HomeMy WebLinkAboutCU-61For~ ~0-300
(Rev. 6-72)
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT Of THE INTERIOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM
(Type all entries complete applicable sections)
New York
Suffolk
FOR NPS USE ONLY
NAME ~
. Corchaug site
LOCATION See also continuation skeet
cu-61
North of New
Cutchogue
New York
CLASSIFICATION
Suffolk Avenue, west of Downs Creek
J Rep. Otig G. Pike
~c°u~*V:Suf folk
CATEGORY ACCESSIBLE
OWNERSHIP STATUS
(Check One) TO THE PUBLIC
[] District [] Building ~ Public Public Acquisition: ~ Occupied Yes:
[j~ Site [] Structure ~] Private [~ In Process ~ Unoccupied [] Restricted
[] Object ~ Both [] Being Considered [] Preservation work [] Unrestricted
[] Agricuhural [] Government [] Park [] TransportaHon [] Comments
[] Commercial [] Industrial [] Private Residence ~] Othe, (Specie')
[] Educational [] Military [~] Religious
[] Entertainment [] Museum
~WNER Of PROPERTY
William J. Baxter, Jr.
Nassau Point Road
Cutchogue
OCATION OF LE.G~,L DESCRIPTION
s T A T~"~:ew York
~u~o~.. County Court House
Riverkead
REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS
New York
TI TLI~ ...... ~: Archeological
Division for Historic P. reservation
New York State Division for Historic Pr~rv~inn
Parks and Recrea$ion. S. $~an S~ra~f. B~i]a~ng
Albany York
Sites Inventory, New York State
[] tacaJ
CU-61
Form 10-300o
(July 1969)
T,ocaf ion
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
INVENTORY. NOMINATION FORM
(Continuation Sheet)
~;ew York
Suffolk
FOR NPS USE ONLY
DATE
Please note publishable location:
Fort Corchaug site
Southwest of Cutchogue
Suffolk County, New York
- CU-61
7. DESCRIPTION
(Check One)
[] E~¢eHent [] Good {~] Fair ~] Deterioratec~ [] Ruins [~ Unexposed
CONDITION
~] Altered [] Unolterecl I O Moved ~ Original Site
The Fort Corchaug site is situated on the north fork of
eastern Long Island. In a dense growth of brush and trees,
the site lies about 2000 feet north of Peconic Bay on the west
side of Downs Creek, approximately one-half mile southwest of
village of Cutchogue. Like other contemporary Structures, Fort
Corchaug was located near a spring which produced a constant
supply of fresh water. There was, of course, easy access to
water transportation. The locale was suitable for habitation
as well as defense.
Archeological investigations were made at this site betweer
1936-1948, at which time the important features were sampled by
the test trench method. The major portion of the site, however
has not been touched.
.The fort was oriented nearly north, south, east and west i
an oblong outline. The walls measured 210 feet in length north
and south, and 160 feet east and west. The area enclosed by the
fort is approximately three-quarters of an acre. Lines of wall
construction are attested to.by slight rises in ground level.
Archeological evidence shows that Fort Corchaug, like other
of its period, was of log construction. In this instance, the f
sides of the fort were not similar. The west wall slanted outwa
while the north and south walls seem to have been fairly s%raigh
The east wall was double-palisaded for at least three-quarters
of its length. Remains show that some light living shelters ma
have been constructed against the fort walls.
It is apparent that Fort Corchaug was erected purely as a
defensive measure. Occupational evidence was found in negligib
amounts north of the fort, to a slight degree within the fort,
and in greater abundance south of the fort, indicating that the
Corchaug village was located south of the fortification.
The artifact assemblage indicates that the Corchaug Indians.
had relationships with both Europeans as well as other Indian I
tribes. Both the Dutch and the English knew of the site. Europ
objects found most likely represent trade items. Of the Indian-
manufactured items, the most significant remains were the potter
The Corchaug ware resembles that of the Shantok tradition. This
clues to the relations between the Corchaugs and Indians of the
England mainland.
There is also evidence that tha Fort Corchaug area had been
occupied prehistorically. However,
with the historic component.
rd~
o
z
gives
~ew
research to-date nas only dealt
J~. 'SIGNI FI CANCE
[] Pre-ColumblonJ [] 16th Century
[] 15th Century [] 17th Century .
[~ 18th Cenlu,y
[] 19th Century
[] 20th Century
sp£c,F,c ~^~s~ C;~Ap,,ic.b~e .ndKno.'.l C. 1640--C. 1661
Aboriginal [] Education ~* [] PolitlcoJ
[] Prehistoric [] Engineering [] Religion/Phi-
[~ Historic [] Industry Josophy
[] Agriculture [] Invention [] Science
[] Architecture [] Landscape [] Sculplure
[] Act Architecture [] Soc~al,;Human-
[] Commerce [] I_ilerature itarian
[] Communications [] Military [] Theater
[] Conservation [] Music [] Transporlation
"The fort, at Cutchogue, Long Island, is a contact period
of some size and importance, and is the only site of its kin6
thus far known on the island to receive archeological attentJ
There is evidence that the area of the fort may have been oc¢
prehistorically, but research to-date has dealt only with th.
historic component. All of the forts on Long Island seem
been more or less contemporary, dating from the middle of
seventeenth century. Fort Corchaug, however, was most likel5
occupied prior to the middle of the seventeenth century, as
first settlers at this end of Long Island (ca. 1640) found
fort in place.
Both the Dutch and the English were known to have visited
site on various occasions. This is substantiated by the
of European objects found in the site. it is assumed that
various artifac~ represent trade items. However, nearer to
New England than~the Hudson River, eastern Long Island
more influenced by the English, than by the Dutch.
It has been theorized that the mainland Indian cultures of
Connecticut and Rhode Island, least distant from eastern Long
Island, had much to do wit~ the shaping of the prehistory and
history of the Corchaug Indians. This is reflected in the
pottery excavated at the fort, which, for the major part, clo
resembles that of the Shantok tradition of Connecticut.. '
Remains of Fort Corchaug and associated artifacts help suppor
the theory that the forts were used just for defense, with th
habitation areas outside of the fortification. The village w
probably made up of semi-permanent residences with the inhabi
tents dependent on a horticultural, in addition to a hunting
and food-gathering economy.
An intact historic Indian fort site, Fort Corchaug is the onl
one thought to remain of its ts~e. Evidence found at the sit
has been important in determining a relationship between the
Corchaug Indians and European groups, and between the Corchau
~nd Indians o~t~e N~w.England mainland. The site further hs
~o con£1~u me~.~o~ o~ ~u~L ~u~truction and the living s~yle '
See continuation sh~t
Form 10-300a
(July 1969)
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM
8. Significance (Continuation Sheet)
CU-61
Suffolk
EOR NPS USE ONly
the Indians. An almost completely untouched area, the
holds great potential for future exploration.
site
1Ralph Solecki, "The Archeological Position of Historic
Fort Corchaug, LI, and its Relation to Contemporary Forts,"
Bulletin of the Archeological Society of. Connecticut, June,
1950, p. 5.
9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
CU-6]
;mitk, Carlyle S. "A Note on Fort Massapeag." American Antiquity.
July, 1954.-
;olecki, Ralph. "The Archeological Postion o~ Historic Fort Corc~
LI, and its Relation to Contemporary Forts." Bulletin of the
Archeological Society of Connecticut. June, 1950.
LiD. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA
O
R
NW 40° 59' 53 · 72° 29' 52'
NE J 40° 59" 53'J 7Z~ 29' 42'
sE J 40° 59' 37' J 7~ 29' 42'
sw / ,~nQ cq' 37' / '7'? ~n' :'~' '
Degrees Minutes SecondsI Degrees Minutes Seconds
FORM PREPARED BY
CODE
----~ .................. tant
New Ynrk ,q~-~-~ n~.;,::¢,-m ~,-,.- ~r~:~ ·
STREET AND NUMBE.: ' ............ ,---.~,~ PreseL-v&b~on
Parks and Recreation, S. S~a.n Street Buildinq-
DATE
July,
1973
CITY OR TOWN: STATE
New York
it2.
Albany
STATE LIAISON OFFICER CfERTIFICA] ION
As the des~nated State Liaison Officer for the Na-
tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law
89-665). I hereby nominate this property for i~ctusion
National [] State [~ Locat E]
NATIONAL REGISTE~ VERIFICATION
I hereby certify that this property is included in the
National Register.
Title
Date
State Historic
Preservation Officer
%
41°o(Y
cu-6~
UNITED STATES
MENT OF THE INTERIOR
iOLOGICAL SURVEY
.. ~,;~.~,,._,~ .: cUTCHOGUE H,.tR~OR
N'(
Dr.. William Murtagh
Keeper of the National Register
National Park Service
Washingotn, D.C. 20240
Dear Dr. Muriagh:
As the State Historic Preservation Officer, I am forwarding
the enclosed nomination to the National Register of Historic
Places:
Fort Corchaug site, Cutchogue, New York, Suffolk County
The above nomination has been reviewed and approved by the
Committee on the Registers in'accordance with the criteria out-
lined in Section 2.2 of the Grants Guide.
The staff of the New York State Division for Historic
Preservation, the officially designate~Preservation Agency,
would welcome the opportunity to discuss this submission with
your office.
Sincerely,
ALEXANDER ALDRICH
State Historic Preservation
Officer
By:
F. L. RATH, JR.
Deputy Commissioner
CU-61 ~
(13) FORT CORCHAUG
Cutchogue
Fort Corchaug was in its heyday well before white contact. However, it
has been mentioned in early Colonial records, so it may have been somewhat
active in the mid-1600's. The fort was a rectangle 210' x 160', enclosing about
three-fourths of an acre. The walls were a palisade consisting of two, and
sometimes three, rows of tree trunks.
The Indians had no metal, so they had no axes to cut down the trees. In-
stead they wrapped the trunks in wet clay and built a fire--by friction--under
the clay band. The fire was kept burning until the tree fell.
The Indians had no shovels, only wood or stone tools, but they dug
trenches and placed double rows of tree trunks in these for walls around the
fort. Then dirt was mounded up at the base to secure the tree trunks.
No one lived inside the fort. It was for defense. Study has shown that
wigwams were built around the fort, on the bank of Downs Creek. A spring
gave fresh water, and Downs Creek provided access to the bay. Some agricul-
ture seems to have been practiced, when the community was at its height.
Dr. Ralph Solecki as a boy lived on Route 25 just north of here, and col-
lected arrowheads on this site. Later he became a world-famous anthropologist,
and his thesis on Fort Corchaug caused the fort to be placed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
Fort Corchaug at
its height (right),
and as the site
looks today {top
of page).
"A short
ASSOC.
,, ..' ....
Trip on Kings Highway" Jan. 26, 1985.
Suffolk County Historical Societies.
BOUNDA~ DITCH
at
Fort Corchaug
CU-61
nego no.
rsm XIII-6