retention of the posts conducted at Fort Corchaug, some very Inter- seems to nave been widespread among,the In- esting fortification and habitation data have diens Just before they acquired better tools been recovered. It is to be realized that (see Vincent, above), many features were undoubtedly missed; knowl- edge of these will have to await future in- It Is very likely, from Tooker's-des- vestigations, cription, that the Montauk fort was similar- ly constructed, having the palisade wall The Corchaug fort was apparently built at with ditch and embankment, Nothing Ss known the northern end of the Corchaug village of the construction of the other forts in the proper, as occupational evidence was found in area. negligible amount north of the fort. Such evidence was encountered in great abundance No extensive occupational regains have south of tLe fort down to the Peconic Bay been found well within the fort walls. It along Downs' Creek, Suggestions of habita- must be admitted, however, test proper test tions were found in this area. The fort was trenches have not yet been made there, within easy reach of fresh water supply and Nevertheless, it must not be overlooked that at the same time also close to water trans- occupational evidencs is met with everywhere portation. The palisade feature is singular on the surface to the south of the fort, In cast its construction was not consistently while such remains are lacking on the in- tho same on toe four aides. The west wall terior, as at Fort Marsopeefue Probably had been apparently so constructed that it the fortification was purely a defensive slanted outward, while the north and south measure erected in case of need, and did not walls seem to have been fairly straight. The house tine Corchaug village or its residents, east wall was double-palisaded for at least More likely than not, they preferred outside three-quarters of Its length, A hypothetical freedom to restriction witnln an enclosure, THE SPECIMENS The archeological specimens found at mericel trait list is given in the subse- Fort Corchaug are discussed below, A nu- I quent section, a Looking west from North Fork Country Club's fifth green. OWN '0c Looking east from fort site to North Fork Country Club. tradition that following the "defeat" of the Pequots, Sassacus and some 30 of his men, along with women and children, escaped to Long Island first. Unable to hide with the Montauks who were under threat of Lion Gardiner, nor with the Shinnecock who were tributary to the Montauk, nor with the Shelter Island tribe who were already known as friends of the Pequots they had only one place to hide (if this conjecture is true) -- Corchaug. It is believed that in May of 1637 the Pequots, perhaps with Corchaug help completed the unfin- ished fort abandoned when the Dutch discontinued trading in Peconic Bay out of fear of the English presence, and perhaps because the production of Corchaug wampum had dried up with the removal of many of the natives. Further suggestions of the truth of this scenario are the recorded pursuit of the Pequots to Long Island by the English, and the discovery of Pequot arti- facts at the fort site. If we can believe these events, then Fort Corchaug was not only the last Indian stockade to be erected on Long Island, its site seems to be the last of all to have survived. And while it is not clear exactly where the ancient Indian farm lay on the property, it may be that the same land has been under constant cultivation down to this very day, some 400 years, and perhaps much longer. The last Indian occupancy of Corchaug village, and therefore the fort as well, seems to have been around 1655. By 1660 the first white men began occupying the site. The stockade walls were rotten and fallen to ruins. Perhaps Caleb Horton, its first white owner laid the narrow cartway through the woods surrounding the site, including up and over the breastworks of the old fort in two places. He and the succeeding white owners allowed their livestock freedom to roam the surround- ing woodland and the use of the very same springs which had served the Indians for many generations. Those springs still trickle from the embankment in several places, but one in particular was dug out to allow several cows and oxen to drink simultaneously. Four generations of Downs families owned the land, and one of these families found it convenient to remove the soil from the breastworks and use it to level the three foot deep trench- es which surrounded the fort's perimeter. Since that time it has been difficult to trace the outline of the fort. Through the years, curiosity seekers and looters have visited the old site. Scars remain of those visits.At least eight men and women have made serious attempts at recovering artifacts from the soil. But only two of these are credited with having done the principal work. Ralph Solecki, a former Cutchogue resident, and anthropology professor delivered his report to the Archeological Society of Connecticut in 1950. This report is divided into six sections; 1. general information about Indian stockades, 2. the area, inhabitants, and colonial events, 3. local Indian forts, 4. Fort Corchaug: architecture, excavation, arti- facts, 5. wampum, 6. summary, inventory with notes, and the bibliography.A contemporary of his, William Ritchie, in his book The Archeology of New York State writes of his work at Corchaug, including about the Orient Focus People. It is difficult today to understand the significance of certain facts about Corchaug. This ancient village lay approximately between the Occabauk and Yennicock villages to the west, and the Hashamomuck and Manhasset to the east. It is nearly opposite the Shinnecock fort site with Robins Island equidis- tant between. But also many questions remain as to the con- figuration of the old village itself.Apparently the fort lay at the northern terminus of the village. Just how long and broad the entire camp was has not been determined, and perhaps cannot be due to modern construction over much of the area. Nor did anyone think to record the original Indian names of the immediate area. Zbday we_call the 200 acre peninsula, Fort Neck. The westerly creek is Halls, the easterly, Downs. Above Downs Creek lies a long narrow watershed once the source of plentiful cattail used to thatch the Indians'summer wigwam, and as a year round food source...and cemetery. Unbroken forest prevailed northward to the Sound. The Indian men and women gathered shellfish on the sand bars of Downs Creek, fin fish in their weirs stretched across the channel mouth, and the children played and began their saltwater skills there as well. Some of the names of the native men who probably lived here, (or visited) are recorded on the several local deeds, but were probably children at contact. Only one native leader of that period is known to have inhab- ited Corchaug, Momoweta (a.k.a. Paucamp) and his son, Ambusco, might have, as well. Two notable Englishmen, Roger Williams, and William Bradford are believed to have visited the village, as well as two secretaries of the New Netherland, Isaac de Rasiere, and Cornelius Van Tienhoven, and there may have been others. 's .R 14 •ii' i �:aei.aa;..;s riRr`: t S.a c # .Ye��y+^,'.`'f'„Y h+'r�X,f'r•Y "` .43'�p 'i` 8`�e�. C Z tY y Epilogue We don't know the eventual fate of the North Fork Indians.Most died of disease and violence-the fate of most Indians.But we know some sur- vived. In particular we know eight of them-their descendants-were indentured servants on a Massachusetts farm in 1830.It is safe to assume that some joined the South Fork's larger Indian population, and some prob- ably participated in the migration upstate and thence to Wisconsin where a sizable community of Indians lives today. It is also quite possible their descendants live in southern Canada along the St. Francis River of Quebec. And I have heard that some live in Oklahoma. The public record of the Colonial period tells us that many local natives were sold into indentured service throughout New England even at the hand of Capt.John Youngs, the son of Southold's founder.Following the attack upon the Mystic Pequots,indiscriminate mop-up operations found local natives being swept up into the English dragnet. The most famous of them was Cockenoe, a Montauk mistaken for a Pequot and sold into indentured service in Massachusetts.How many others were shipped to the Carribean islands to work on the English sugar plantations can only be conjectured-but it is even possible some were sent as servants to England.The sudden and rapid disappearance of the North Fork Indians suggests a conspiracy to make way for Southold's founding right after the Pequot dispersal.How else can we explain their complete absence today while hundreds of South Fork Indians remain?There is a suspicion that the mysterious disappear- ance of the public records of both Southold and New Haven for those years of the Indians decline was a deliberate act of vandalism to cover-up the plot to remove"Corchaug"Indians under the excuse of ridding the area of Pequots. J, r `� a This is where some Peconic Bay wampum found its way into Colonial commerce. r k � REPRODUCTION OF THE APTUCXET TRADING POST,AT MANAMET,NOW BOURNE,CAPE COD,MASSACHUSETTS The original building,erected on this spot in 1627,was the first trading station to he established by the Plymouth Colony It was here that wampum,or Indian money,was fust introduced to the colonists as legal tender by the Dutch, and in its manufacture the Indians were very skillful.This station and its stock of goods were specifically named in the first business contract written and signed in America-a three-party agreement between the Colony,Governor Bradford,and the men in London who financed the expedition.Governor Bradford and others agreed to hold the monopoly of the trade for a term of six years.Many Indian and Dutch implements and utensils were unearthed here. APTUCXET TRADING POST,THE"CRADLE OF AMERICAN COMMERCE" Aptucxet,an Indian name meaning"at the little trap river,"was the first trading post established by the Plymouth Colony and and played a most vital part in the fmancial struggles of both the Indians an the early settlers.Here the former brought skins for"trucke,"as they expressed it,meaning exchange;here the Dutch from New Amsterdam used to convey sugar,tobacco,cloth and material from Holland to trade with the Plymouth Colonists;here the English by way of the Scusset River on the north side of the Cape conveyed their goods to what is now Sagamore,thence by portage to this trading post to"avoyd the compasing of Cap-Codd,and those deanger- ous shoulds;and so to make any voiage to ye southward in much shorter time,and with farr less danger,'as Governor Bradford explains;and for this purpose a"small pinass"(pinnace,was built at Aptucxet to assist in the Transport of their goods. The original trading post was erected in 1627"that they might ye better take all convenient opportinitie to follow their trade,both to maintaine themselves,and to disingage them of those great sumes which they stood charged with,and bound for"; it was built"for ye saftie of their vessell&goods,"as this same authority puts it. Here they kept some servants,who planted corn and reared some swine,"and were allwayes ready to goe out with ye barke when there was occasion.All which took good effecte,and turned to their profite." Wampum WAMPUM BELTS IN THE PEABODY MUSEUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY The white shells corresponded to our silver and the black to our gold.The former money was made from the i stems of the periwinkle shell.The lat- ter was made from the dark spot in t" the quahaug shell.Both,when strung, t were known as wampumpeag,com- monly known as wampum.The black were twice the value of the white. 10,000 shells were needed to produce a wampum belt 4"wide by 30"long. The beads were strung on fibres of hemp or tendons taken from the flesh of wild animals.Wampumeag was usually measured in fathoms,or 6 feet,the Dutch unit of trade.When 6 white beads passed for a penny the fathom was 360 beads, but if it were 4,as under the Massachusetts standard of 1640,then the fathom was 240 beads.Thus the fathom became the name for the count,an enumeration, rather than a unit of length." `Besides using wampumpeag for coinage and for personal adornment,it was extensively employed in treaties.The belts were made use of not only in connection with treaties,but were employed for other rites and ceremonies.Each bead,its color,size and location had its special significance.When strings of`peag`were embroidered on strips of deer skin they became`Machequoce,'girdles or belts.A very fine specimen of a treaty belt is in the collection of the Peabody Museum at Cambridge,shown in an illustration.The name and general use of wampum are familiar enough,but the volume,importance and effect of it upon trade have been forgotten.Its intrinsic value was derived from the fact that strings of shells were by the Indians highly esteemed as ornaments and could always be turned to good account in that way when their owner had no immediate use for them in trade. They were ornaments first and became a monetary currency because of their conve- nience and universal acceptability. ` 4 fVh The north ' 1 ` wall of the 1 " fort. VY I R ♦ � +CYC Another a� of the ° springs. . „ NEW HAMPSHIRE 3 VERMONT a vwv�iv 3 - Western Abenaki' > - a WIMN MASSACHUSETTSN Nipmuck Massachusett r Cape F Plymouth Cod I RHODE ' Bay ` . ISLAND WAMPANOAG CONNECTICUT Narraganse -10 .g V, Pequot Mohegan Narragansett. X . /S ° 1 .5.3 °7 Bay Ll/J`t!) y�Ct�XS Nantucket f ° Island �! E •6 11 Martha's ° Vineyard 12 1 2 4 0 A Block Island 4 8 - �png Atlantic Ocean THE CORCHAUG'S NEIGHBORS Evidence suggests that many other tribes were represented in the blood line of the North Fork natives. This map indicates the many nearby peoples in close contact with them. 1. Quiripis 7. Quinebaug 2. Quinnipiac 8. Narragansett 3. Mohegan 9. Saconnet 4. Hamnionasset 10. Wampanoag 5. Pequot 11. Gayhead 6. Niantic 12. Nantucket