Video update: More on British Fort No. 1 (John Davidson, PlanPhilly, Sept. 14, 2008)
… Nationally known historian and author Robert Selig argued that the casino site sits atop archaeological remains of a British fort, cross-referencing more than a dozen maps and written accounts of the area dating from the 1770s. Selig and other historians have long claimed that the waterfront site is the exact location of Redoubt No. 1 — the first and largest of ten forts built by the British during the Revolutionary War to control supply lines in and out of Philadelphia.
Historians are not satisfied with casino ‘effort’ (Hayden Mitman, Star, Sept. 11, 2008)
… “There is complexity to this site, and that complexity is our history,” argued Jenk, one of a number of historians who have cried foul throughout SugarHouse’s excavation process…
SugarHouse gets all clear from Army Corps (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, Aug. 29, 2008)
… “The process at this point is little more than a farce,” said Douglas Mooney, a consulting party and president of the Philadelphia Archaeological Forum. “The consulting parties have not in any way been taken into account, really.”
Work at casino site raises some questions (Hayden Mitman, Star, Aug. 14, 2008)
… According to Doug Mooney, president of the Philadelphia Archeological Forum and a consulting party in the process, the placement of the test pilings could destroy valuable archeological information. However, the Army Corps has said that these pilings would have no impact on the ongoing archeological investigation. Mooney, on the other hand, said that the pilings could impact the historical importance of an overlooked property — the foundation of the Jack Frost sugar refinery. “In 1989, the Philadelphia Historical Commission undertook a survey of Fishtown, including what is now the SugarHouse site,” said Mooney. “They were specifically looking for important historical sites. They said the site was important in relation to Fishtown.” … According to the letter, approximately 50 percent of an 8.3-acre area will be disturbed in order to place the test pilings, which are necessary to ensure that the ground can support more than 40 tons. In the letter, AD. Marble acknowledges that HSP Gaming’s knowledge of the extent of the obstructions is limited, which Mooney claimed is reason enough to question the removal of the objects. “These underground obstacles are exactly what we are concerned about. The foundations are still there,” he said. “Maybe there is a way of recovering something we can learn from. We are not saying it’s significant. We are just asking that (the decision to place pilings) be reevaluated. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
Archaeology group says work at casino site could disturb relics (Jennifer Lin, Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 9, 2008)
… “By going ahead with construction, you’re basically cheating on the process,” said Douglas Mooney, a professional archaeologist and member of the Philadelphia Archaeological Forum, a group dedicated to the protection and preservation of Philadelphia’s archaeological heritage.
SugarHouse: test pilings, obstruction removal (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, Aug. 7, 2008)
… Milano called the consulting party portion of the 106 process “a joke”. He called the SugarHouse permit a “done deal” and said that he has no hope left that SugarHouse will be asked by the Corps to do more archaeological digging in search of the Fort or Batchelor’s Hall.
Breaking: casino test piling controversy (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, July 20, 2008)
… “I think that any talk of doing test pilings on site is completely inappropriate while Section 106 investigations (the historic review process) are still ongoing,” said Douglas Mooney, who is president of the Philadelphia Archaeological Forum.
New SugarHouse archaeological report (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, July 10, 2008)
… In short, Jenk said, SugarHouse is not finding the fort because they are not looking in the right place. “The new report, I think, continues their whole contention that they’ve done enough, and it’s not worth looking. I’ve said it from the beginning, and I’m still saying it: They don’t want to find anything.”
Feds recommend more SugarHouse work (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, June 28, 2008)
… “The consulting parties are in agreement that additional investigations need to be carried out to determine if any remains of British Redoubt No. 1 still exist within the permit area, and what condition they may be in today given the extent of ground disturbance since the 18th century,” Charlene Dwin Vaughn, assistant director in the Council’s Federal Permitting, Licensing, and Assistance Section, wrote to Frank Cianfrani, chief of the Corps’ Philadelphia District regulatory branch.
Historians believe casino site research not enough Hayden Mitman, Star, June 12, 2008)
… In a previous report, while finding no evidence of the British fort, A.D. marble did find over 4,000 historical artifacts and just over 200 pre-contact or pre-European Native American artifacts at the site [supposedly dating back to 1,500 BCE]…
Artifacts Delay SugarHouse; Casino Only Has Self To Blame, Says Historian (Jenny DeHuff, The Bulletin, June 5, 2008)
… During an interactive demonstration and lecture at the University of Pennsylvania, the McNeil Center for Early American Studies presented several local historians who explained the significance innumerable Native American artifacts as well as the remnants of Revolutionary War British Fort discovered on the SugarHouse casino site…
Corps seeks help on SugarHouse dig (Kellie Patrick Gates and Isaac Steinberg, PlanPhilly, June 5, 2008)
… Army Corps spokesman Khaalid Walls said his agency reached out to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation because the issues are both heated and complicated.
Consultants: “Stop work at SugarHouse” (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, May 15, 2008)
… “I am deeply concerned that the Corps would allow work to proceed according to a plan they neither reviewed nor authorized,” said Douglas Mooney, a consulting party and president of the Philadelphia Archaeological Forum.
Archaeology begins anew at SugarHouse (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, May 13, 2008)
… Milano found Marble’s prediction “bizarre.” “How can they even know that there will be a maximum of 200 artifacts?” he wrote in an email. “What they appear to be saying is we will dig up 200 items then we’re done. Case closed, build the casino.”
Slots dispute goes underground (Jennifer Lin, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 27, 2008)
… “Terrence McKenna, the project executive for the Keating Group, which is building the casino… There’s no potential of finding any archaeological resources given the historic industrial use of the property,” he said. Many historians disagree. “The potential for there to be very important things in this property are huge,” said Mooney, who was field director for the Presidential House dig for Independence National Historical Park. “The resounding opinion is not enough has been done.”
Casino moves ahead slowly (Hayden Mitman, Star, April 10, 2008)
… Fishtown resident Rich Levins asked if a near year-long archaeological dig on the property — required prelude to construction there — yielded notable artifacts, and whether any of value could be kept in the community. “Well, there might be stuff there you don’t want,” McKenna replied to a laughing response from the crowd…
Agency calls for more work at SugarHouse site (Jennifer Lin, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 29, 2008)
… The commission is urging a far deeper level of investigation. It is recommending not only further testing for the possibility of a fort — identified as British Redoubt No. 1 — but also additional investigation of landforms.
Consulting Parties say dig more (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, March 18, 2008)
… Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, wrote that more digging could uncover the historical edge of the river, and that findings there would hold not only historical, but environmental significance. “In order to understand and plan for an environmentally sound future, we really need to understand the ecological history of a site,” said Riverkeeper Network Deputy Director Tracy Carluccio, who assisted with the report.
Squabbling over slots (Angelina Sciolla, Life Style, March 11, 2008)
… And while Leigh Whitaker “acknowledges” the historical importance of the site, she stated flatly that it is not the duty of SugarHouse to preserve history.
Archaeological review of site is necessary Douglas B. Mooney and Jed Levin (Letter to Philadelphia Inquirer, March 10, 2008)
… It would be a tragedy if, in the rush to build on the site, vital clues to our past are destroyed before they can be adequately understood and studied. The Army Corps lapse should not be used as an excuse to forestall the full consideration of the history of the site and, as a result, deny us a better understanding of a rich heritage that belongs to all Americans.
Archaeologists release final report from dig (Brian Rademaekers, Star, Feb. 21, 2008)
… Kensington historian Torben Jenk and others argue that the A.D. Marble report would have ignored evidence that the fort once stood on the site had they not brought it to the firm’s attention and made those beliefs public. ”The (fort) was not included in the Phase I report,” acknowledged McKenna, referring to the report issued in October. “literally two days after the Phase I was issued, we came across the additional information. We found that map on our own, prior to the local people saying we missed it.” McKenna said the issue of the fort is fully addressed in the new report, and A.D. Marble believes the preservation of the structure likely has been compromised by subsequent industry on the site…
SugarHouse work could go to Phase III (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, Feb. 19, 2008)
… “A fort from the war that founded this nation, where people died. That’s not important?” he asked. “What’s so fascinating about Fort No. 1 is that it was manned by the Loyalists — folks who were loyal to the Crown. They were Americans fighting against independence.” Jenk not only wants more digging, he wants it to be overseen by a firm other than A.D. Marble.
Fort, artifacts prompting casino site questions (Brian Rademaekers, Star, Jan. 31, 2008)
… “We have this wonderful opportunity to revisit the history of Pennsylvania here,” said Jenk. He’d like to see the site receive the attention and resources that were devoted to excavation of the downtown area where George Washington’s home once stood. “I’d like to see the work done by the same archaeologists that worked on Independence Mall, and I’d like to see this done with a sufficient budget,” said Jenk. “The objects found there were removed, and they are being preserved and studied, which is what should be done here.” In his opinion, the lack of importance attached to the history of the SugarHouse acreage symbolizes a larger dismissal of the area’s rich past. But in this case, Jenk thinks there simply is too much solid proof of important possibilities on the property for it to receive only a cursory search. ”I simply think that sites that have evidence of importance deserve more attention,” said Jenk…
They need to Powow — SugarHouse Hostage to Indian History (Tony West, The [Philadelphia] Public Record, Jan. 24, 2008)
… Preliminary archeological work commissioned by the prime contractor, Keating Consulting, is probing an area where the British built a large fort to command the Delaware River in 1777. It has also uncovered rare relics of American Indians in a place known to them as Shackamaxon. Shackamaxon is taken from the speech of the Lenape Indians, who lived along the Delaware River when the first Dutch and Swedish colonists arrived after 1620. It means either “place of eels” or “place of chiefs”. It was with Indian chiefs, not eels, that Penn made his great treaty of peace and justice. That event is commemorated at Penn Treaty Park, where a Quaker named Thomas Fairman had founded an estate before Penn bought his colony from King Charles II. After Penn arrived in 1682, he used Fairman’s house as a headquarters while he built the new city of Philadelphia downstream, in what is now Old City. Before the English, Swedes had settled at Shackamaxon. But they too were newcomers. “The Turtle Clan of the Unami is known to have lived at Shackamaxon prior to the Europeans’ arrival and the area is also said to have been the capital of the Lenni Lenape tribe,” related Ken Milano, an expert in the history of Kensington and Fishtown, as Shackamaxon is called today…
… Philadelphia historian Torben Jenk and national Revolutionary War expert Robert Selig presented the maps to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. That group later asked SugarHouse to halt “ground-disturbing activities other than those related to archaeology” on the site until a review could be completed. Jenk and Selig believe the fort was a significant structure with large earthen walls fortified by sharpened logs called “palisades.” They also think the SugarHouse property should be thoroughly excavated…
Sizing up history at the SugarHouse site (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, Jan. 16, 2008)
… The finely detailed map by Nicola shows the fort was surrounded by 153 12-foot logs, sharpened at the top. A moat ran around the three sides of the fort that did not face the river. That moat flooded with the tides, which meant it was either filled with water or was very muddy – except in winter, when it would be icy. “It would be like attacking a hedge hog while standing on ice,” Jenk said.
Found! Ancient relic of an occupied Philadelphia (Daniel Rubin, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 10, 2008)
… They’re a group of local builders and bibliophiles, lawyers and genealogists, fighting to unearth a buried chapter of Philadelphia’s past. They think they’re onto something. One — a preservationist named Torben Jenk — called yesterday from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He was giddy over a 230-year-old piece of paper. “We found [cartographer Lewis] Nicola’s map!” he said. “It’s beyond astounding. It shows everything — where it was, its measurements. We know it had a stockade and a gun battery.” Which is something, considering that, the first time around, the casino’s consultants, A.D. Marble, hadn’t even mentioned the fort….
SugarHouse to begin preliminary construction (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, Jan. 5, 2008)
… Jenk does not mind a casino going up on the site, so long as enough time is taken to be sure any historical evidence is saved first. He was disheartened to learn that SugarHouse would soon be starting grading work. ”Depending how deep they go, they could wipe out 90 percent of any archeology worth finding,” he said.
Revolutionary find at SugarHouse site? (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, Dec. 18, 2007)
… Terry McKenna, project executive for Keating Consulting – SugarHouse’s general contractor — said the company did not know about the fort when the archaeological survey began. But its former existence does not change the company’s position that subsequent uses of the site have destroyed any significant evidence of the past.
What’s riding on dig at SugarHouse site? (Kellie Patrick Gates, PlanPhilly, Dec. 11, 2007)
… Before the days of public trash removal, people often used privies and wells as trash disposal areas, she said. The shafts archaeologists have found in former yards may contain discarded household items, such as cooking utensils and dishes. Even a small bone fragment can show what people ate for dinner in the 1700s, Crawford said. The types of plates and utensils could show how they cooked and ate their meals, and their relative wealth.
