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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