HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowns Farm Preserve
.
.
.
Management Plan for the Downs Farm Preserve
at Fort Corchaug
TNTRODTJCTTON
On June 30,1997, the Town of Southold acquired title to a 51 acre parcel on Downs Creek,
in Cutchogue, from the estate of William J. Baxter.
The Downs Farm Preserve is a significant natural and historic resource that encompasses a
Native American fort site, scenic woodlands and tidal wetlands.
DFSCRTPTTON
The Downs Farm Preserve is located in the southwest part of the Town of South old on the
North Fork of Long Island. The parcel consists of 51 acres and is bounded by Downs
Creek on the east, County Route 25 on the north, farmland with the Development Rights
sold to the Suffolk County Farm Program on the west and private lands, subject to a
Conservation Easement held by the Peconic Land Trust on the south (see map, Exhibit A).
The Downs Farm Preserve is designated as a New York State Significant Coastal Fish and
Wildlife Habitat and included in the Suffolk County Peconic Bay Estuary Critical
Environmental Zone, as part of the Peconic Pinelands Maritime Reserve.
The tidal marsh at the site, Downs Creek, consists of: salt marsh that contains coastal
shoals, bars and mudflats; intertidal marsh and high marsh.
The salt marsh is a tidal wetland zone that at high tide is covered by water and at low tide
is exposed or is covered by water of a maximum of one-foot depth. This area is not
vegetated with cord grasses, but contains some submerged aquatic species. These macro
algae are valuable as nursery areas for fish. Exposed mud flats are valuable for waterfowl
because benthic invertebrates that become exposed during low tide are easy food for birds
and mammals.
The intertidal marsh area is the vegetated tidal wetland zone lying generally between
average high and low tidal elevations. The predominant vegetation at the site in this zone is
the low marsh cord grass - (Spartina alterniflora). Other species include spike grass
(Distichlis spicata), several glassworts (Salicornia spp.) and rushes (Scirpus spp.).
The high marsh is the uppermost area of the tidal wetland zone, dominated by salt meadow
grass (Spartina patens), groundsel bush (Baccharis halimifolia) and the common reed
Phragmites australis).
The Downs Creek system is a valuable wildlife and bird habitat. Numerous muskrat dens
exist within the tidal marsh. Evidence of deer and fox were noted during field visits. They
utilize both the upland and tidal wetlands portions of the project area. Other mammals
.
that are present in the tidal area are raccoons, opossum, weasels, mice, voles and shrews.
Snakes and amphibious animals such as turtles, frogs and salamanders are also present in
the project area. The Diamondback Terrapin (Species of Concern) has often been seen in
Downs Creek.
Birds observed in or near the marsh during a field visit included: blue jay, chickadee, red-
bellied woodpecker, white-throated sparrow, bufflehead, downy woodpecker, cardinal,
white-throated nuthatch, great blue heron, hlack duck, mallard, sandpiper, grebe, rail,
crow, canada goose, swan, little blue heron, egret, teal, widgeon, gadwall merganser, ruddy
duck and kingfisher. Other species not observed but which are found in the area are: red-
tail hawk (and other hawks), gulls, terns, owls, swallow, wren, catbird, thrush, warbler,
meadowlark, red-winged blackbird, and osprey.
Downs Creek is an important feeding area for the osprey and other birds and waterfowl
identified above. Downs Creek is also a highly productive area for marine finfish and
shellfish. The creek serves as a nursery and feeding area for many estuarine fish. Ribbed
mussels and fiddler crabs are abundant in the tidal creek banks. Hard and soft clams are
found in the southern end of Downs Creek.
.
The upland forest on the Downs Farm Preserve consist ofthree types: the southern portion
of the property is dominated by a relatively undisturbed and native oak-hickory forest; the
northern portion of the property consists of a highly disturbed successional forest
dominated by non-native trees and shrubs; the vegetation occurring at the former Fort
Corchaug site is unique and can best be described as maritime oak barrens.
The oak-hickory forest located at the south end of the property is relatively undisturbed
and is dominated by native species of trees and shrubs. Although historically the forest
had been lumbered, there is no indication that the land has been historically plowed and
cultivated for farming; as a result, the forest has naturally regenerated itself and is not
significantly different in structure and composition for the time of early European
settlement and colonization. Increasingly fewer remnants of native forest remain in the
Town of South old.
The oak-hickory forest is dominated by the following tree species: black oak (Quercus
velutina), white oak (Quercus alba) and scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea). Mixed with the
oaks at lower densities are pignut hickory (Carya glabra) and mockernut hickory (Carya
tomentosa). The small tree and shrub layer consists of flowering dogwood (Cornus
florida), maple-leaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) and low bush blueberry (Vaccinium
pallidum). Black cherry (Prunus serotina) seedlings are common in the understory but few
mature adult individuals occur. The herbaceous layer is composed of sasparilla (Aralia
nudicaulis), spotted wintergreen (Chimophila maculata), pink lady slipper orchid
(Cypripedium acaule), and beech-drops (Epifagus virginiana).
.
The successional southern hardwood forest at the north end of the property had been
historically cleared or otherwise disturbed in the past and the soils have been significantly
disturbed. The forest that now occurs at this location is dominated by non-native,
.
introduced species of trees and shrubs that are well adapted to establishment following
disturbance. A characteristic feature of successional forest is the lack of reproduction of
the canopy species.
Two trees, black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and Norway maple (Acer platanoides)
dominate this community. The understory consists of a dense thicket of vines, bramble and
shrubs, many of which are non-native. They include: oriental bittersweet (Celastrus
orbiculata, wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius), multiflower rosa (Rosa multiflora),
Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) and Marrows honeysuckle (Lonicera marrowii).
Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is also common in the uuderstory.
The vegetation occurring at the Fort Corchaug site is unique and different from the oak-
hickory forest adjacent to it. Although the area had been inhabited by Indians and
probably had been influenced by early European settlers, the dominant vegetation is
composed of native species of trees, shrubs and herbs. The Fort site differs from the oak-
hickory forest because one of the co-dominant trees at the site is post oak (Quercus stellata)
that does not occur in the forest and hickory trees are absent.
.
The dominant tree species of the commuuity are post oak, black oak, scarlet oak and white
oak. The trees are somewhat stunted but not truly dwarf. The shrub layer consists of
northeru bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica), winged sumac (Rhus copallinum) and a few
red cedar (Juniperus virginian a). The herbaceous layer consists of common hairgrass
(Deschampsia flexuosa), little bluestem (Schizacharium scoparium), poverty grass
(Danthonia spicata), panic grass (Panicum depauperatum) and other rushes, grasses and
grass-like plants. Dunegrass (Ammophila breviligulata) also occurs at the site, auother
indictor of the maritime influence on this community.
The upland commuuities described offer habitat to a variety of wildlife, some of which
benefit from the proximity to a water source, i.e. the tidal marsh. Evidence of deer,
raccoon, squirrels and fox were noted during field investigations.
With the proximity to the tidal marsh, which is a food source for many birds, the upland
forest is occupied by both species occurring within predominantly hardwood forests and
species that utilize marshes. Herons, egrets and hawks, in particular utilize tall trees along
the fringe to perch and scout for food within the marsh.
In 1976, Fort Corchaug was named to the National Register of Historic Places and in 1999,
the site was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service of the
United States Department of Interior. The latter recognition is shared with only 2200 other
sites throughout the country.
em ,TTJR A I. HISTORY
.
The site was first inhabited by the Corchaug Indians, one of the thirteen tribes of Long
Island that made up the Algonquin family of the great Delaware Indian Band. Not only the
English but also the Dutch traded with the Corchaugs. The name Corchaug is derived
.
.
.
from "Kehchauke", meaning greatest or principal place. The Corchaugs inhabited a large
territory along the North Fork of Long Island from Wading River to Orient Point. The
Corchaugs had linguistic ties with the Native Americans of Connecticut and Rhode Island
and traces of pottery like that of Fort Shantok in Connecticut have been found at Fort
Corchaug.
In 1640, the year of the settlements of Southold and Southampton, there were four Indian
forts on the East End:
Manhanset Fort - Called Mashomack, it was supposedly located on the South
side of Shelter Island, opposite Sag Harbor, with about five hundred Indians on
site.
Shinnecock Fort - It was mentioned in land deeds about 1660 and was believed to
be located on Fort Hill, about halfway between Southampton and Shinnecock.
Montauk Fort - This was a palisade structure to the east of Fort Pond and the
home of the great Sachem, Wyandanch, and 180 Montauk Indians.
Fort Corchaug - This was the last fort to be built and the last to have survived.
It is the only fort in a known and undisturbed site.
Historic Fort Corchaug is the most studied and known ofthe Native American forts on
Long Island. It was apparently in use from approximately 1640 through 1662. The
remains of the site are located on the west side of Downs Creek, on Fort Neck.
The first English settlement on the North Fork was the Village of Southold, in 1640.
It was not until 1645, however, that the first recorded purchase of land took place. The
land was sold by the Corchaug sachem, Paucamp. The Cutchogue area was purchased
about 1648/1649 and settled as a farming village by colonist about 1660/1661.
Fort Neck, the Horton family had owned including the project area from about 1680. In
1814 Daniel Downs owned the site. The farm remained in the Downs family through four
generations - Daniel, John, Henry V. and John. The latter raised garden produce, sold
milk, fished and clammed for local residents as well as the families that around the turn of
the twentieth century began" coming out for the summer".
John Downs served for a time in the 1920's as the state assemblyman for the First District.
John and his wife, Edna, having no children, persuaded her nephew, James E. Dean, to
move to Cutchogue and work the farm following his graduation from Cornell. The farm
was left to Jim and Doris Dean in 1958. In 1959, Jim Dean sold 105 acres north of New
Suffolk Avenue to William J. Baxter.
Through the years that followed dedicated individuals and groups worked towards the
preservation and public ownership of the site. These efforts were not in vain. After many
.
.
.
years of negotiations, the Peconic Land Trust worked out a complex transaction that
resulted in the Town of South old purchasing 51 acres, with a Conservation Easement held
by the Peconic Land Trust (see Exhibit B) and Atlanta businessman and Cutchogue
resident Russell McCall purchasing 53 acres. The McCall property is divided into a 37.6
acre agricultural section, with the development rights sold to the County of Suffolk and a
15.4 acre wooded parcel, and with a Conservation Easement held by the Peconic Land
Trust.
STTR CONSRRVATTON ANn MANAr.RMRNT r.OAT.S
In keeping with the Conservation Easement between the Town of South old and the Peconic
Land Trust, the 51 acre parcel has been divided into three portions. The "Fort Area",
comprising of 22.9 acres shall be reserved for general open space, preservation of natural
habitat, research and education purposes related to the archaeological resources on site
with written permission of the Town of South old. The 19.5 acre portion of the property
referred to as the" Access Area", shall remain in its open, natural and scenic state and
reserved for nature trails and pedestrian access to Downs Creek. The remainder of the
property containing 8.5 acres, referred to as the "Interpretive Center Area", may be
further developed with an Interpretive/Management Center, with appurtenant
improvements such as a museum, interpretive, educational and archaeological uses as well
a parking lot and staging area for activities on the site.
The Interpretive/Management Center is the section of property closest to Route 25. Several
clean-up projects organized by the Peconic Land Trust have removed a significant amount
of trash and debris from the "Interpretive Center Area". All ofthe outbuildings have been
braced up and many salvageable farm homestead artifacts have been collected for future
display purposes. All of the antique lumber from the house and outbuildings needs to be
carefully removed and stored for incorporation into the rehabilitation ofthe
Interpretive/Management Center, scheduled for the fall of 2000.
The Downs homestead will be demolished and removed, after all salvageable antique
lumber is extracted. The foundation will be covered with clean fill and graded off.
The locally made Sage and Sanford bricks that are in good condition will be salvaged for
incorporation into the Interpretive/Management Center.
The small, old stable, located southwest of the homestead, is in salvageable condition and
should be reconstructed for future interpretive purposed. Its location next to the
agricultural section of the property makes it ideally suited for a first-person living history
opportunity.
The renovation of the Interpretive/Management Center will provide a building to display
photos and artifacts. The Interpretive/Management Center will be at the trailhead where
visitors are able to experience the natural and cultural environment of the site. The
building will have restroom facilities, a meeting room, a display area and kitchen.
A small picnic area and parking lot will be located next to the building. The building and
.
.
.
parking area will be at the trailhead of the hiking trails.
The purpose of the trail system at the Down's Farm Preserve at Fort Corchaug is to allow
visitors the opportunity to experieuce the natural beauty aud cultural environment of the
site. The trails will provide public access, without jeopardizing the existing resources. The
trail system will be located away from fragile areas, such as wetlands and the main fort site.
The trail will be constructed in a manner that provides a safe recreational opportunity for
visitors and will be resource compatible. The trails will be designed, constructed and
maintained according to the standards of the USDA Forest Service specifications. The
trailhead is located south of the Interpretive/Management Center and will have a large,
covered kiosk to display a map of the preserve, which depicts the trail system and natural
features such as Downs Creek, plant communities and the agricultnrallands.
Several other kiosks will be located along the trail to present a brief overview of the six
distinct forest/plant communities that are found on the property.
Two trail loops have been considered. A quarter-mile loop has been constructed in the
"Interpretive Center Area". Additional work on the trail is scheduled during 2001 to
make the trail handicapped accessible. The trail meanders through the north end of the
property, in a highly disturbed hardwood forest, which is dominated by non-native trees
and shrubs. At the western intersection, between the first and second sections of the trail,
lies a proposed viewing area that overlooks the agricultural easement. A bench and an
interpretive display that depicts the past and current agricultural uses ofthe site will be
constructed at this location.
The outer trail loop is approximately a half-mile in length. This trail loop has been flagged
and will be constructed early in 2001. This trail loop winds through a relatively
undisturbed native oak-hickory forest. In the southeast corner of this loop sits a small
island, in Downs Creek. A small footbridge is proposed to allow visitor access to the island
and an observation deck, with kiosk will provide information on the coastal salt marsh
flora and fauna.
All of the hiking trails will be unpaved and cleared in a manner sensitive to the
environmental resources. All trimming along the trail will be done with flush cuts and all
material shall be placed with the cut end away from the trail in order to minimize the
appearance of impact or hauled away for disposal. All planting on the site will be native
species, especially as non-native species are eradicated.
Trail maintenance will be an annual activity conducted each spring, with periodic
maintenance throughout the year, as needed. Maintenance will include trimming of
vegetation that has grown into the trailway and repairs/cleaning of displays and exhibits.
Routine maintenance, performed weekly, should include litter removal and any necessary
trimming of vegetation, a safety inspections and cleaning of displays and interpretive
exhibits.
.
.
.
All structures related to the hiking trails, including but not limited to fences, interpretive
signs, boardwalks, etc., will be constructed so as not to obstruct wildlife movement. The
Town of South old will limit the clearing, cutting or harvesting of timber or woodlands on
the property, as outlined in the Conservation Easement (Section 3.06)
The Town of South old intends to utilize of the Downs Farm Preserve for archaeological
research, natural resource education, and ecological, biological and historic study. The
public's access to the Preserve will provide opportunities for the public to enjoy passive
recreation such as walking, photography, bird watching and the quiet contemplation of
nature, being careful to prevent degradation of natural communities and wetland areas.
The Town will maintain the Preserve in its natural state, except for such foot trails and
property maintenance activities as may be appropriate without impairing the Preserve's
natural character.
MANAf;EMENT STRATEf;ms
In order to achieve the above management goals, the Town of South old, at its discretion,
may implement some or all of the following management strategies:
1. Develop and maintain a public foot-trail system to provide opportunities for passive
recreation such as bird watching, walking and educational activities. Give special attention
to: 1) preventing degradation of wetlands, including the shoreline; 2) minimizing human
disturbance of native plants and animals; 3) controlling unauthorized uses such as
mountain bikes, horses, off-road vehicles and dumping; 4) disturbance to neighbors.
2. Use the AMC Field Guide to Trail Building and Maintenance, by Robert Proud man and
Ruben Rajala (Boston, MA, Appalachian Mountain Club, 1981) as a guide for trail
construction and maintenance.
3. Establish a Oversight Committee to determine the rules and regulations ofthe Preserve.
CONn .TTSTON
If carefully protected and maintained, the Downs Farm Preserve has the potential to
provide a high-quality scientific, educational, ecological and aesthetic resource for the
citizens of the Town of South old.
.
The Bulletin
Journal of the New York State Archaeological Association
.
\
l
\
\ \
\ \
\ \
! \
I i
, I
I :
: I
,
I
I
I
,
I
I i
i I
i
~
\0E7
o
,
. .(._.;............... lI3
(\ '-7............, .....~.1............"... tt
t \ \, ./,j'&I.~~.'" ""'..lIlt tt
c.\ \'\ ".'''''''~t~._ ..,Mot.........'.ll......_
, .........., 'I
..."\ \ ., 1o""'''1Itwt euA
,. ~ \ ...........
\ l' tt
) ~. \. ,/---- --------~~ft--- ' ':
to l: \ \ ~ _",-:.If
f i \" / /--- I tt
I C" \ \ / /' -f
I I \\1 I ~"tt ~
tt1 ++ \ \\ '" P't ( , 1 '.
t ! " \ ' "-----~~ '!---------"----->::~>-
! i \9\ euD; r ---- ---- t-","
i r \"-\ ---- i--------- '. : "
I. ! I'J" .'.
. i IiI \.c '
f 1 \~ \ - tt4 ~~,' /'
fF \\ 19 I//
- r i I I I I
1; ~ \ I . ' ....'
i~'==""..~ \1 ,.-...tt ////
~L- II !J 111I
!12-,:2+.... I I E ~ j //..-
......"'III,.../{ I~wt.......... eu.-=- J. lI5 / / I
:"1 n.- IIilH"", I I ............. ~ / / I
, ...1........., ~ ; II I
tt6 i "t ....""~""............ fJ / / /
I', ,
j I tt7 / /
, auF / I
-. /,'
, , ,
/ '
, ,
, ,
, ,
, ,
\ ,
,
,
,
.
euF2 .
, , " ,
. ,
. , , ,
. , , ,
, , ,
, , ,
20 40 60 80
, I I
FEET
au - excavation unit
tt - test trench
Fort Corchaug
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE MAP
Southold, Suffolk County, New York
Historic Contact National Historic Landmarks in New York State
A Partnership Project of the
New York State Archaeological Association
and the National Park Service
.
Number 114
1998
. Fort Corchaug Archaeological Site National Historic Landmark
Ralph S. Solecki
Department of Anthropology, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas
Lorraine E. Williams
Bureau of Archaeology and Ethnology, New Jersey State Museum, Trentoll, New Jersey
.
The Furt Corc/uzug Archaeological Site H'GS designated as a
Natiollal Historic Landmark (NHL) on Jalluary 20, /999,
under CrUeriml 6: a property that has yielded or has the
!}(Jfential "ro yield h!tomlativn afmajor scientific importance
by revealing ,!ew clIltures. or by shedding IiRht upon periods
of occupation over large areas of the United States" by
revealing and presen'ing information of major scientific
importance associated with still poorly understood aspects of
lvlontauk Country Indian life and inter~cultural relations
along the Nor1h Atlantic coast during the first half of the sev-
enteemh century.
This article is an abridged version of the NHL nomination
form Ilsed to document the site's sif?n(ficance (Solecki.
Wi:IiGms, Gild Crume! 1998). Milch (~fthe i'~fonnation utilized
in ,he /lomi"ation form ~vas drawn fmm Solecki (/950) and
Williams (/972).
Background and Oveniew
.
The Fort Corchaug Archaeological Site (hereinafter referred
to as Fort Corchaug) is situated on the east :;;ide of Fort Neck.
a Jeve-I point of land jutting south into eastern Long Island's
Pecooic Bay in the hamlet of Cutchogue, Town of Southold.
Suffolk County, New York. The site is located in an area of
~{;astal mixed oak forest about one-h"lf mile sl1l1thwest of
Cuichogue.
Fort Corchaug is identified in the Historic Contact
National Historic Landmark Theme Study as the site contain-
ing the most intact and best documented known archaeological
Jeposits preserving evidence of historically documented
Indian life in Montauk Country (Gromet 1995: 160). All other
known aboriginal archaeological sites in eastern Long Island
either pre-date or post-date the Historic Contact period, con-
tain fragmentary Historic Contact components, or (in most
cases), have been totally destroyed by erosion, development,
or looting.
Systematic archaeological test excavations conducted at
the locale at various times between 1936 and 1996 have
repeatedly discovered closely associated Historic Contact
period component diagnostic European and aboriginal arti-
facts. All have been found within an intact midden layer and
2
associated pit. hearth, postmold, and trench features in Jnd
around the fort's earthen embankment. Analysis of these find-
ings confirms archival records indicating that Eastern
Algonquian-speaking Corchaug Indian people closely related
to the neighboring Montauk, Mallhassct, and Shinnecock
communities erected, occupied, and abandoned Fort
Corchaug between 1630 and 1660
Archaeologist Ralph S. Solecki, whose research activities
at Fort Corchaug began in 1936, recorded the first detailed
measurements of the site after brush-clearing operations
undertaken by the landowner revealed the low embankments
of a roughly quadrangular oblong earthwork. The fort's north-
ern and western walls measured 210 ft in length: the east wall
was 180 ft long, and the south wall measured! 60 ft in length.
This embankment enclosed an area slightly less than Ihree.
quarters of an acre in extent.
Tht" paucity of known deposits within the fort perimeter.
the :ocation of features suggestive of the complex baftle:-gate
pattern used in other Indian defensive w'xks in the region in
the stockade's southeastern curner. and the presence of circu-
lar depressions identitied as house-patterns just be)tond the
suuthern embankment line indicate that the fort was prim3rily
used as a temporary place of refuge by "':orchaug people liv-
ing immediately south of the rort. Discoveries of substantial
amounts of whelk columnella (the tightly Goited cen!rai sec-
tion of the whelk shell), other shell fragments, $andstone
ac.rading stones, and finished white cylindrical wampum
heads in and beyond the embankment walls further suggests
that Corchaug people used the locale as a place for manufac-
turing wampum shell beads.
Meticulously crafted from hard clam and whelk shells
abundant in eastern Long Island waters, wampum played
important roles in regional socia-political networks and trade
relations. Indian people throughout eastern North America
regarded wampum as a rare and spiritually significant sub-
stance. Wampum exchanges marked all important social
occasions. Messengers carried strings of wampum to call peo-
ple together. Wide bands bearing distinctive abstract designs
known as belts came to both symbolize and record important
events and actions. Recognizing in it characteristics of rarity,
durability, unifonnity, and portability prized in their own cur-
The Bulletin . Number 114
.
rencies, early European colonists used wampum as a form of
money until sufficient amounts of metal coinage and paper
specie became available (Ceci 1977; Orchard 1929; Williams
and Flinn 1990).
The Corchaug Indians lived in the midst of what was the
single most important wampum producing region in seven-
teenth-century America. The archaeological remains of Fort
Corchaug are located at the southeastern comer of Fort Neck,
a level expanse of sandy glacial notwash plain lying 20 ft
above mean sea level. Fort Neck is one of several lobes of
land on the North Fork of eastern Long Island jutting into
Great Peconic Bay. Great Peeonic Bay is a 16-mi-iong and 4-
mi-wide body of salt-water separated from Long Island
Sound to the north by L.ong Island's North Fork, from the
Atlantic Ocean to the soulh by the South Fork, and from
Gardiners Bay to the east by Shelter Island.
Fort Corchaug deposits lie in upper levels of sandy :-lilt
loams ticst deposited atop fine gravei subsoils dunng the
Ronkonkoma stage of the Wisconsin glaciation some 12,000
years ago. Downs Creek, a salt-water stream !lowing into
Peconic Bay, runs iess than 150 ft east of the site. It is fed by
a small fresh-water stream originating less than one-half of a
mile farther ncrth on the North Fork.
hn:estigators hav{; found Late Archaic period chipped
stone prcjectile point~. Transitional Late Archaic/Early
Woodland Orient Culture lishtail points and soapstone bowl
fragments, and Early Woodland grit-tempered Vinette eeram-
ks in and amund Fer! C:)fI:h~H1g. Some of these materials
have been iJenl.i~:..:(l in :1'~pc;Sit5 within the National Historic
Landmark in :;uiis undedying the iurt\ midden layer, in shov-
el test probes dug north of the fart, anJ as surface finds con-
centrated to the south of the C11!DanKment wall. Substantially
larger assen-ibbge,> of Frehlstoric material have been found
just b',yond the National Histopc Landmark boundaries far-
{her -;outh at the ha:.:.ter site .tOd immediately to the north at
t.he Su:.llh site.
These findings indicate that Indian people lived along the
shores of Downs Cree!... at v<.irious times for at least 6,000
years prior to European intrusion. Europeans are known to
have sailed into Peconie Bay as New England colonists drift-
ed towards war with the Pequot Indians living in eastern
Connecticut just across Long Island Sound in 1636. Some of
the Pequot captives given to eastern Long Island Indians by
the English following their defeat of the Pequots in 1637 may
also have settled among the Corchaugs.
Direct documentation explicitly mentioning Corchaug
Indian people, however, only first appeared while another war
ravaged the region (O'Callaghan and Fernow 1853-
87[14]:60; Shurtlieff and Pulsifer 1854-61[9]: 18-19). Fought
between 1643 and 1645 and known as Governor Kieft's War,
after the Dutch governor widely believed to have been its
.
.
instigator, it was a violent contlict in which Dutch colonists
and their English allies defeated and subjugated Indian com-
munities throughout L.ong Island and the Hudson River
Valley (Trelease 1960:60-84).
The entire known corpus of written records documenting
the Corchaug Indians consists of a handful of deeds, council
minutes, and brief notations made by Dutch officials and
English colonists moving to the area from nearby New
England in the years following Kieft's War (Case 1882[2]:
194, 229-30, 267). These documents reveal little more than
some Corchaug place names and the names and relation-
~hips of a few prominent sachems and some other individu-
als. Prominent Long Island antiquarian William Wallace
Tooker suggested that the name Corchaug derived from the
Algonquian word kehchauke, "greatest ~)r principal place"'
(Tooker 1911 :58), Written records mentioning Corchaug
people signed between 1640 and 1662 indicate close politi-
cal and family connections with nearby Indian commllnitie~
around Peconic Bay. The first Con.:haug sachem recorded by
name in English documents, for exaTl1p]~, a man named
Momoweta, was reportedly the brother of chief men at
Montauk on the eastern tip of the South Fork, Shinneeock
on the South Fork, and among the Manhassel, '10 Indian
nation inhabiting Shelter Island (Strong )9~/i:229'.
Corchaug lands were first colonized by EllrOJJean~ short~
Iy after the New Haven colony granted a charter to towns-
folk interested in establishing a town of their own in the
heart of Cor~haug territory in 1 h-l9. Naming thr:ir nf':'N town
SoutholJ, they initially settled along its ~aSlef!lmi."ls.t pur..
tions. Intent upon expanding their seniemcnts, ScutholJ
colonists only began nloving farther wes! to Cutchogue in
1660 after population losses causeJ ~y epidemics arl~
Narragansett raids rendered the Corchat;gs uo::;ble 1'-, resi.~,t
intrusion onto their lands.
Although local traditions state that ~hr. first Enr-lish Jdtjc,.;~
saw an Indian stockade 00 the cast silk 01' Fort Nc'.rk {Case
1882[ I]: 120-21), only one record. a 1662 deed, directly docu-
mellts the site as within "Fourte Neck bounds rrom tho:.
Cartwaye to the spring over against where the fort did stand"
(Case 1882[1]:1). Southold town records affirm that most
Corchaug Indian people moved to land set aside for them at
nearby Hog Neck just east of Fort Neck in 1664 (Case
1882[ 11:365). Worsening relations with English neighbors
compelled most of these people to relocate onto Indian Neck
three miles farther east by 1685.
A census taken in 1698 recorded that 40 Indian people,
"young and old," lived within the town of Southold
(O'Callaghan 1849-51[1]:673). Although most Corchaug
Indian people probably moved from Indian Neck to Indian
reservations at Shinnecock, Montauk, and Poosepatuck
(established by 1666 farther west in Mastic, Long Island) by
3
The Bulletin . Number 114
.
the time land there was thrown open to English settlement in
1719, Indians in Southold continued to press for return of
their last lands in the final record documenting their presence
in the town dated 1764 (O'Callaghan 1849-51[3J:392-394).
Archaeological Resources
.
Due to the extremely sparse nature of existing written docu-
mentation, intact archaeological resources represent the only
other major source of information capable of shedding further
light on Corchaug Indian history and culture. Happily, shal-
lowly buried intact archaeological resources preserved at the
Fort Corchaug Site represent one of the very few deposits in
the region to escape significant damage from erosion. plow-
ing, vandaiism. ordevelopmem. Also, unlike most other Long
Island Indian archaeological sites, the location of Fort
Corchaug 'vas mll forgotten after its abandonment. The fort's
earthen embankment remained visible as ownership of the
2oo-acre farm containing the uncultivated wooded site passed
through various owners from 1662 up to the present time.
Although visibility often acted as a beacon luring diggers
and vandal, to a locale. this was not the case at Fort
Corchul!g_ -\1] of the locale's property owners seem to have
beerl aware of the site's historical significance. Although one
farma made a narrow cut west and south across the embank-
ment to accommodate a dirt cartway that has since disap-
peared. ~lll O\\'ners reti-aineJ from plowing or other activities
capahle uhkstmying the loc::!e's shallowly huried and highly
vulnenlble ~U"(.:ha~ological di'posits,
At least [mc owner. Hellry Downs. is known to have
,Ictively prutt,"l:tct: ron Curch:.:ug by encouraging local inter-
est in the site. Local records atTinn that Downs, whose grand-
[,":!er purchased the property in 1805. showed the site to at
least two visitors during the late 1800s. One of these. town
sllrveyor ,md i.xal ;~isinrian James Case. wrote after his vi.;;it
that 'the lines of tnc embankment anti the trenches which sur-
rounded the fort. are still to be traced" (Case 1882[ II: 120-21).
Downs also took the carlier-mentioned antiquarian William
Wallace Tooker on a tour of the locale in 1891. Observing
that the site remained visible under the heavy woods and
dense brush covering the locale, Tooker recommended in the
pages of the April. 1893 issue of Lo"g Is/and Ma!{azine
(Tooker 1893) that Fort Corchaug be preserved and fenced as
an histOlically significant monument.
Tooker was among several avocationalists known to have
collected artifacts at Fort Corchaug during the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries. The collection of one of these
men. a Mr. Alburtus, is presently curated by the National
Museum of the American Indian under the erroneous catalog
heading of the Three Mile Harbor site. Solecki discovered the
mistake when one of Alburtus's collaborators. a local collec-
.
4
tor named Charles F. Goddard, told him that the materials had
actually come from Fort Corchaug, some ten miles to the
northwest of Three Mile Harbor across Peconic Bay.
Solecki conducted his first test excavation at Fort
Corchaug on April 15, 1936. Impressed by the site's research
potential, he ultimately made 67 one-day field visits to the
locale between 1936 and July 18, 1948 (Solecki 1950. 1992-
93). Although he usually worked alone, Solecki was occa-
sionally accompanied by Columbia University graduate stu-
dents, friends, and colleagues like Carlyle S. Smith, Clifford
Evans, and Betty Meggers. Obtaining some of their earliest
field experience at Fort Corchaug, Solecki, Smith, Evans, and
Meggers subsequently went on to make major contrlbutinns
to the development of American archaeology (Figure I).
Solecki excavated fourteen numbered test units at Fort
Corchaug (Figure 2). Eleven of these, labeled Excavation
Units A. B, D, E, and 1-7, were made at various places along
the embankment.. Two small units, F 1 and F2. were excavated
Figure 1. Photograph of a test trench excavation at the southwest comer of
the palisade embankment. 3 August 1947_ Fort Corchaug ~rchaeological
Site National Historic Landmark, Suffolk County. New York. Clifford Evans
stands in the trench: Carlyle S. Smith lakes notes on the right. (Photograph
courtesy of Ralph Solecki).
The Bulletin . Number 114
I
I
I~
10 20 40 60 GO
i ~_-1.....--'----I...r----l
i FEET
I
,
.~ '(~::~'''''''''''''''~'1.lt3
( \ \1'''~,,,,,, ..-.... tt
\ \ '".......... ..'...........t
:\ ... ...,..........._- .............
~~, ._/...... ..'1111....-."'--.-
~ -~...~ -.,
\:. \ .. """,.~~euA
~ \\ ~-
\ t, tt
) t,\\ ///-------~---~--~-~-11.~- '> tt
I ~ \ \ / /-" -~
, I \ \ I I .. ~ tt /
lt1# \ \\, "'" "1--- \"
: I: \. \ ... ! -. _ ____..__ ~ ",-
i I \ ", __ "
, ~ ,\, i ' _-----" ' .
i I \~\ "'-- (-~~~~~~~~~~~uc ,;
i r \~ \ tt4 I /
~ ~ \ \ j / "
i ~ \ I i I /
tt ~ ~ \ I ~tt /,'
;i- II !I //
tt2~f4: I I F 1 //
. 1"~""tI...t/ 11U6......~ eUE.~ ~tt5 / ,.-
'" I I ....1.. ~ I I
tt '~fl~..,~..! /....... ; /11/
tt6 I "40~..",............., 1 / I
! ~ euF tt7 ,,</'
. , .
-- .
,
tt
\ I I
" '
" '
\ 1 '.
" .
" '
" ,
" '
" '
" '
" '
" ,
I { \
" ,
, , ,
f I I
. . .
. . ,
. . .
/ , .
",/ "
.
,
,
,
.
.
.
.
,
.
/
..
euF2.
.
--
,
.
.
,
,
.
.
eu w excavation unit
tt - teot trench
Fort Corchaug
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE MAP
Soothold, Suffolk County, N~wYork
Figure 2. Map of Solecki test excavations. 1936-1948. Fort Corchaug Archaeological Site National Historic Landmark. Suffolk Ccunly, New York (Soleck.;
1950: 16: RevIsed by James Farrell. National Park Service. Philadelphia, 1998).
40 ft beyond the fort's south wall. Another area, Excavation
Unit C, was situated at a shell midden located above the banks
of Downs Creek, approximately 140 ft to the east of the site.
Seven numbered 10 ft- to 25 ft-Iong narrow Test Trenches
were situated at various places in the embankment wall.
Solecki and his colleagues also dug nine smaller and narrow-
er sondages into other parts of the embankment. Care was
taken to disturb as little of the site as possible. Most work was
confined to the perimeter wall area; less than one percent of
the 34,OOO-sq-ft interior area was affected.
Solecki and his colleagues took extensive field notes and
photographs. A total of 49 profile drawings were made of
test trench and other site excavations (Figure 3). Most of
these notes remain in Solecki's possession at this writing.
.
5
The Bulletin . Number 114
.
C I eon sand
w~~,~~-:;~~",:~S'\:.~C I~E
IT. I . ..~ -.V.... 'COIQrkrefu:selens
~T.~.~FE
FEET ' . . Pocket of block
e<Irth and .holl.
Dark refuse lens
5
N f ~... " ",...
(1-~o . . . : ,~
-.!.........' " ~ ......yellow sor.d' ..'
. "... ,'.; . ~... Light .:....:...~
o 2 j sterile SQ"d. '\.,
fiE T Reddish sand
--'--" "
. Figure 3. Test trench profil.:: drawings. Fort COfchaug Archaeological Site
National Historic Landmark. Suffolk County. New York. The upper draw-
ings depict Test Trenches I and 2 ex.cavated across the west embankment
wall: tlie lower drawing depicts Test Trench 3 excavated across the north
embankment W<l.lI (Solecki] 950: 19).
.
SGii laye:rs were lemoved by natural level. Most excavated
soil,:' \\'ef~' sifted thmugh one-half inch screen. Midden soils
were sifted through one-quarter in screen-mesh.
These excavations exposed postmolds and ditches of an
ohlong fort ~tock,lde with bastions at its northern ends. a dou-
tile line (if po~t~; :JloJ:g its eastern side. and the earlier-men-
,ioned parallel trenches believed to be the remains of the type
0f haffle entrance often used to secure entry into contempo-
rary Nmth Atlantic [ndiaIl forts (Figure 4). One large storage
:Jit and several smaller pits and hearths were found near the
el:lbup-kment walis. Midden deposits examined in Excavation
L;flit C eontaiHl~~;:I numerou~ shell fragments. artifacts of abc-
dginal and European manufacture. and fi:lh. bird. and mam-
owl bones. Two 8 ft-diameter circular areas of darkly stained
soil were uncovered in Units Fl and F2 immediately south of
the southern embankment wall. Extending up to I ft beneath
the humus layer and containing postma Ids. shellfish frag-
ments. and hearth depressions. both were believed to repre-
sent remains of sunken circular houses of the type uncovered
by Mark R. Harrington at the terminal Late Woodland
Sebonac site in Southampton on the south shore of Peconic
Bay (Harrington 1924:238-39).
Substantial amounts of cultural material were recovered
from midden deposits encountered in all excavation units.
Numerous deer and other mammal bones (including the jaw
bone of a horse) were found mixed with bird bones, sturgeon
plates and other fish remains, and thousands of shell frag-
ments in darkly stained charcoal-flecked midden layer soils.
.
6
....
.... '~',
...
... .a
..
.....
..~
0 4 a. ......
... -
'- , ......
FEET
I ... .... ....
~..., ''''f'
\lfI(,
... \\f'". ,~~ .....
Figure 4. Plan view of Excavation Unit E, showing paJi,iade and haf,lc-gate
trench.lines. Fort Corchaug Archaeological Si:e Nai.;cl1,:) Hist,xio:
Lanumark. Suffolk COUI1!Y. New York (Solecki 1950: 17).
Tne aboriginal assemblage recovered in these deposits includ-
ed one terminal Late Woodland period diagnostic triangular
chipped stune projectile point, a small number of other
chipped and ground stone artifacts, several bone awls and
needles, a conical antler projectile point. three finished cylin-
drical white wampum shell "eads, and more than 1,f)(JO whelk
columnel!a representing all phases of w~lmpum manufacture
The sample of nearly 1,000 sherd, uf Shantok-type pot-
tery comprises a particularly ::iignificant part of the site
assemhlagc-. A styEsiicaliy (]istl!lcti....e ware ir.idally identi-
fied at Fort Shantok in nearby Conm:ctict:! (~OHSe 1947).
Shantok pottery is do~eiy associated with rViohegan and
Pequot potters producing th~se wares during the midd~e
decades of the ~eveJ1teel1th t:cntury. possibly brought tu
Cnfchaug country by Pequot cap~ives fnrcl'd to settle in
Long Isl~nd after 1637, Shantok pottery has since been
round tc b~ ;) higl1!Y"iensitivc temporal dingn(;stic in!lic,-tto:
capabi~ of iJentifying cultural affiliations and occupar:oll
dates of mid. se\'~nie('.nth-c~l1tut y Indian occupations in
eastern portions of Connecticut and Long Island.
Stems and bowl fragments of white clay tobacco smoking
pipes dominated the European-made por.ion of the site
assemblage. The bulbous bowl forms, EB maker's marks, and
diagnostic stem diameter me~surements observed in this sam-
ple revealed that all were of types exported from Holland dur-
ing the middle decades of the seventeenth century. Other
European materials unearthed by Solecki at the locale includ-
ed 13 pieces of lead-glazed redware, several cut nails, knives,
needles, and other iron artifacts, a number of glass bottle frag-
ments, a brass latten spoon handle, two metal mouth harps,
five gunflints, and four metal projectile points.
Analysis of these findings, first presented in a Masters the-
sis submitted tu the Columbia University Department of
The Bulletin . Number 114
.
Anthropology (Solecki 1948) and published two years later in
the Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut
(Soleckt 1950), aftirmed that Fort Corchaug was the site of a
stockade and wampum ma:Hlfactory used by Corchaug Indian
people between the 1630s and I 660s. Collecting and compar-
ing archival and archaeologi,,"1 data on other North Atlantic
Indian forts, Solecki's !'t~st:ar(;h findings at Fort Corchaug
made additional sigi1ifi~ant contr!butitln~ to the undersranding
of regIOnal paUerns of seulemem, trade, and warfare.
Maintaining un enduringly strong research interest in the
area, Solecki conducted further investigations in and around
Fon Corchaug afte, 1950. [n 1960 he conducted limited sur
face survey at the sile whil~ undertaking extensive excava-
tions at the nearby Baxter Site with then Columbia University
faculty colle2gue Bert Su]\V~n (SaJwen 19(6). One year bier,
S01~('ki assisted Ne'N Y~H'k Slate Archaeologist William A.
Ritchie's work on the Orient component at the Baxter Site
:Ritchie 1.Y6Y: !69-70). On Febmary 20, !985, Solecki relo-
cated the palisade ~mbanll1le!1t line while conducting a sur-
race condition assessrr1t~llt of the site with members of the
Cutchogue-New Suffolk Histoneal Society (Solecki i985:29-
30). Visiting the site wilt Myra Case of the Cutchogue~New
Suffolk Historicui Society, SOtlthold Town Supervisor Jean
V./. Cc"!chruu, illlJ several local preservati()l1ist~ on July 2,
199, S(,]ecki fe-identified the open depression at the north-
(',.stem corner ot [he e:nbankrreIlt as the locale of the bastion
and midden he first excavated nearly sixty years earlier
(Mc(!uist~1O 1997).
In 19b5, L\)rrujn~ E. Wi!E2.rlls, thcn a graduate "rudent in
..lillhrcpology ::l Nev.. Yurk Lil;versity studying undi.::[ the
direct:on of Bert Sah'/en, le~i :.t t1eld crew to Fort Co:-chaug.
Wiliiams\ te:.:n testeLi :-.C\t:I1 <.:.re:l.s;il and around (he stockade
.::.rca. Soil pfI.)fiIes revealtci dudng these tests affhmed that the
shallowly iJurieJ jeposit~ fepOf:cd by Solecki remained large-
ly u~disturbed. Dark saney :"'fCown sheil-tilled midden layers
f(~unJ ~n !'.vc of t!~e teslca <.l:ca.'i '."'1;:1':'; subjedeJ t:) more inten-
...,ivt" wide area sam piing.
IlJtensive inve~tig;ui'-'~lS condt'cteu at the fir~t te~;ted area,
Excavation Unit IV, consisted of five contiguous 5 ft by 5 ft
squares located along the eastern nank of the fort stockade
line. Discovery of several linear stain patterns confirmed the
continuing presence of the two parallel palisade ditches first
discovered by Solecki. Williams's team also uncover~d a
small irregularly shaped, basin-like pit identified as the
remains of earlier pot-hunting and two intact pit features
along the eastern side of the unit just beyond the embank-
ment line. The smaller of these features, a 22 in-diameter
circular pit, extended 21 in beneath the bottom of the over~
lying midden level. The other feature was a larger but shal-
lower, irregularly shaped 55 in-wide pit measuring 14 in at
its maximum depth,
.
.
The second test area found to contain substantial intact
deposits, Excavation Unit VI, was situated immediately
beyond the northern end of the fort embankment. WiUiams'..;
crew excavated a to ft-Iong trench measuring 7 ft in width
and an adjacent 5 ft by 5 ft square in this area. Two unstrati-
tied pit features and one pit contained stratitied till suggestive
of two depositional episodes were discovered and tested in
this area.
Artifact types and percentages comprising (he assemblage
recovered in thp-se excavations closely resembled those
reported by Solecki. Williams's team ultimately cataloged
several pieces of quurtzite debitage. f011r quartzite bifaces
(including one triangular projectile point fragment), several
hundred shcrd.s of Shantok-type ware. and rnore than 450
whelk columneila. The European portion of Ihe a....semhlage
inch.:ded a number ot square c.:ut nails. a lin-pi:.lted SCiJ!-rop
spoon handle, one lead musket ball, a fmgmenl af lean sprue,
three gray guntlints. i 7 pieces of (cd wart. J f! aglJle:1t of dear
window glass, t1.ve pieces of dark green wine bottle glas". and
38 white clay tobacco smoking pipe stem and bowl frag..
ments. Maps und tield notes docum.?nting thc:se findings ;:re
c.:urrently in storage at the New Jersey State rvluStulll il~
Trenton. Analysis of these materials. how~ver. ;~ reported 1Il
\ViIEams's much"cited doctoral di:isCl1atidll (Wi!!i:lllls J'F<?\.
These findings confirmed Solecki's findir.gs and affirmed
Fort Corchaug's position as one of [he most import.ll1l sources
for archaeological infonnation documenting culture contact
and change in the North Atlantic region.
In 1974, Fm-t Corchaug was iisteLi in t:lc' N,l:iof!a~
Register of Historic Places through the efforts of :ut'Ji COI11-
munity members orgalli"lJ;d by the Jfon::.meIP!cneJ i\1yra
Case (Rennenkampf 11)74). Later thal yeal. Int? SuUnl:.:
County Leg!slature ullsuccesi;fully atterrt~ted to a,quir.:= :he
site as a county park from landowner WilJi.uTI : Baxter, Jr.
in 1989, county and local official,; "iJlP,")ri.~e':t the use of
Open Sr,~.ce Pl1nJs to tC!1det an fAf'er ;.lC(;t'~1:".ble r:; Mr.
Baxter. Land values dropped .significamly before the awe(~~
ment was finalized, and the Ianduwner sLlb~equently mall;::
plans to develop the property.
Responding to concerns voiced by local community mem-
bers, Mr. Baxter funded Phase I A archival resear..::h a.nd Phase
I B limited reconnaissance archaeological test investigations
to determine if intact cultural deposits of national significance
remained intact on the property (Cammisa 1994 and 1996).
These investigations consisted of surface survey and widely
placed shovel tests generally dug at 100 ft intervals along
transect lines located in areas to the north, west, and south of
the fort site. Surlace linds of projectile points, scrapers, deb-
itage, and other materials to the south of the fort and recovery
of lithic debitage and buried shell and bone fragments in
shovel test pits ST3 and STl3 to its north confirmed the
7
The Bulletin . Number 114
.
possibility that potentially significant archaeological resources
remain intact in other parts' of the 22.9602-acre site area
(Coastal Environmental Corporation 1997[2]:Appendix IB).
During this time. Mr. Baxter worked with local preserva-
tionists, town and county authorities, and the Pecooic Land
Trust (a private non-profit organization dedicated to preserv-
ing epen space in eastern Long Island) to broker an arrange-
ment that would satisfy both preservation and development
interests in the property. After several years of negotiation,
the Tmst successfully arranged for the town to purchase the
northernmost portion of the tract for preservation as parkland
(Caulfield 1997; McMahon 1997). A 22.9602 acre sect,on of
this tract, entitled the "Fort Area," has been set aside for
preservation, The land immediately south of this area has
b,.en purcl]ased by Russell McCall, a private developer.
S~nsiti ve to the possibility that po[entially significam
re:<ource$ may be located on his property. ,McCa!l and two
other anjoining landowners agreed to limit the extent of future
development and signed Deeds of Conservation Easement
specifying procedures to be followed to safeguard cultural
~nd natural resources located on the land. These easement
deeds are on file iu the Suffolk County Hall of Records in
Riverhe:ld, New York and copies are located in the offices of
the Pcconic Land Trust In Southampton.
V;rtuaily all archaeologic:J.1 materials and associated field
notes recorded during systematic excavations at Fort
Corchau!?,: are currently curated in museum facilities meeting
jt)('FRiS standards. The Smith)onian Institlltion curates
most JltiractiJai and archival materials ama~seJ by Rnlph
Solecki at the site. These may be located under Accession
"'"mhot 209544 and Catalog Numbers 411468-411538.
,olecki also donated small study collections to the Yale
Peabody Museum of Natural History in NeN Haven,
Connecticut and the American Museum of Natural History
in New York Ci(y. Cullections made during Lorr':Hno;-;
\Vi!1i"ms's field season are presently on ioan t"ro,TI I\iew
York University to the New Jersey State Museum in
Trenton, New Jersey. The small Alburtus Collection, still
attributed to the Three Mile Harbor site, continues to be
managed by the National Museum of the American Indian.
Materials and documenta(ion from Phase I A and 18 investi-
gations conducted by Alfred Cammisa (1994 and 1996) are
presently stored in the Southold Indian Museum.
.
Site Significance
.'
Cultural resources preserved within the Fort Corchaug
Archaeological Site comprise the only known assemblage of
deposits archaeologically documenting social, political, and
economic relations between Corehaug Indian people and
colonists on eas(em Long Island during the first half of the
8
1600s. Information recovered from Fort Corchaug deposits
has se:rved us the basis for two extensively-cited graduate the-
ses (Solecki 1948 and Williams 1972) and most major region-
al archaeological syntheses published during the past 50 years
(cf., Ceei 1977; Gromet 1995; Ritchie 1969; Smith 1950;
Solecki \950; Strong 1997).
Today, the F0l1 (orchaog Site survives as one of the best
pr~..,erved archaeologkal la"::dl~s associated with seven-
teenth-century Indian life in the North Atlantic region. Built,
occupied, and abandoned at a time when overwhelming
demographic, social, and political changes were forcing
Corchaug Indian people to ,ell their lands at Cutchogue and
move elsewhere, Fort Corchaug has yielded "nd continues
to possess the potential to yield information (If major scien-
tific significance.
Aithough no written description vf the tucale has yet been
found. archaeologit:ai eVIdence of 6mthe!l (;embankments and
bastions indicate that Fon Corchaug addressed needs for
defense and secunty, Discoveries of triangular brass, iron. and
chipped stone projEdile pointi in site midden deposits indi-
cates that fort occupants relied upon the bow and arrow to
defend their lands and iives. The small number Qf gunt1ints,
musket balls, and iead spl1le, as well as :h: total absence of
gun parts, mutely affirm~ aoc:"':r:1ented U;,lfch 1nd English
eff'Jrts limiting the trr.de of firearllls to CL',j\;!13ng and other
Indian people living near European settlements on and around
Long Island during the se'"enteenth century.
Di:-:covf"ri~s uf .subs!auliul :1ufl~ber~ of (.t:l~: mifacts con-
firm that Fcrt Corchrlllg corri:ain~ ~he mo:-,( eXlCllSl','e surviving
assemblage of ard13.eologic31 matcriais d('.cumenting trade
relationships betw~;e:l fnd:nns J.r.d Lurr,pe~m; in Montauk
COli.ntry during the cc.r\y ~:\.:venteenth century. Analyses of
aboriginal ceramics and Ethics found dt the ~ite dluminate
regionCll patte:n~ of contact between Indian people living in
>/It,ni:<tLlK COU;!l;:~i il~d th')~'e liv;p:~ !ll'rrb nf LO:1g Island
Sound in l-'e4uvr and I\11ch~gan country. rviidden deposit; J(
the si~e presf.::"ve the' largest body of archae~):oglcal evidenc~
in eastern Long Island documentmg wampum shell bead pro-
duction which was so critically important in regional econom-
IC relations during the 1600s. "EB" white day tobacco pipes,
brass and iron mouth harps, glazed redwares, and Q(her
imported goods provide physical evidence corroborating
European records documenting the local Indian trade.
Fort Corchaug enjoyed unimpeded access to Peconic Bay
2,000 ft to the south. The site's strategic position on the banks
of a stream flowing into a wide sheltered bay, astride impor-
tant coastal and interior transportation routes, had long drawn
people to the locale. Carrying canoes across short portages
across the North Fork divide separating the Peconic Bay
drainage from Long Island Sound to the west at Mattituek or
farther east at Orient, travelers could easily journey to the
The Bulletin . Number 114
.
nearby New England mainland and paddle farther east and
west on the relatively placid waters of Long Island Sound.
Trails also linked Fort Corchaug to other parts of Long Island.
Traveling these routes, people living at Fort Corchaug
exchanged raw materials, goods, ideas, and visits with other
Indian people and Europeans first sailing to North Atlanlic
shores during the first centuries of Historic Contact in the
region. Dugout canoes and other objects associated with the
locale's role as a port may lie preserved in submerged wet-
land strata bordering or underlying Downs Creek.
Although quartz pebbles left behind by retreating
Pleistocene ice sheets provided Fort CorchulJg occupanls \vith
some raw materials for tools and Implements, most other lith-
ic resources had to be imported. Diorite ground stone ranis
found at the site, for example, suggest contacts with Indian
people living farther north in present-.day CIJilr:C(.;llCUt.
. Aboriginal ceramics found at Fort Corchaug further docu-
Inent contacts with other Indian people. Discovenes of sub~
stantial numbers of shell-tempered Shamok..type pottery sug-
gest contact with Pequot :.nd Mohegan people from nearby
eastern Connecticut and may help reveal furthel information
illuminating poorly known aspects of their relations. Findings
of small numt.,;r~ of incised and cord"Il1arked l.:ol1ared wares,
for their part, ,ire sugge!'ti\"c: of less imcnsive cont:Jcts with
Munsee people Eving farther we~i in western Long Island and
the adjacent Hudson and Delaware ri ver valleys.
Discoveries of extensive quantities of whelk shells used
to produce wampl.1ln bead~; in 10ta("t d~po~:ts also sontaining
objects of Europe:::.n or!~.;n :itTirm th:u Fort CO[i.~h(lug''i
occupants participated in widr::,pread trncle net.vork;; ili\"olv-
ing neighboring Indi"n cOlnrrnonitles unci f:ng!i~;Jl sdtJ<.~rs
moving to eaSk:rn Long lslanJ dtli':ll~ ~ne Stcon;1 quarter of
the seventeenth cen[l:ry
As mentioned eadie-r, COrCh<l~lg jndiJ.ns devastated by epi-
demil" contagion, defei~~ed .\;~ ".'a.:','; '.vith llearby l'haT2.g;:~'1C;;et,t,
Niantic, and otl1er Nt:w E~gl:~:1d In;..h\f: gi'OUp:';, c:'Jm:l!at'.;,j 0)'
more populous nati',1e neigiil:.ors hkc the 70ont<JuKs, :.lnd (lv~r-
whelmed by successive Wtlv.:s of Er.gli~h colonists, were
compelled to sell their lands on Long Island's Nortb Fork by
1662. The absence of archaeological evidence post-dating
1650 at Fort Corchaug corroborates written records showing
that most Corchaug people moved to the small reservation set
aside for them by Southold town freeholders at Indian Neck
by the last quarter of the seventeenth century.
Discoveries of diagnostic European artifacts at Fort
Corchaug indicate that its native inhabitants built the earth-
work sometime during the first decades of the seventeenth
century. Like Indian people living near Fort Massapeag on
western Long [sland, native people living nearby used Fort
Corchaug as a workshop and temporary place of refuge. The
lack of deposits clearly postdating 1650 at Fort Corchaug cor-
.
.
roborates written records stating that most Corchaug Indian
people moved away from the locale to Indian Neck afte, "ell.
ing their last lands in Southold.
Site Integrity
Barring discovery of presently unknown documentation,
more complete understanding of these and other 3.spects of
Historic Contact period Corcbaug community life and history
can only come from intact archaeological deposit):, Recenl
sUlface survey and limited shovel test excavations carried out
betwecn 1985 and 1996 (Solecki 1985, 1992-93; Cammisa
1994 and 1996; Coastal Environmental Corporation 1997)
continn that shallowly buried deposits remain intact bene2.th
the unplowed forest Hoor at Fort Corchaug, Past Investigators
have !i.lrgely limited their eXt::avmions to rdatively small rest
trenches or units in and near the fOlt earthwork. Solecki. fur
er:ample, excavared i5 UalTOW tren(:hes transversely placed at
various points along the palisade embankment. These affeo;,;r~d
approximately 1,200 sq ft of the embankment area. A fUI1he:-
five areas of open excavation were located along rhe eastem
embankment wall. This area totaled 1,600 sq ft. Additional
open excavations into the midden 80 ft ea;! of the site along
the banks of Downs Creek, and in the ,ife:l thought te contain
Indian hou,es 40 Ii to the south of rhe \OUlhern embankment
affected a total area of 450 sq ft.
Excavations directed by Lorraine Williams involved a total
of 1,875 sq ft of embankment aleu, \ViJ:iam.::;'s excavations
induded sections of embankment pre~'iously excavated by
Solecki or damaged by pot-hunters. Shovel test units plul:cd
;..long tr<.!.ns~ct lines uutside of the fort embal~j"'-mem eisc''\'here
within tbe Na~ional iIistoric Landmark boundary in ! ~9o
ttffected Ics,~ than 50 sq ft of the total site QI"ea.
So]e.::ki's and Williams's excavaticns affected lIttle more
than one-: hird of :he earthen embankment t:', 115 sq fl of th,o
trJtai 15,200 sq fl erllbankrr~ent ar:-.a). Me<;t ;)t ~hc 34,000 sq ~t
area within the fort embuP..kment perimewr. for its part, has
not been signitkantly damaged by either random pot-hunting
or systematic test excavations, And little more than 1,000 sq
ft of ground beyond the embankment walls have been system-
atically excavated. The rest of the 22.9602 acre site, including
more than two~thirds of the embankment and most of fort
interior, remains substantially intact.
Dense coastal-wne mixed oak woodland of the type doc-
umented earlier in the century continues to cover all por-
tions of the site area. Most of the site surface is obscured
beneath leaves and bushes. A shallow pit lined with shell
fragments located at the northeastern corner of the fort
embankment represents the only visible area of disturbance.
At present, traces of the earthen embankment are not clearly
visible from the surface.
9
The Bulletin . Number 114
.
References Cited
Cammisa, Alfred
1994 Phase I A Archaeological Research Assessments
of the Baxter Property, Town of Southold, Suffolk
County, New York. Prepared by Greenhouse
Consultants, Inc.. New York. New York for the
Maguire Group, Inc., Medford, New York.
Report on file, Town Hall, Southold, New York.
1996 Phase I B A/dwealogical Research Assessments
oltll.' Baxter Propaty, Town olSollthald. Suffolk
County. New YiHk. Prepared by Greenhouse
Consultants, Inc., New York, New York for the
Maguire Group, Inc., Medford, New York.
Report en file. Tawn Hull, SouthQld. New Ynrk.
Case, James W.. CditOl
1882 South old Town Rel..-Drds. J ',/OIs. S. W. Green,
Southold, New York.
Caulfield, Tim
1997 Fort Corchaug Protected. Peconie wnd Trust
News/etler 9(2): 1-2. Southampton, New York.
.
Ceci. Lynn
1977
The Effect of European Contact and Trade on
the Settlement Pattern of Indians in Coastal
New Y/Hk, 1524-/665: The Archaeological rme.
Duel/memory EvidencL'. Unpublished Ph.D.
Diss~rtation on fiie in the Departmem oi
Allthropoiogy. City UnivelS'ty of New York
GraJuate'::::en~er. ~e\l:' York.
Coastal Envirunmental Corporation
i 997 Draft Enri."Ol!Flen! Impact Sta!emem for Indh7n
Sho:t'S OJ Cutchvgl~e To:vn oj S[)!/tllOi:l, New
York. 2 vok Report prepared by enastal
Environmental Curporation, Brightwaters,
New York for the Town of Southold Planning
Board, Southold, New York. Report on file,
Town Hall. Southold, New York.
Grumet, Robert S.
1995 Historic Contact: Indian People and Colonists
in Today:<; Northeastern United States in the
Sixteenth Through Eighteenth Centuries.
University of Oklahoma Press, Nonnan.
.
Hanington, Mark R.
1924 An Ancient Village Site of the Shinnecock
Indians. Anthropological Papers of the American
Museum of'Nalllral History 22(5):227-83.
10
McMahon. James
1997 [-<(Hi C:JrChmlg Park Plan. Report on file,
Towc.l-iall, Southold, New York.
McQuis~Dn. John T.
1997 Sale '~)f IJldian FOIt on L.l. Preserves a Piece of
History. Lang Island Nel\'sday, July 3, 1997.
O'C:dbghafl. Edmund B., editor
1849-51 Documentary History afthe State of New York.
4 vol,. Weed, Pa"ons, Albany, New York.
O'Callaghan. Edmund B. and Berthold Fernow, editors
1853-8'7 Documents Relative to tile Colonia! History of
the State of New l{",rk.15 vols. Weed. Parsons.
Albany, New York.
OrchJrd, \Villi:.UTI C.
1929 Beads and Beadwork of the American Indians:
A Study Based UpGn Specimens in the Museum
'Jf the American Indian. Heye Foundation.
Comribu!ions from the Museum of the ;\merican
indian, Heye Foulldcdion 11. New York.
Rcnnenkamoi, Lenme M.
1974 Fort Corchaug Nomination Funn. Report on File,
National Register of Historic Places, National
PZ!rk :~crvicc, '~Va~bi;1~[cn, D.C.
Ritchie, William ;;.
i 9(,9 71le ArcJwe%gy ofNch' York Stute. Revi~ed
editicn. Arr.cri::rrn M:uscul11 of Natural Hi;tory
Press, Garden City. New York.
:(r~u~e lr'finf.
i 9~7 Cermr;k Tw.:2ltinns cll1J. -'->cquen..:es m
COIl!1t:ctiClIL Ba[letm nfthe Archaeological
Soci<:ty of Conl/ee-lieut 21 :3-9.
Salwen, Bert
1966 Sea Levels and Archaeology in the
Long Island Sound Area. American
Alltiquity 28(1):46-55.
1978 Indians of Southern New England and Long
Island: Early Period. In Northeast: Handbook
of Nonh American Indians 15, edited by Bruce
G. Trigger, pp. 160-76. Smithsonian Institution
Press, Washington, D.C.
Shurtlieff. Nathaniel B. and David Pulsifer, editors
1854-61 Records of the ColollY of New Plymouth.
12 vols. William White, Boston.
.
.
.
The Bulletin . Number 114
Smith, Carlyle S.
1950 The Archaeology ofCcastal New York.
Anthropolngicai Pap;!,..,: of the American J~/.l\'ewn
of Natural Histo,y 43(2):95-200.
Solecki, Ralph S.
1948 The Archaeoiogical Positir'II of Historic Fort
Corchaug, L.1. tlnd its Relation to ContempDmry
Forts. Unpublished Master's 111esis on tile 10 the
Department d Anthropology, Columbia
University, New York.
1950 The Archaeclog!cal Position of Historic Fan
Corchaug, L.l. and its Relation to Contemporary
Forts. Bulll:'tin of the Archaeological Society a,f
Connecticut 24:3- 40.
; q85 "Recent Field Icspections of T,,'u J7th-Century
Indian Forts on Long Island, Forts Massapeag
and Corchaug." Bulletin and JOUlflui ,~l ihe i\/elV
York Siate ArcitamlogiclIl A.I'svcimioll 91:26-31.
1992-93 "Indian Forts ',f the Mid-I. 7th Ccntmy in the
Southern New England-New York Coastal Area."
Northeast Histon'l.;al Archaeology 22-23:64-78.
Solecki, Ralph S., Lorraine E. \:v;mams, and Robert S. Gmmet
10C)8 Fort CorchGu:;, ,~,...,..heoiegical Site Natioil:.l
Historic LandmLlrk Nominaticn Form.
Manuscript on tile, National Register Program
Office, Natior,;::; ?3r!..: S..:rvice. \\.'a~hi~gtoll. D.C.
Strong, John A.
1997 Algonquian Peoples of Long Islond From
Earliest TImes to 1700. Empire State Books,
Interlaken, New York.
Tooker, William Wallace
1893 Indian Relics. Lollg Island Magacine.
April, 1893. Brooklyn, New York.
L 911 Indian Place-Names on Long Island.
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.
Trelease. Allen W.
1960 Indian Affairs ill Colollial ,VelV York:
The Sel'ellleemh CentUl)'. C)rnell Univ~rsity
Press, Ithaca, New York ~~Reprinred In 1995 by
the fJniversity of Nebr:lska ?ress, Lin\.:oln).
1J/illiams, Lorraine E.
1972 Fort Shalltok and Fort Corchallg: A
Comparative Study of Seventeenth-Century
Culture Contact in the Long Island Sound
Area. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation on
file in the Department of Al!thmpoiogy,
New York University, New ~0{k.
Williams, Lorraine E., and Karen A. Flinn
1990 Trade Wampum: New Jersey to the Plains.
New Tersey State ~J1Js~um. Trenton.
II
.
Downs Farm Preserve
Flora & Fauna Inventory
Cornell Cooperative Extension
.
.
~
.
.
.
Flora List for the Downs Farm Preserve
Aceraceae (Maple Family)
o Acer platanoides
Anacardiaceae (Sumac Family)
o Rhus copallinum
o Toxicodendron radicans
Norway Maple
Dwarf or Winged Sumac
Poison Ivy
ADiaceae (Carrot Family)
o Cicuta maculata
o Sium suave
AQuifoliaceae (Holly Family)
o /lex opaca
Araliaceae (Ginseng Family)
o Aralia nudicaulis
Asteraceae (Aster Family)
o Baccharis halimifolia
o Bidens frondosa
o Cirsium vulgare
o Eupatorium perfoliatum
o Ivafrutescens
o Lactuca serriola
o Leontooon autumnalis
o Solidago sempervirens
o Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
o Taraxacum officinale
Brassicaceae (Mustard Family)
o Alliaria petiolata
CaDrifoliaceae (Honeysuckle Family)
o Lonicera japonica
o Viburnum acerifolium
o Viburnum dentatum var. lucidum
Spotted Water Hemlock
Hemlock Water Parsnip
American Holly
Wild Sarsaparilla
Groundsel-tree
Devils's Beggartick
Bull Thistle
Thoroughwort; Boneset
High-tide Bush; Saltmarsh-elder
Prickly Lettuce
Fall Dandelion
Seaside Goldenrod
Perennial Salt-marsh Aster
Common Dandelion
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Honeysuckle
Maple-Leaf Viburnum
Southern Arrowwood
.
""
'"'
. Celastraceae (Bittersweet Family)
0 Celastrus orbiculatus Asian Bittersweet
Chenopodiaceae (Goosefoot Family)
0 Salicornia maritima Slender Glasswort; Saltwort
Clethraceae (Clethra Family)
0 Clethra alnifolia Coastal Sweet Pepperbush
Cupressaceae (Cypress Family)
0 Juniperus virginiana Eastern Red Cedar
Cvneraceae (Sedge Family)
0 Cyperus sp. Flat Sedge
0 Schoenoplectus robustus Saltmarsh or Sturdy Bulrush
Ericaceae (Heath Family)
0 Vaccinium angustifolium Low-bush Blueberry
0 Vaccinium corymbosum High-bush Blueberry
Fabaceae (pea Family)
. 0 Robinia pseudoacacia Black Locust
Fal!llceae (Beech Family)
0 Fagus grandifolia American Beech
0 Quercus alba White Oak
0 Quercus coccinea Scarlet Oak
0 Quercus ilicifolia Scrub/Bear Oak
0 Quercus velutina Black Oak
Ju2landaceae (Walnut Family)
0 Carya alba Mockernut Hickory
Lamiaceae (Mint Family)
0 Glechoma hederacea Ground Ivy; GiII-Over-the-Ground
0 Lycopus virginicus Virginia Water Horehound
Lauraceae (Laurel Family)
0 Sassafras albidum Sassafras
Lemnaceae (Duckweed Family)
. 0 Lemna minor Duckweed
~
'$..
~
. Liliaceae (Lily Family)
0 Allium canadense Wild Garlic
0 Maianthemum canadense Canada Mayflower
0 Maianthemum racemosa False Solomon's Seal
Moootrooaceae (Indian Pipe Family)
0 Monotropa uni.flora Indian Pipe; Corpse-plant
Mvricaceae (Bayberry Family)
0 Morella pensylvanica Northern Bayberry
Oleaceae (Olive Family)
0 Ligustrum vulgare Privet
Oxalidaceae (Wood-Sorrel Family)
0 Oxalis stricta YeHow Wood Sorrel
Phvtolaccaceae (pokeweed Family)
0 Phytolacca americana Pokeweed
Plumba2ioaceae (Leadwort Family)
. 0 Limonium carolinianum Sea Lavender
Poaceae (Grass Family)
0 Distichlis spicata Spikegrass
0 Panicum virgatum Switchgrass
0 Phragmites australis Common Reed
0 Spartina alterni.flora Smooth Cordgrass
0 Spartina patens Saltmeadow Cordgrass
PolVl!ooaceae (Buckwheat Family)
0 Polygonum pensylvanicum Pensylvania Smartweed
0 Polygonum perfoliatum Giant Climbing Tearthumb
0 Polygonum persicaria Spotted Lady's Thumb
0 Polygonum sagittatum Arrow-leaved Tearthumb
0 Polygonum sp. Knotweed
0 Rumex acetosa Garden Sorrel
Pvrolaceae (ShinleafFamily)
. 0 Chimaphila maculata Striped or Spotted Wintergreen
'"
~
.
.
.
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family)
a Ranunculus bulbosus
Bilbous Buttercup
Hooked Crowfoot; Blisterwort
Creeping Buttercup
a Ranunculus recurvatus
a Ranunculus repens
Rosaceae (Rose Family)
a Amelanchier sanguinea
a Prunus serotina
Round-leaved Serviceberry
Wild Black Cherry
Multiflora Rose
Brambles, Blackberry, Raspberry
a Rosa multiflora
a Rubus sp.
Smilaceae (Catbrier Family)
a Smilax glauca
a Smilax rotundifolia
Solanaceae (potato Family)
a Solanum dulcamara
Cat Greenbrier
Roundleaf Greenbrier; BuIlbrier
Climbing Nightshade
Sohalmaceae (peat Moss Family)
a Sphagnum sp.
Tiliaceae (Linden Family)
a Tilia americana
Sphagnum Moss
American Basswood; Linden
Vitaceae (Grape Family)
a Parthenocissus quinquefolia
a Vilis labrusca
Virginia Creeper
Fox Grape
.
Faunal List for Downs Farm Preserve
Common Name
Mammals
Opossum
Raccoon
Red Fox
Eastern Cottontail
Grey Squirrel
S. Flying Squirrel
Star Nosed Mole
Short tailed Shrew
Little Brown Bat
Big Brown Bat
Feral Cat
White Footed Mouse
Deer Mouse
Muskrat
White Tailed Deer
Reptiles and Amphibians
Snapping turtle
Box Turtle
E. Painted Turtle
Diamondbacked Terrapin
Spotted Turtle
Garter Snake
Brown Snake
N. Water Snake
E. Hognose Snake
Milk Snake
Ring-Necked Snake
Red Backed Salamander
Red Spotted Newt
Peeper
Grey Tree Frog
Scientific Name
Didelphis marsupialis
Procyon lotor
Vulpes vulpes
Sylivagus f10ridanus
Sciurus carolinensis
Glaucomys volans
Condylura cristata
Blarina Brevicauda
Myotis lucificus
Eptesicus fuscus
Felis domestica
Peromyscus Jeucopus
Peromyscus maniculatus
Ondatra zibethica
Odocoileus virginianus
Chelydra serpentina
Terrapine carolina carolina
Chrysemys piefa picta
Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
C/emmys guttata
Thamnophis sirialis sirialis
Storeria dekayi dekayi
Nerodia sipedon
He/erodon platirhinos
Lampropeltis triangulum
Diadophis punctatus edwardsii
Plethodon cinereus
Notophthalmus vlridescens
Pseudacris crucifer
Hyla versicolor
Season
YR
YR
YR
YR
YR
YR
YR
YR
SP,SU
SP,SU
YR
YR
YR
YR
YR
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
.
fill
.
URL LINK
htto:/lweb6.sLedu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=65
htto:/lweb6.sLedu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=285
htto:/lweb6.sLedu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=420
htto:/lweb6.sLedu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=371
htto:/lweb6.si.edu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=298
htto:/lweb4.si.edu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=106
htto:/lweb4.si.edu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=47
htto:/lweb4.si.edu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=25
htto:llweb4.sLedu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=199
htto:/lweb4.si.edu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=86
htto:/lweb4.si.edu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=86
htto:/lweb4.si.edu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=266
htto:/lweb4.si.edu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=232
htto:/lweb4.si.edu/mnalimaae info.cfm?soecies id=231
htto:/Iwww.bnl.aov/esd/reservellurtles.htm
htto:/Iwww.bnl.aov/esd/reservellurtles.htm
htto:/Iwww.bnl.aov/esd/reservellurtles.htm
htto:/Iwww.bnl.aov/esd/reservellurtles.htm
htto:/Iwww.bnl.aov/esd/reservellurtles.htm
htto:/Iwww.bnl.aov/esd/reserve/snakes.htm#Eastern%20Hoanose%20Snake
htto:/Iwww .bnl.aov/esd/reserve/snakes.htm#Eastern%20Hoanose%20Snake
htto:/Iwww .bnl.aov/esd/reserve/snakes.htm#Eastern%20Hoanose%20Snake
htto:/Iwww.bnl.aov/esdlreserve/snakes.htm#Eastern%20Hoanose%20Snake
htto:/Iwww.bnl.aov/esdlreservelsnakes.htm#Eastern%20Hoanose%20Snake
htto:/Iwww.bnl.aov/esdlreserve/snakes.htm#Eastern%20Hoanose%20Snake
htto:/Iwww.nowrc.usas.aov/narcamlidauide/redback.htm
htto:/Iwww.nowrc.usas.aov/narcamlidauide/rsnewt.htm
htto:/Iwww.nowrc.usas.aov/narcamlidauide/soeeoer.htm
htto:/Iwww.nowrc.usas.aov/narcamlidauide/hvlavers.htm
.
Faunal List for Downs Farm Preserve
Common Name
Green Frog
Southern Leopard Frog
American Toad
Fowlers Toad
Birds
American Crow
Fish Crow
Blue Jay
American Robin
Eastern Bluebird
Wood Thrush
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
N. Flicker
Black-Capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Dark-Eyed Junco
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Ring Necked Pheasant
Ruffed Grouse
Bobwhite Quail
Canada Goose
Black Duck
Mallard
Wood Duck
Double Crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Whippoorwill
Scientific Name
Rana c/amitans
Rana sphenocepha/a
Bufo americanus
Bufo fow/eri
Corvus brachyrl1ynchos
Corvus ossifragus
Cyanocitta cristata
Turdus migraforius
Sia/ia sia/is
Hylocichla mustelina
Melanerpes carolinus
Picoides pubescens
Picoides villosus
Co/apfes auratus
Parus africapillus
Parus bic%r
Junco hyema/is
Dendraica coronata
Cardina/is cardina/is
Phasianus colchicus
Bonasa umbel/us
Collinus virginianus
Brenta canadensis
Anas rubripes
Anas p/atyrl1ynchos
Aix sponsa
Phalacrocorax aurifus
Ardea herodias
Ardea alba
Egratta fhula
Caprimu/gus vociferus
Season
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
YR
YR
YR
YR
SP,SU
SP,SU
YR
SP,SU
YR
YR
YR
YR
YR
YR
YR
YR
SP,SU
YR
YR
YR
YR
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
.
URL LINK
htto:/Iwww.nowrc.usas.oov/narcamndauidelbronze.htm
htto:/Iwww.nowrc.usas.oov/narcamfldouidelranaut.htm
htto:/Iwww.nowrc.usas.oov/narcamfldouide/american.htm
htto://www.nowrc.usas.oov/narcamfldouidelbfowl.htm
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl4880id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovfld/framlstfl4900id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl4770id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovfld/framlstfl7610id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usos.oovfld/framlstfl7660id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl7550id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usos.oovfld/framlstfl4090id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl3940id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl3930id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl4120id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl7350id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl7310id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl5670id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usos.oovfld/framlstfl6550id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl5930id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl3091id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl3000id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usos.oovfld/framlstfl2890id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl1720id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usos.aovfld/framlstfl1330id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfldlframlstfl1320id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfid/framlstfl1440id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfid/framlstfl1200id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl1940id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfldlframlstfl1960id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.oovfld/framlstfl1970id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovfld/framlstfl4170id.html
.
~7
.
Faunal List for Downs Farm Preserve
Common Name
Common Nighthawk
Ring Billed Gull
Great Black-Backed Gull
Herring Gull
Least tern
Common Tern
Belted Kingfisher
Red-Tailed hawk
American Kestrel
Northern Harrier
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Osprey
Great Horned Owl
Eastern Screech Owl
Scientific Name
Chordailus minor
Larus delawarensis
Larus marinus
Larus argentatus
Sterna antillarum
Sterna hirundo
Ceryle alcyon
Buteo jamaicensis
Falco sparverius
Circus cyaneus
Accipiter striatus
Accipiter cooperii
Pandion haliaetus
Bubo virginianus
Otus asio
Season
SP,SU
YR
YR
YR
SP,SU
SP,SU
YR
YR
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
SP,SU
YR
YR
.
. 1$~7""
URL LINK
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlsl/i4200id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlstli0540id.html
htto:/lwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlstli0470id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlsl/i0510id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlsl/i0740id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlsl/i0700id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlstli3900id.htm I
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlstli3370id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlsl/i3600id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlsl/i331 Did.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlstli3320id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlsl/i3330id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlsl/i3640id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlsl/i3750id.html
htto:/Iwww.mbr-owrc.usas.aovlidlframlsl/i3730id.html
jg/
1~\1
..
~~
j ~ eat
! ~ .
!e
II ~:l
~" i: ~~
i; ! ~ t
'"
['"
o g
: ;;:;.
.(J~/ 10/ t~
J . E-.
/ ,4 /
'!<<J<
m
~
~
,.
I e I ~ I
bOty,
:Il>s .p
~p~
SeJ(
~
e
iJ
z
~~
i~
h~E.-.
.!~,
i
^
~ C
e
it:
".
""
,
....
(SO'l
o
\
~-il
~~,
'" ~~~
~~~
~
~ il
~ ,
.~;
gf'pj
,~
~
.m~
.~~
i~~
~
~-
e
,~
ett: it:
.-
\ ~
\~~ . .~
'.0
\
-
,
\.051
-
8
Ee
.. I ..
... , ... '<II
.
.
.
~,~-'--:;;.;,~
~t~~
. ~ ........",.<<. ....
. ,"-,... """ ,.
~ ~, ' . ". A_ ,"
+ "-"".""
Habitat a.Wildlife:
As the name im~liSs preserve was
at one time a working farm. Presently
there is liale indication mat the site had
once been clear cut, due to its forested
nature. However, there are still indications
of the preserve's succession into a mixed
hardwood community, especially along the
western edge of the preserve adjacent to me
vineyard. Th~ western =ion of rhe property
includes a high concentration of black locust
and remnants of eastern red cedars that must
have dominated the landscape at onc time.
This old-field successional community is close
to its transition into the oak dominated forest
that occupies the majority of the preserve.
The remaining upland areas of the preserve
ronsists of oaks (white, black, and scarlet), pignut
and bitternut hickories. American beech, and
several orher species. Toward rhe trail head, rhe
understory is choked with shrubs and briar, but
as one continues along the trail. the understory
thins and evenrually disappears totally. Animals
are prevalent in this area and the preserve is
home to a family of red fox and roosting great
horned owls have been observed in the trees off
of the trails. Woodpeckers and Rickers can be
heard hammering on trees and a variety of
songbiJd.; can beenrountered along the rorest edges.
A freshwater~d lies adjac:mt ro the.tit mush at
the l=: of the sIopingfO= Exa:pt fOrthe muddy
,.,il that ~ tmmed bya fOot bridge, this hillside =p
would likdy be ovedooked a'i a fXllch ofv.ro:ls, instead
ofa unique oomrmmity. Irises, a few-=ered cm:llIs,
and the pol'<lnous water hemlod:are ,.,me of the
indic:uions that this location ~ fu:shw.rtet in origin
This =land drains ro the "-'lIth, through a dense
stand of rommon reed (Phragmites austmlis)
and into the salt marsh fringing Downs Creek.
Key:
- Blue Trail
I Preserve
.
_ Red Trail 1 = Trail Head
~~Jw;~l
Site Map
The eastern bnrdet.~ property
~ fOrmed by the charind of Downs G""'-
The hc1d of rhe creek (da<: ro Route 25) has
berome overgrown wirh rommon reed.
The rommon reed gr.<Iuallygi;<s way ro.tit
mush a'i rhe creek meanders ro Gn:at Peronic
Bay. Canada geese, mute swans, and other
watetfuwl ok advant:Jg< of the quiet, sheltered
mush area ro dabble fOr fOod or roa.t fOr rhe
night DiamondhKk terrapins may be
~ es[XriaIIyat high ride, swimming
rhe creek channd in =rch offOOd Arn:xis rhe
creek, whitetail decr make '"" of the open golf
rourse ro lllO\e betmxn IOO:ling and bedding
area>; and can be easily observed fiom the
Downs F.um trails.
Th= has been ,.,me Ie.lOration aaivity near
the entr.tnre ro rhe p= Several Notw.l}'
maples, an introduced shade ore, were
~ and the area has been ren.uned
ro g=;Iand.
For more information about
this and other recreational
opportunities in the Town of
Southold, please contact:
Town of Southo1d
PO Box 1179
Southold NY 11971
631-765-1800
or:
http://sourholdtown.norrhfotknet
.
Welcome to Down's Farm Preserve:
The Down's Farm Preserve was purchased by the Town of Southold,
with assistance from the Peconic Land Trust, in 1997 and encompasses
an area of 51 acres of old-fjeld, mixed hardwood forest, hill side seep,
and salt marsh communities.
Site History:
The Down's Farm Preserve also includes the remains of Fort Corchaug,
a Native American encampment on the southern end of the property,
which is off limits to hikers.
Atshamomaque Preserve
owns Farm Preserve
Help protect and maintain the natural beauty and wildlife habitat of the area.
-
~~(
Please:
Stay on designated trails.
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.
Leash YOllr dog. ~
Check careflllly for ticks after your U/alk. V
Educational oontent provided by
the Marine Program of:
Cornell University
Cooperative Extension
of Suffolk County
~ICOOllllf_E>l""..",pRMdesoqual
P'O\II'lI"'andemploym&nt~1i8t
The DoU/n s Farm Preserve is open to the Pllblic year-rollnd from daU/n to dllsk.
Cut c hog u e N..
~
Town of Southold
PO Box 1179
Southold N.Y. 11971
631-765-1800
http://southoldtown.northfork.net
Trail Guide
PRESERVE