by Paul R. Huey
Bureau of Historic Sites
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
Peebles Island
Waterford, N.Y.
September 1997
This annotated bibliography lists both published and unpublished books, reports, and articles that contain references to or information about archeological excavations, artifacts, or other data from Ganondagan State Historic Site, located in the Town of Victor, Ontario County, New York. The relevant contents are summarized in the abstract for each item. Each abstract reflects only the relevant contents of the item, and no effort has been made to alter, explain, or correct misinformation, opinions, or unsubstantiated assumptions except in a very few cases where a fact is clearly wrong or further information is considered necessary. In those cases editorial corrections or additions have been made as a "note" within brackets. The contents of the items in this bibliography otherwise reflect the interests and philosophy of the times in which they were written, and this annotated bibliography can therefore serve as an historiographical tool as well as a general guide to sources.
Most of the reports and articles listed in this bibliography, other than those published in books or journals, have been distributed by the Bureau of Historic Sites or are filed at its offices on Peebles Island at Waterford, New York. Unfortunately, most of the reports listed herein are out of print. However, reports can be consulted at the above Peebles Island offices, while some of the reports may also be accessible through the New York State Library on microfiche from the Photoduplication Unit, New York State Library, 6th Floor, Cultural Education Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany, N.Y. 12230.
The compiler of this bibliography is indebted to Lois M. Feister, Charles L. Fisher, Charles A. Florance, Rich Goring, Joseph E. McEvoy, and Dennis L. Wentworth, former or present staff members of the Archeology Unit of the Bureau of Historic Sites, to Kristin L. Gibbons and Ben A. Kroup formerly of the Research Unit of the Bureau of Historic Sites, to Brian L. Nagel of the Research Department of the Rochester Museum and Science Center, to Charles F. Hayes, III, formerly also of the Research Department of the Rochester Museum and Science Center, to George R. Hamell of the New York State Museum, and to many other individuals who assisted with this project.
Paul R. Huey
Scientist (Archeology)
Bureau of Historic Sites
Peebles Island
Box 219
Waterford, N.Y. 12188
At Boughton Hill is the site of Gandagaro, the largest Seneca village destroyed in 1687. A Jesuit missionary, Chaumont, came to Boughton Hill in 1658 to preach and baptize among the Indians. [Note: It is now believed the Seneca occupation of Boughton Hill began about 1670.]
Boughton Hill is among the last Seneca sites in which one can expect to find Dutch material. Relatively few buttons are found at these sites perhaps because of changes in European fashion. The glass button, however, was still in use.
1995 "Combs." One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure. Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam. 14 pp.[174- 187].
Illustrates a comb made of antler and carved to depict a "Dutchman" on horseback. Also illustrates a comb made of antler carved to show a European with a hat, gun, and small dog and another antler comb depicting two Europeans standing and wearing hats.
Questions remain whether Fort Hill was used as a granary, military fort, village, or a combination thereof. During the 1960 field season a 150-foot trench consisting of 30 sections each of 5 feet was measured across the summit. Two sections were excavated, producing neither artifacts nor other historical evidence.]
"Fort Hill at Victor, New York." Submitted as the fourth report for the Lewis Henry Morgan Chapter Study Group. Reprinted from Museum Service, bulletin of the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences. Rochester, N.Y. April. 4 pp.
Fort Hill might have been the site of the "small village" mentioned during La Salle's visit to the large village half a league distant from it in 1669. Fort Hill was fortified and stocked with corn when the French invaded in 1687. There are two springs at the base of the hill: one on the east side and one on the southwest side. E.G. Squier traced the outline of the fortification in 1849. The trench was observed to be 4 feet deep in 1876; Coates in 1893 recorded observing the charred posts. Few artifacts have been found on Fort Hill, although the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences has an iron axe said to have been found there in 1861. Early in the 20th century excavations on the level summit outside the northern line of the fortification revealed trade artifacts and a child's skull. In 1960 and 1961 excavations at the southern base of the hill produced nothing.
One pipe from a grave has an upturned human face above the bowl rim. Below the bowl are grooves and indentations. A very similar pipe was found in a Huron site in Canada, perhaps from the same maker. Another pipe was found in this same grave and also was perhaps by a Huron maker. It has a human head rising above the bowl. On the bowl are arms and legs, and the bowl is grooved. The stem has grooves and indentations.
1902 Horn and Bone Implements of the New York Indians. New York State Museum Bulletin 50, March. University of the State of New York, Albany. 350 pp., illus.
A carved bone comb has the figure of a man behind a horse, with a second man on the horse. Nearly half the teeth are broken off. It was found by A.L. Benedict in a young woman's grave. She was about 18 years old, buried reversed with head down and feet above. In the grave were a brass kettle, parts of a basket, a skeleton of a turtle, wampum arranged in a belt, long shell beads, and many glass beads of several colors including red.
1903 Metallic Ornaments of the New York Indians. New York State Museum Bulletin 73. University of the State of New York, Albany. 120 pp., illus.
Very small spherical brass or copper beads, each little larger than a pin head in size, have been found at the site. A lead bale seal has the numbers 79 incised on one side and the letter H molded on the other. The connection between the two halves of the seal formed a loop allowing it to be suspended.
The complete outline of a small longhouse was revealed, consisting of an irregular pattern of postmolds and several hearths. It was about 36 feet long and 20 feet wide. Within the longhouse were three hearths oriented on its east-west axis, in addition to five small pits. Artifacts included Jesuit rings, a Tournois coin of 1640, gun parts, beads, and ceramics. Plowing has evidently obliterated many postmolds elsewhere in the village site except for the area where this longhouse was found which was under a stone wall and hedgerow marking a property line established as early as 1803.
One of the largest and best-known Indian sites in western New York is on a large hill near Victor. The site still yields many beads, pipe stems, pottery sherds, and other artifacts. In September 1885 the writer excavated a burial near one that was excavated the previous spring. It was a young person of between 16 and 20 years of age. In the burial was a bone comb carved with the figure of a man standing with his hand resting on the shoulder of another person who is on horseback. There was also a brass kettle with a quantity of glass beads, as well as a number of other artifacts. Bone or shell tubes and wampum beads were found.
An area 200 by 300 feet was surveyed with a magnetometer and ground-penetrating radar. The survey located a number of buried features believed to be refilled pits. Changes in the character of the radar echo with depth implied several vertically aligned objects or interfaces, which would be rare in nature but a common situation in a pit containing intrusive material such as debris, stored artifacts, or a burial. A large number of other buried objects were also detected. Several of these are surely metal. Seventeen areas of possible burned earth were mapped. However, no coherent structural outlines were found, nor were patterns of longhouses. Two of the anomalies were in areas examined in the 1977 test survey.
1983 A Second Magnetic Survey at Gannagaro State Historic Site. Pitman, N.J. September. 10 pp.
The 1982 survey was extended farther to the south and revealed zones of buried magnetic material. These zones are somewhat linear, forming bands between 5 and 15 feet in width. These patterns could represent burned earth and stone but could also result from the complex subsoil of this site. An area 200 by 300 feet was surveyed using three proton magnetometers, with the assistance of Archeology Unit staff from the Bureau of Historic Sites. The excavations conducted in areas of magnetic anomalies identified in the 1982 geophysical survey suggests that there could be concentrations of fire-cracked rock in such areas.
The writer is president of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York, and the date of this memoir is Albany, October 7, 1817. "As the progress of cultivation extinguishes the remains of antiquities mentioned in this memoir, the view of the writer, in publishing it, is to awaken enquiry to a subject of great importance, before the means of investigation are entirely lost." The writer has observed on Boughton's Hill in Ontario County, where a bloody battle is said to have been fought, black spots of mould at regular intervals separated by yellow clay between them.
The writer visited Fort Hill on August 1, 1890, with Mr. Turner, on whose farm it is located. In a deep washout caused by heavy rains on the western part of the hill were the remains of a long section of the stockade consisting of decayed wooden posts or pickets. The top of each was charred to ground level. They were mostly oak and varied in diameter from 10 inches to 11/2 feet. This line of posts would be remains of the Seneca fort burned by the French on July 15, 1687. On top of Fort Hill, despite years of cultivation, the field is strewn with bits of charcoal. Several years ago a beautiful carnelian seal in a gold setting was found on the hill.
Gannagaro is involved in the National Park Service thematic study of historic sites and buildings, and whether the site is of national significance will be considered after the national survey is completed. The preservation of such sites will depend heavily on the motivation, interest, and public spirit of people locally.
1978 "Current Research: Northeast." The Society for Historical Archaeology Newsletter. Volume 11, Number 1, March. 12 pp.[25-36].
During July and August 1977 the Rochester Museum and Science Center conducted an archeological and mapping survey of the site. The purpose of the work, which includes limited test excavations, is to define the limits of the village site and to provide a basis for more detailed mapping. This project is the first positive action in a program to document the site.
A carved bone comb (illustrated) from the Green farm has two upright figures standing in a canoe and holding a forked fish spear between them. The Seneca excelled in carving of this type. The comb was sold in 1971. A burial (illustrated) excavated May 14, 1960, was an adolescent female lying east-west with tubular shell beads, a triangular shell pendant, and a carved antler comb portraying a boy standing between two upright bears which he is either holding up or restraining. A terra cotta pipe (illustrated) is 5 inches in length and came from a grave. It portrays a single reclining human effigy with the opening of the bowl through the figure's body.
The radar survey produced results that cannot be easily interpreted. Four out of ten locations initially interpreted as possible pit locations were found to be natural features. The magnetic survey was more successful in locating artifact densities and features. In general, the subsoil is complex, and distinct features are absent. The present testing nevertheless seems to confirm the results of the Rochester Museum survey in terms of the village area, while it is noted that there has been a tremendous amount of prior disturbance of the site through cultivation and rodent activity.
1984 Archaeological Investigations at Gannagaro State Historic Site, Victor, Ontario County, New York, 1983- 1984. Buffalo, N.Y. June. 106 pp.
The excavations have successfully exposed the outline of a house structure from the 17th-century occupation of the site. The extent of this structure, its internal arrangement, and its proximity to other nearby features have been defined. The house was rectangular and was aligned roughly east-west. It was 36 feet long and 19 to 20 feet wide. Its posts had been driven into the ground. The eastern wall posts were evenly spaced about 3 feet apart. The western wall posts were less regular and varied from 3 to 5 feet apart. It remains uncertain how much of the village site actually remains undisturbed or undestroyed after years of plowing and other activity. Many of the postmolds are faint and difficult to recognize. Artifacts that were found include a carved human effigy antler comb fragment, a catlinite pendant, and Indian pottery, each illustrated. There were beads made of glass, shell, catlinite, and brass. A three-year program of further excavations is proposed.
1985 Systematic Intensive Surface Inspection: Gannagaro State Historic Site, Town of Victor, Ontario County, New York. With Contributions by Charles E. Vandrei. Steamburg, N.Y. April. 54 pp.,appendices.
The shovel test survey of the site in 1977 did closely identify the limits of the village site. The surface inspection, however, has extended the southern limit of the primary village occupation. Distributions of gunflints, brass, beads, flakes, and pottery centered in the southern area of the site and indicate small- scale clustering. Although cultural material is widely dispersed, it is most concentrated south of the southern hedgerow. The most concentrated area of refuse bone may be assumed to represent the spatial organization of the site, representing a residential area of 2.0 to 2.5 acres. If most of the individual house structures were similar to the 20- by 36-foot structural pattern exposed in 1983 and 1984, it is possible that some 64 such structures could have occupied the 2.5 acres.
Following the English taking of New Netherland, in Seneca sites of the 1670s such as Boughton Hill French crucifixes, iron axes, and Jesuit rings mingle with Dutch clay pipes, glass beads, and ceramics. An estimated 25% of the artifacts are native-made, and archeological evidence from this site can be used for the study of Iroquois culture change within the context of much broader changes of the late 17th century. Gannagaro is one of 25 known Seneca village sites in this region dating between ca. 1550 and 1687. It was one of two large villages of the ca. 1670 to 1687 period. As early as July 1963 the need for specific archeological investigation of the site was noted, and in 1974 a thorough archeological test survey of the area was recommended to identify the extent of archeological resources. Such a survey is needed to define areas that must not be disturbed during site development. A.L. Benedict first described the careful excavation of a burial in 1891. Other burials were discovered and excavated in 1910 by Houghton, in 1919 and 1920 by Parker, in 1934 by Ritchie, and from 1952 through 1957 by Wray, Schoff, Hoffman, and Graham. Wray and Graham continued excavations in 1959, 1960, 1962, and 1965, while other excavations by Hayes and Barber occurred on Fort Hill. In 1970 the Historic Trust acquired almost the entire site with the intention of preserving it and carefully managing the remaining archeological resources. The Gonsenhauser houses and barns were later removed, following an archeological survey of the area to be disturbed during the work. The archeological survey of the state land should locate and define not only the extent of the 17th-century village but also of the sites of late 18th- and early 19th-century houses. In addition to archeological surveys on the state land, however, surveys are also needed on adjoining areas of private land that may be developed. A survey of Fort Hill should be included.
William Moore, whose farm was in the center of the village site, had probably the best collection of artifacts in 1898, but the location of his collection is unknown. Robert Graham, while a student at West High School in Rochester and inspired by George Selden, began digging at Boughton Hill and dug there for about 20 years. In 1965 he found a bird-man effigy made of sea shell. Graham's field notes are in the St. John Fisher College library, along with various artifacts. The artifacts from Boughton Hill are scattered, but many are at the Rochester Museum, the Valentown Hall Museum, and the Red Barn Museum in Salem, New York. Illustrates carved bone and antler combs from the Graham and Wray collections.
Probably no site in New York State has produced so many Indian artifacts as Gannagaro. Early settlers collected iron trade axes there for the iron. Many people have collected artifacts from the site but subsequently have lost interest in them, and the artifacts have been disposed of or have lost their asociation with the site. The writer in August 1959 proposed to the National Park Service the preservation of Gannagaro, Fort Hill, and the battlefield of 1687. The proposal was submitted through Senator Kenneth B. Keating, and in May 1960 John L. Cotter of the National Park Service conducted a study of the site's significance. In July 1961, after a developer bulldozed a section of the 1687 battlefield and exposed 25 hearth areas and French artifacts, the writer was forbidden access to the property. Later, further grading of the area revealed about 100 hearths. In response to a letter to her, Jacqueline Kennedy contacted the National Park Service about the urgency of protecting the sites. Fort Hill is threatened by a gravel mine. The story of Gannagaro can be interpreted in a field museum, and the site should be protected from development. The beautiful park-like land between Gannagaro and Fort Hill should be preserved also. It is believed Jikonsesah, the Peace Queen of the Senecas, is buried at or near Gannagaro.
1976 "Status Report on Gannagaro State Park, Town of Victor, Ontario County." Newsletter No. 7, Genesee Country Historical Federation. May. 1p.[3].
The site of Gannagaro was the internationally-famous capital of the Seneca nation during the 17th century. The writer in 1961 initiated action by the National Park Service to save a 1000-acre portion of the site from inevitable development. A two-year study by the Park Service revealed that Gannagaro had produced more Indian artifacts than any other Indian site in North America. At present the State of New York owns about 245 acres. Meanwhile, developers intend to build houses in other areas of the site, and a gravel pit has stepped up its operation.
Illustrates a Westerwald salt-glazed stoneware bottle decorated with the Arms of Amsterdam excavated at Boughton Hill that is nearly identical to one shown in a 17th-century painting by Jan van de Velde.
William Cone and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Green allowed the author to excavate different portions of the Boughton Hill site and to excavate burials in 1959. On the northern portion of the site, Clifford Hunter and Harry Shappee, foremen, allowed excavations from 1957 to 1963. It is likely Gannagaro was the village visited by La Salle in 1669. Hair combs excavated at the site commemorate the visit by Wentworth Greenhalgh to the site on horseback in 1677. The last comb of this type was excavated at Boughton Hill in 1959; they have also been found at the Dann site. In the late fall of 1957 the author found a green and white- striped oval glass bead while surface hunting at Boughton Hill. With Charles Wray, the author has excavated both refuse areas and cemeteries. Of the 15 refuse areas and pits excavated, six had been previously disturbed. Artifacts included Jesuit rings, pipes, combs, Jews harps, and glass as well as shell beads. There are at least 12 different burial areas, of which eight have been investigated by the author and Wray. Six of the eight had been previously excavated by earlier collectors. Of 150 burials that were excavated, only 46 had not been disturbed previously by collectors. One burial contained a 1929 penny. The burials included glass beads, nails, combs, an iron pot hook, musket balls, gunflints, pipes, a black glass button, Jesuit rings, pottery, knives, a crucifix, awls, bottle glass, flint chips, a small brass kettle, scissors, iron strike-a-lights, an iron axe, shell beads and pendants, catlinite beads, a wampum belt, small brass seed beads, an iron sword blade, and gun parts. The glass beads included blue, red, and white glass seed beads, round white and red and black beads, and red and blue beads. Illustrates a brass kettle, gun parts, carved combs, brass and shell pendants, pottery effigies and pipe bowls, beads, gunflints, and flint and brass projectile points.
The authors re-excavated one of the large Boughton Hill cemeteries in which more than 50% of the burials had been previously excavated in recent years. Many artifacts were found in one grave that had once been looted and had been recently again excavated. The careful redigging of the grave by trowel produced artifacts including a number of beads. However, 175 pails of excavated soil were then carried away and washed through an aluminum window screen with water, and this produced 3,666 more beads that had been missed in the careful trowelling. The large hole left where the pails of soil were removed was filled by taking soil from a nearby abandoned fence line where soil had been built up from plowing.
Wampum is not abundant among the artifacts from the Smokes Creek site, nor is it small and neatly drilled like the wampum found at Boughton Hill from the late 17th century. The Smokes Creek site may be Erie, dating ca. 1610 to 1630.
More than 75% of the total artifact assemblages at Boughton Hill are of European origin. It and Fort Hill are two of 14 sites in the proposed eastern sequence of Seneca archeological sites in Seneca Indian country in historic times.
1995 Historic Contact: Indian People and Colonists in Today's Northeastern United States in the Sixteenth Through Eighteenth Centuries. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman and London. 529 pp.
European artifacts represent more than 75 percent of the artifacts at Boughton Hill, Rochester Junction, and other late-17th-century Seneca sites. Extensive archeological deposits are preserved at Boughton Hill, and analysis of material recovered from the site corroborates written records identifying Gannagaro as the largest and most prominent Seneca community from 1670 to 1687. Illustrates an antler effigy comb representing a man in European dress with a small dog excavated at Boughton Hill in 1919.
Charles F. Hayes, III, and George R. Hamell excavated approximately six test holes in the area where next week a 100 by 102-foot area will laid out with a grid system and thoroughly tested. This area is between the Gonsenhauser house and barns. They also plan to return when the bulldozer opens up the area. Elsewhere at Gannagaro there is evidence of very recent pot hunting.
The unidentified ship, called "The Pipe Wreck," was wrecked between 1652 and 1656. More 25,000 pipe stems and 2,500 more complete pipes, apparently all Dutch, were recovered and consistuted the cargo. More than 400 pipes bear the EB heel mark. Ganondagan is among the other sites where EB-marked bulbous-bowled and elbow-angled pipes have also been found.
Based on a careful examination of the documentary sources, a number of conclusions are reached about Boughton Hill and other Seneca village sites of the period which contradict the interpretations of a number of other authors. Some of the discrepancies are due partly to differing interpretations of the archeological evidence. The location of the village changed through time, and the Marsh site was probably the earlier location of the village which was called Gandagan and later moved to Boughton Hill. Village sites were generally occupied from 10 to 25 years before moving, and the names of villages were hereditary. The village described in 1669 by Galinée was probably the Marsh site, predecessor to the Boughton Hill village. In 1670 the village of Gandougarae burned to the ground with a total loss of its palisade and houses. A moose antler comb from Boughton Hill carved with a figure on horseback possibly represents Wentworth Greenhalgh or one of his companions in 1677. Excavations at Boughton Hill have provided much information about the lives of the Seneca Indians that is not avaliable elsewhere, but much of the work has been done carelessly by object- oriented individuals.
1978 Gannagaro State Historic Site: A Current Perspective. Rochester, N.Y. November. 28 pp., illus. [Published in Studies on Iroquoian Culture edited by Nancy Bonvillain. Occasional Publications in Northeastern Anthropology, Number 6. Peterborough, N.H., 1980. 19 pp.(91-108).]
Gannagaro is the first Native American site to be acquired by New York State for the purpose of interpreting the Iroquois role in the state's history. Village sites were generally occupied from 10 to 25 years before moving, and the names of villages were hereditary. The village described in 1669 by Galinée was probably not the village visited by Greenhalgh in 1677; it was probably the Marsh site, predecessor to the Boughton Hill village. In 1670 the village of Gandougarae burned to the ground with a total loss of its palisade and houses. Illustrates a moose antler comb from Boughton Hill carved with a figure on horseback, possibly representing Wentworth Greenhalgh or one of his companions in 1677. Excavations at Boughton Hill have provided much information about the lives of the Seneca Indians that is not available elsewhere, but much of the work has been done carelessly by object-oriented individuals. More recently, indiscriminate use of metal detectors has intensified the problem. In 1977, the Rochester Museum and Science Center conducted a systematic archeological test survey of about 36 acres, confirming the location of the village on Boughton Hill. The size of the village, 8 to 10 acres, was corroborated. The site of a late 18th and 19th century homestead was also confirmed. With the extensive artifact collections already available and the pleasant, park-like quality of the site itself, there is an unusual opportunity for the interpretation of the Senecas in the 17th century.
Historical and archeological evidence indicates the village of Gannagaro covered no more than 15 acres on the crest of Boughton Hill. The entire village area and all of the known, associated cemetery areas lie well within the 245 acres already acquired by the State of New York.
Albert J. Hoffman of Holcomb, New York, reports finding at the Boughton Hill site two complete gun locks with flints, seven lock plates complete with pans, two lock plates with main springs, and eight other lock plates, besides a brass side plate, a trigger guard, a section of lead, and an axe blade. He also found three sear springs and four small axes or chisels made from gun parts. Harry L. Schoff found 426 flintlock parts in a burial, probably that of an Indian who traded in gun parts. Schoff built two functioning flintlocks from parts found at Boughton Hill. Illustrates parts from this cache, and also illustrates two complete locks from Boughton Hill. The large number of guns at Boughton Hill may have been acquired during the prosperous years immediately preceding the abrupt break in the beaver trade in 1675.
1980 "The Gun on the Colonial Frontier." Colonial Frontier Guns compiled by T.M. Hamilton. The Fur Press, Chadron, Neb. 49 pp.[20-68].
Illustrates a gun recovered from a burial at Boughton Hill and restored by the Museum of the Fur Trade. The bore is ca. .65 inch, and it is believed to be a Dutch flintlock.
Section 12-a of the Indian Law was passed in 1971 after an incident at Ganondagan, in which that site was leased to individuals who excavated and removed Indian burials while the State was attempting to purchase the property. The law was passed only after the site was looted. Opponents of the law believe it is a restriction of the use of private property. The law is clearly unworkable. Indian burials should be protected by law the same as non-Indian burials. From 1970 to 1980 little was done to plan, develop, or protect Ganondagan. Since the early 1980s the Bureau of Historic Sites has received several federal grants and an appropriation to plan and develop the site. The Bureau saved and restored a 19th-century farmhouse, moving it across the road to the site, to serve as a visitor center for Ganondagan. [Note: The old farmhouse was not moved by the Bureau; it had been moved across the road to the site long before State acquisition of the property.] The Bureau archeologist has correctly insisted upon limiting the excavation of the site in order to protect it, respect its religious significance, and insure the possibilities of continuing future study of the site as new technologies allow for it. This preservation philosophy conflicts with the view of others in the Bureau who want to excavate the site to learn as much as possible.
This book is reprinted from the Collections of the Cayuga County Historical Society, Number 3. Greenhalgh in 1677 said Gandagaro contained 150 houses, was on top of a great hill, and was not stockaded. In 1669 Galinée said it was in a large plain on the edge of a small hill and surrounded with palisades. No indications of a palisade have been found on or in the vicinity of Boughton Hill. In various locations have been found pipes, beads, iron hatchets, brass kettles, many skeletons, and all the usual evidence of important Indian villages. This Gandagan, or Gandagaro, was the mission of St. James, and residence of the chief sachem. Other sites were on the Chapin farm, immediately south of Boughton Hill.
Boughton Hill was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. The site was visited by Wentworth Greenhalgh in 1677, and a carved comb excavated at the site is believed to commemorate this visit. The earliest scientific fieldwork was by Frederick Houghton in 1910. Arthur C. Parker excavated graves in 1919 and 1920. Illustrates a burial excavation of 1919 and a comb carved with a dog and swan excavated by Ritchie in 1934. Albert Hoffman excavated three graves in 1954. In 1961 a survey of various collections containing Boughton Hill artifacts was begun. With its new Landmark status, Boughton Hill should be preserved as a park, and a proper archeological program should be initiated.
1989a "An Introduction to the Shell and Shell Artifact Collection at the Rochester Museum and Science Center." Proceedings of the 1986 Shell Bead Conference edited by Charles F. Hayes III. Rochester Museum and Science Center, Rochester, N.Y. 7 pp.[37-43].
Illustrates a shell gorget and a shell wampum belt from the Boughton Hill site.
1989b "A Selection of Drawings by Gene Mackay. "Proceedings of the 1986 Shell Bead Conference edited by Charles F. Hayes III. Rochester Museum and Science Center, Rochester, N.Y. 18 pp.[45-61].
Illustrates a shell ladle from the Boughton Hill site.
In 1976 the Rochester Museum and Science Center conducted a survey of the former Gonsenhauser property in search of archeological resources in an area to be disturbed. The excavation of 126 test pits revealed evidence of occupation no earlier than the 1840s, and it is believed this area is at least 1,200 feet north of the northern limit of the site of the Seneca village of Gannagaro. In 1977 survey work was continued on 30.5 acres of land including the site of Gannagaro. The work included the excavation of 680 test pits, producing information on artifact distribution indicating that the village occupied 9.1 acres. The village occupation approximates an ellipse with a maximum east-west axis of about 580 feet and a maximum north-south axis of about 870 feet. This area corroborates previous estimates of the size of the village and is consistent with the 8- to 10-acre size of other larger Seneca villages in the ca. 1525 to 1687 period. Refuse bone and other artifacts define the village area remarkably well. The site has already been extensively disturbed through previous excavation, plowing, and house construction. Only one definite postmold was found during the survey, and the absence of a profusion of postmolds was unexpected. The soil of the village area in general was not noticeably darker that that outside the village. Locations of three cemeteries around the edges of the site were confirmed. An important future goal should be the study of the faunal remains from the survey and in other accessible collections. A catalogue is needed of all artifacts from the site located in various collections in addition to those of the Rochester Museum and Science Center and the Rock Foundation.
Alice Wood compiled the data, all relating to the Green site. Seven graves were excavated in August 1953 and October 1965, of which six were adults and two were children. An eighth burial in this group was excavated in October 1956. Artifacts included small red beads, iron knives, gunflints, Jews harps, and a short sword. In July and August 1954 a total of 18 other graves were excavated, representing children as well as adults. The burials included numerous brass kettles. From August 1 through 13, 1954, an additional 19 burials were excavated, followed by nine more between September 3 and November 6 in this group. In October 1954 a group of 37 burials was excavated, with two additional in April 1958. A final group of eight graves was excavated in October 1957. Iron knives, gun parts, Jesuit rings, wampum beads, glass beads, pipes, combs (otter and heron), and French coins were found.
Not until Orsamus Marshall researched French documents were the sites of Seneca villages, such as Gandagara, positively identified. Gandagora was on Boughton Hill. The refuse heaps still contain an astonishing number of artifacts. The writer tested thoroughly in 1910 to locate the cemetery. Eleven graves were found on the east and west sides of the village site. With the burials were brass kettles, glass beads, stone and shell beads, iron knives, brass beads, a wooden ladle, awls, an iron axe, and a bear tooth. In one burial were brass finger rings, iron chisel blades, a bullet, a fish hook, bears' teeth, an iron spoon, a knife, an awl, a whetstone, gunflints, a crucifix, and a rosary. The graves were at different depths. The burial with the crucifix was at full length; the others were flexed or in disarray. At Fort Hill, many years ago a hollow tree that fell was found to contain a large number of old gun barrels.
1922 The Archeology of the Genesee Country. Researches and Transactions of The New York State Archeological Association. Volume III, Number II. Published by Lewis H. Morgan Chapter, Rochester, N.Y. 28 pp.[39-66], illus.
The site of Canagora is on Boughton Hill. The writer excavated a few graves there in two cemeteries; Parker excavated the remaining portion of these two cemeteries; and A.H. Dewey excavated both graves and refuse heaps. From the graves came many artifacts indicating European contact. Occasionally brass rings are unearthed. In one grave the writer found a long chaplet of ivory beads with its suspended crucifix of ebony and brass. Wampum is abundant. A few ornaments carved from shell are found. Small carved catlinite and brown sandstone pendants and beads are found. Native-made clay pipes of usual Iroquois forms are abundant. Also, native-made bone combs are conspicuous. The burials resemble those at the Beal site, to the south, but are entirely different from those at the Marsh site. Most are in the flexed position, but frequently the bones are found to have been scattered in the grave subsequent to their burial. The skulls are extremely thin and fragile. Near the town within a mile were several small outlying hamlets and a large cemetery; the cemetery belonged either to the Beal site or the Boughton Hill site.
Hundreds of Indian burials are indiscriminately destroyed each year, along with other types of archeological resources, by bulldozers, vandals, and collectors. It is time to set aside those sites which can be preserved and protected and to concentrate on excavating those which cannot be preserved. The Indians are justifiably dismayed by the ongoing desecration of graves caused not only by vandals and collectors but also by those archeologists who irresponsibly ignore preservation priorities, use careless methodology, or have poorly defined research goals. Some archeologists conduct their work as if the human remains in burial sites are expendable resources. The law passed in 1971 to protect Indian burials will require the cooperation of property owners.
1979 Historical Archeology Unit Research Plan, Historic Sites Bureau, Division for Historic Preservation. Waterford, N.Y. May. 46 pp.
The careful study, identification, and quantitative analysis of Dutch (or English) clay pipes, glass beads, and ceramics in comparison with French crucifixes, iron axes, and Jesuit rings excavated from a Seneca site such as Ganondagan may reveal the relative degrees of French versus Dutch/English trade prior to the French attack on the Seneca in 1687. In addition, archeological data from the sites of houses built by New Englanders who settled at Boughton Hill in the period after the Revolutionary War can provide useful comparisons with data from other sites of the period in New England to test the historical hypothesis that those New Englanders who migrated "invariably led lives and created families which differed markedly from those who stayed."
1981 Archeological Considerations in the Review of Proposals for the Development of Gannagaro State Historic Site. Waterford, N.Y. June. 17 pp.
A proposal to excavate extensively the site of Gannagaro, at very great expense, and to reconstruct the houses of the village or to mark the locations of all postmolds would result in the destruction of a publicly-owned and preserved site for any future research archeology. Even the most thorough and perfect excavation cannot provide sufficient information for a reconstruction that is free of extensive conjecture or compromise. Reconstruction avoids the challenge of finding more imaginative or evocative forms of interpretation, and it falsely conveys to the public the answers to questions that have not been answered. Good archeology usually raises as many new questions as it answers old questions. During the years of its occupation, the Gannagaro of 1670 was not the same as the village of 1687. Longhouses were lengthened, and palisade walls were enlarged. Gannagaro is a uniquely preserved and protected site, while the clear priority should be to excavate other equally important Seneca sites that are threatened and cannot be saved. The rural, unspoiled character of the Gannagaro village site is in itself an important resource. A very general conceptual plan of longhouse locations in the village area might be developed using various remote sensing techniques and distributional studies of artifacts from the plowzone; limited excavations at carefully selected locations might confirm stockade locations. These areas could be unobtrusively marked on the site and could also form the basis for an imaginative model or diorama for display in the interpretive center.
1982 A Brief Survey of Selected Items of Dutch Material Culture of the 17th Century at Fort Orange, in Albany, New York. Paper prepared for the Society for Historical Archaeology Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, January 8. 12 pp.
A small three-legged red earthenware pot excavated at Fort Orange is similar to the example excavated at Ganondagan, although the latter has only a single turned ring or collar around the circumference of the body. Fragments of blue and gray Westerwald stoneware at Fort Orange match the design on a jug excavated at Ganondagan.
1983 "Glass Beads from Fort Orange (1624-1676), Albany, New York." Proceedings of the 1982 Glass Trade Bead Conference edited by Charles F. Hayes III. Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, N.Y. 28 pp.[83-110].
There is a relatively high ratio of Kidd and Kidd bead types to the number of bead varieties represented in the beads found at Gannagaro, and this seems to be typical of bead samples that come from sites where most of the beads are from burials. More than 98% of the beads at Gannagaro are rounded, as compared to tubular, types. So high a percentage of rounded beads had not occurred since occupation of the Oneida Thurston site (ca. 1625-1637). Only three of the 14 most common varieties of beads at Fort Orange also appeared at Gannagaro.
1984 Notes on Early Land Ownership and the History of the Frame House at Gannagaro State Historic Site. Waterford, N.Y. August. 11 pp.
The old frame house appears to have been built between 1804 and 1809 by Uri Beach or Doctor Thomas Beach. Doctor Beach sold the land to Joseph Rawson in 1833, at which time the house was probably remodeled in the Greek Revival style. Archeological testing should be conducted around the house to date its occupation period.
1988 Aspects of Continuity and Change in Colonial Dutch Material Culture at Fort Orange, 1624-1664. Ph.D. dissertation, The Department of American Civilization, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania. 842 pp.
The predominance of rounded beads at Ganondagan (ca. 1660-1687), 98.3%, contrasts with the percentage of rounded beads at Fort Orange (1624-1676), which was 64.2%. Conversely, an unusually high percentage, 78.2%, of the European clay tobacco pipes with marked bowls at Ganondagan matched the marks on pipe bowls found at Fort Orange. This suggests perhaps a greater conservatism or slowness at Ganondagan in the acceptance or arrival through trade of new clay tobacco pipes than of new styles of glass beads. A fragment of a Westerwald stoneware jug from a context at Fort Orange of about 1648 to 1657 has a decoration matching exactly other examples found at Ganondagan as well as at Narragansett, Mohawk, and Susquehannock sites.
1994 Archeological Testing for an Electrical Line at Ganondagan State Historic Site, July 12, 1994. Waterford, N.Y. July. 22 pp. [Revised and published in The Bulletin, Number 108, Fall 1994, by the New York State Archaeological Association. 7 pp.(11-17).]
Thirteen shovel tests excavated northward from the brick Italianate house produced evidence of a pre-1850 occupation of the site, probably as early as 1790. This evidence is supplemented by test pits excavated nearby in 1977. It is possible that the site was the location of the house built by Jared Boughton in 1790. Pearlware is the most common in the small sample of ceramics, while red earthenware is second. This is in contrast to the ceramics from the Boughton-Hart house site of about 1792 discovered in 1977 to the north, where red earthenware is the predominant ceramic type. This predominance of red earthenware and in some other sites in western New York is typical of ceramic distribution patterns in New England and in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, but not so much in the Hudson Valley and eastern New York State. This might be attributed, in part, to the effect of migration westward from New England and northward from Pennsylvania.
1995 "The Fort Orange and Schuyler Flatts NHL." CRM. Volume 18, No. 7. Published by the National Park Service. 5 pp.[15-19].
The beads and other trade material from Fort Orange and the Flatts provide a means of distinguishing Dutch from French and/or English trade material at Ganondagan.
The probable male burial found at Victor with four brass seal rings in situ on the finger bones reported by Houghton in 1912 is among the burials excavated at several Seneca sites which provide details concerning trade ornaments of the Iroquois in the second half of the 17th century.
In North America, the largest numbers of bifacial gunflints are found at Seneca sites in western New York. At Boughton Hill 46% of the gunflints are of the bifacial type, a considerable decrease, however, from the percentages at the five earlier Susquehannock sites of south central Pennsylvania. On the other hand, 50% of the gunflints at Boughton Hill are of the wedge-shaped type, an unprecedented percentage and increase over the small percentages at earlier sites. French gunflints are 4% of the total sample from Boughton Hill.
Excavation of one area of the site by removal of the plowzone overburden revealed the probable outline of a small longhouse, consisting of an irregular pattern of postmolds and several hearths. The longhouse appears to have been about 11 meters long and 6 meters wide, with a door in the middle of the long wall. Three hearths were within the house, oriented east-west. Artifacts include Jesuit rings, a Tournois coin of 1640, gun parts, gunflints, European ceramics, beads, and Indian pottery. As a protected and preserved archeological site, Gannagaro will be interpreted based on this excavation and on extensive remote sensing surveys, controlled surface collection sampling, aerial photography, and other non- destructive technology.
The property should be posted and protected against unauthorized excavators, hunters, and motor vehicles. Development should include a full-scale reconstruction of the village. The "Mother of Nations" figure on many combs and pipes is equated with the Peace Queen, one of the three founders of the League of the Iroquois, who according to tradition was buried at Gannagaro. The horse and rider figure on a carved antler comb excavated from Boughton Hill symbolize the initial contact with Europeans. Illustrates a moose antler comb carved with the figure of a man on horseback, possibly depicting Wentworth Greenhalgh or one of his companions about 1677. Archeological research at the site should begin with remote-sensing techniques and limited test excavations. Actual excavation of the site should begin only after all non-destructive techniques have been exhausted. No excavations of burials or cemetery zones will be undertaken. Excavations to determine the size, number, form, and arrangement of longhouses would assist in the reconstruction of longhouse dwellings to a degree compatible with sound restoration practice. The postmolds of a longhouse site might be marked with wooden posts.
1982 "Development Underway at Gannagaro State Historic Site." DHP News. 1p.[4].
Illustrates a moose antler comb from Gannagaro with the figure of a person on horseback.
1983 Master Plan for Gannagaro State Historic Site. Waterford, N.Y. February. 319 pp.
Boughton Hill and Fort Hill include the archeological remains of a major 17th-century Seneca settlement. Traditionally, the site also was the location of important events in the founding of the League of the Iroquois. E.G. Squier began the first scientific field investigation of the area in 1848 when he traced the remains of fortifications on Fort Hill. Other remains were recorded there in 1876 and 1890. Excavations of burials on Boughton Hill were recorded by A.L. Benedict and Frederick Houghton and on Fort Hill by George B. Selden, Jr. In 1919 and 1920 Arthur C. Parker excavated burials, and surface collecting of the site began in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1934 William A. Ritchie excavated burials, and in 1935 the Rochester Museum began a survey of the area. In 1953 Charles F. Wray, Harry L. Schoff, and Albert J. Hoffman began the excavation of additional burials, and this work included the rescue excavation in 1955 of burials prior to construction of a new house on the Victor-Holcomb Road. In 1959 Wray and Graham also began excavating midden areas and refuse pits. John L. Cotter of the National Park Service visited the site in 1960 and in 1963 recommended that the site be designated a National Historic Landmark. In 1968 the Office of State History in the Education Department recommended a major archeological project at the site. Paul R. Huey of the Historic Trust in 1969 observed that scientific excavations at the site would be of great value and should be undertaken to learn as much as possible, although such work ultimately would completely destroy the physical archeological remains of the site. A test survey on part of the Gonsenhauser farm in 1976 by the Rochester Museum and Science Center revealed no significant remains of the village site. In 1977 a survey by the Museum and Science Center on the former Gonsenhauser and Green farms revealed a 9-acre ellipse representing the actual village site. In 1982 aerial infrared photos of the site were taken, and a geophysical test survey was conducted on the ground followed by the excavation of test units. Fort Hill was also purchased in 1982 from John G. Turner, and archeological investigation of that site will be necessary before it can be accurately interpreted. On Boughton Hill, a stand of locust trees is the site of the original homestead of Elijah Williams and can be preserved. In 1983 and 1984 a single longhouse structure site was located and excavated by Robert L. Dean. To determine the number, size, arrangement, and orientation of the village dwellings, comprehensive, extensive excavation of the 9-acre village area will be necessary. Some areas should be set aside and preserved, however, for future research. Illustrates carved combs and clay effigy pipe bowls from Boughton Hill.
Most of the objects illustrated were taken from the graves of Seneca people. The removal of such objects from burials is a theft from the dead. The Iroquois sanction the archeological investigation of Ganondagan provided no graves are knowingly disturbed. Prevention of further looting at Boughton Hill is a foremost concern. Professional archeologists have shifted their focus away from excavation of burials to the examination of other types of features. The first systematic attempt to identify the limits of the site was the survey by the Rochester Museum and Science Center in 1976 and 1977 which confirmed the limits of the site, consisting of an oval of approximately 9 acres. However, not many subsurface features were discovered. In 1982 remote-sensing surveys were begun and continued in 1983. Aerial photography failed to reveal vegetation patterns relating to the village occupation, but proton magnetometer and ground- penetrating radar indicated many possible features. Subsequent excavations revealed only three probable postmolds and one hearth. In 1984 four test trenches 5 feet wide and 40 feet in length were excavated. Only one trench was found to contain features, and this trench was along an old hedgerow. This trench was expanded to uncover the complete postmold pattern of a structure about 19 feet wide by 36 feet in length, containing three hearths. Additional work in 1984 by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation archeologists to test magnetometer data were inconclusive, after which the site was plowed in order to plant a new ground cover. Color aerial photographs were taken;the plowed site was divided into grid squares, and the distribution of artifacts on the surface was plotted. Excavations since 1976 have exposed about 3,200 square feet of the subsurface. The clay, bone, shell, stone, and wood artwork of Ganondagan combined old symbols with new Dutch, French, and English images. The three categories of design are geometric, semi-realistic three-dimensional figures, and two-dimensional images. The combs that depict a man on a horse may have been inspired by Wentworth Greenhalgh's visit in 1677, probably the first time many Seneca saw horsemen. Illustrates carved bone figures, combs, pendants, hair pins, a scraper, tools, a spoon, carved shell gorgets, runtees, effigies, and beads, wooden spoons, a pipe bowl, basketry, a carved stone effigy and a carved stone pipe bowl, carved stone beads, a paint bowl, celts, a pendant, projectile points, and metal projectile points, pendants, ornaments, and a pipe.
Efforts are underway with the National Park Service to insure the preservation of several Seneca village sites, including Boughton Hill. The sites as a group are especially significant and should be considered together for preservation.
The interpreters of Ganondagan are endeavoring to change the ethnocentric attitudes fostered by non- Iroquois Iroquoianists that the Iroquois were little more than an obstacle in the settlement of North America. Recently, Iroquois and non-Iroquois scholars have argued that the Iroquois contributed important ideas and concepts in the formation of what became the United States. It is time to recognize that the history of the American Indian is not a study separate from the history of the United States. Archeological excavations have revealed the outline of at least one longhouse at the site, compared to the 112 houses documented in records. The large number of burials that have been excavated indicates a sizeable population. Systematic archeological surveys of the site were begun as early as 1935, but there has been no further excavation of burials at the site, and today the site has become the focal point from which the issues of repatriation of human remains and sacred objects are being addressed.
The site dates ca. 1660/1665 to ca. 1680/1685. The native-made pipes from the main cemetery are highly ornamented and bear a high-quality finish similar to pipes on the Seneca Dann and Boughton Hill sites. A crucifix mounted on fragments of a wooden cross is parallelled by an example from Boughton Hill.
On the western declivity of Boughton Hill, on which the village was located, was a spring known to the earliest settlers. For many years a plain and deep path was visible leading from the village site to the spring. It is said that Joseph Brant once stopped at Boughton Hill, then called Castle Hill, and visited the site of the battle with Mr. Boughton and others. Brant stated his grandfather had guided the French and Indians in attacking the village. Within a circuit of 3 miles are often found hatchets, gun locks, gun barrels, beads, pieces of brass kettles, stone pipes, etc. So many gun barrels, hatchets, etc., were many years ago plowed up on the south part of great lot number four that it became an important source of iron for the blacksmith shop. Thousands of graves were then visible, and many still are visible. Rude implements are often found on opening them. On the site of the old village, large quantities of charred corn have been turned up by the plow, showing that the village was destroyed by fire. The fort on the hill half a league distant is of interest, but the plow has levelled its trenches and nearly obliterated the evidence of its occupation. It has long been known as "Fort Hill;" along the top of it was visible for many years a trench. A deep path led from the southwest angle to the spring referred to by De Nonville.
In 1934 Harry Schoff recovered 426 flintlock parts from a single burial on the Fred F. Green farm at Boughton Hill. Some of the parts were so well preserved that they could be assembled into an operable lock mechanism. They suggest the individual with whom they were buried was the village gunsmith. The distribution of tools found in various burials, in fact, imply the trades or crafts of different individuals. Two locks which retain the outline of a wheel lock lock plate that were found at Boughton Hill date probably about 1630 to 1650. A lock from this site dating about 1640 to 1660 is in the Schoff collection; the flint screw is missing. Other locks, in the writer's collection, from the site date about 1680 to 1700 and 1650-1690.
"Gannagarro" stood on Boughton Hill on the property of R.B. Moore. This was the Seneca capital. Fort Hill, "Guh-a-you-dok," is on the farm of Thomas C. Turner, deceased. In the early days of non-Indian settlement, the old ditch on Fort Hill was plainly visible, but it is now obliterated. In those days Joseph Brant was a guest of the Boughtons and pointed out the traditional site of the village destroyed in 1687. Many relics have been found. Near the old trail on the farm of Asahel Boughton some years ago a half bushel of iron balls, about the size for a musket, was plowed up. On the summit of Fort Hill, on land owned by Turner's heirs, is a level area of about 16 acres. William C. Dryer, who settled in Victor in 1810, recalls a trench and breastwork around this area, the former 4 feet deep in places, and the entire hill was covered with a forest of trees. A hollow tree cut on the hill contained a number of gun barrels. The council house of the Seneca village was on the farm of Bruce Moore on Boughton Hill. The relics that have been found indicate it was west of his house, some 30 rods from the road. When the land began to be cultivated, settlers could locate the longhouses by the luxuriant growth supported by the ashes and fertile soil below. Charred corn has been plowed up there. On the west side of the hill from the village there are remains of a burial place; when the land was cleared portions of skeletons were commonly unearthed. Mr. Moore, in repairing a fence, cut through a bank and found a grave with a brass kettle, beads, French coins, and a gun. Many brass kettles have been found on Moore's farm but are readily given to curiosity seekers.
The first Seneca village attacked by De Nonville in 1687 was Gä-o-sä-ga'-o, near Victor.
In 1669, the Seneca village visited by La Salle was Totiakton, not Gandagorah or Gannogaro. Gannogaro was not surrounded, even partially, with palisades, nor was it on a "large plain" at the top of "a little eminence." Boughton Hill does not fit the description.
Illustrates photos of Fort Hill and the locations of the cemetery and the ancient spring on Boughton Hill. Several smaller villages surrounded the village on Boughton Hill. In 1919 Boughton Hill was scientifically excavated by Arthur C. Parker. Frederick Houghton and others have also worked there, finding a great number of artifacts.
The collection of Alvin H. Dewey was given to the State Museum and includes objects from many Seneca sites. From Victor, Ontario County, there are many pipe stems and fragments, bear teeth, pottery sherds, projectile points, gunflints, and worked bone objects. There is also a bullet mold, a metal button, a trade axe, a copper bangle, an iron adz, and other artifacts.
1921 "Archeology: Excavations on Boughton Hill." Sixteenth Report of the Director of the State Museum and Science Department. New York State Museum Bulletin Nos. 227, 228, November-December 1919. The University of the State of New York, Albany. 3 pp.[11-13], illus.
Late in the summer of 1919 excavations occurred at Boughton Hill. The heart of the village site is in a narrow strip 300 feet wide on the Moore farm, although the site also covers portions of the Green and McMahon farms. Little remains for the systematic excavator to find because so much of the site has been dug over a period of many years. The soil is also very difficult to excavate. The 1919 excavations were on the brow of the hill in the pasture lot, which extends down the west slope of the hill. Burials were found on two ridges running into the valley of the brook. Artifacts with the burials included a bone comb, strings of wampum, shell runtees, wooden spoons, a woven pouch, clay pipes, glass beads, brass projectile points, gun locks and barrels, knives, chisels, and punches. Food remains preserved by contact with brass kettles were found. Illustrates a carved antler spoon and four carved antler combs found in 1920. Also illustrates two antler combs found in 1919-1920. Three of the combs depict individuals in European dress (one with a pet dog and a gun and one with a gun and another individual dressed in a blanket). Three other combs depict animals. Further excavations occurred in May 1920 on the Moore farm. On the east side of the hill, probably where the stockade was located, 33 burials were found, with about 50 skeletons. Many were disassociated, unlike the other burials. Iron axes, brass kettles, and iron knives were also found, in addition to brass projectile points, beads, pottery vessels, bone combs, and a carved antler spoon.
1922 The Archeological History of New York. Part 2. The University of the State of New York, Albany. 272 pp.[471-743].
The site of Gandagora without doubt is at Boughton Hill. This famous site is on the McMahon, Moore, and Green farms and occupies the top of Boughton Hill along the 800-foot contour line. Frederick Houghton excavated the site. To the west is Fort Hill. The earthwork or palisade bases were visible some 50 years ago, but this wall has now been destroyed by cultivation.
1925a "The Field of Archeology in the Genesee Country." History of The Genesee Country (Western New York), edited by Lockwood R. Doty. Volume I. The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago. 24 pp.[121-144].
Canagora, or Gandagora, was on the north slope of Boughton Hill. William B. Moore, on whose farm the site is mostly located, has excavated graves and refuse heaps. R.W.G. Vail of Victor has also excavated there, and others who have excavated include Samuel P. Moulthrop, Alvin H. Dewey, Fred H. Hamlin, and H.C. Follett, all of Rochester. The New York State Museum expedition, over two years, was highly successful.
1925b "The Rise of the Seneca Nation, 1535 to 1699." History of The Genesee Country (Western New York), edited by Lockwood R. Doty. Volume I. The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago. 21 pp.[167-189].
In 1919 and 1920 Gannagora was explored, and many beautiful specimens were found. In many weeks of camping in such places, the writer dreamed of old scenes and the old life, until "to bring a rude awakening a high powered automobile would draw up at his tent and call attention to an aeroplane race passing by overhead," which is what happened in 1920 when George K. Staples, Trustee of the Buffalo Historical Society, visited the expedition.
1926 An Analytical History of the Seneca Indians. Researches and Transactions of The New York State Archeological Association. Volume VI, Numbers I-V. Published by Lewis H. Morgan Chapter, Rochester, N.Y. 162 pp., illus. [Reprinted by Ira J. Friedman, Inc., Port Washington, Long Island, N.Y.]
In 1919-1920 the writer excavated at Gannagaro and recovered many beautiful specimens, including three antler combs with representations of the French and the Dutch.
1928 "The Red Man's Gateway of the Genesee Country." The Rochester Historical Society Publication Fund Series. Volume VII. Published by the Society, Rochester, N.Y. 5 pp.[219-223].
The great town of the Senecas, Gandagora, was on Boughton Hill. It was visited by La Salle and Greenhalgh and later devastated by De Nonville.
The research of O.H. Marshall of Buffalo has left no reasonable doubt as to the site of De Nonville's battle in 1687 or the site of the chief Seneca town, called Gannagaro by De Nonville. It was on top of Boughton's Hill, about 11/4 miles from the battle which was north and west of Victor, New York. Immense quantities of Indian remains were formerly found at Boughton's Hill and continue to be found to this day. Charred corn plowed up in abundance shows the place was destroyed by fire. The remains of the fort burned by the French are still plainly visible on a hill 11/4 miles from the ancient town, and Squier published a plan of it.
Lists 14 ladles from the Boughton Hill site, made of antler, wood, shell, or other material. There are turtle, bear, wolf, reclining human figure, and abstract effigies. The end of an abstract antler ladle or spoon has two prongs that may represent horns rather than a fork. Illustrates a ladle fropm Boughton Hill made of shell.
Illustrates the breech of an octagonal gun barrel from Boughton Hill. It has an affixed, notched backsight. The site has produced lock plates and complete locks of nearly every type. No less than 39 locks have been counted from this site, of nine types. It appears there were rather strong French and, to a lesser extent, English, influences on the design of firearms from this site. The cache of 426 gun parts found in 1934 in a single burial included, however, relatively few gun makers' tools. Illustrates at least 12 complete or partial flintlocks from Boughton Hill.
Burials were commonly excavated by archeologists in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Relic hunters also excavated for artifacts for their private collections. In 1945 Arthur Parker asked local historian Sheldon Fisher to see what he could do to prevent further plundering of the site. Fisher warned looters, some of whom were using a backhoe to dig, of the "Curse of Ganondagan" to keep them away. Eventually, the efforts of Fisher and others resulted in acquisition and protection of the site by the State. Remains of a longhouse were uncovered in excavations in 1983 and 1984, the postmolds of which are marked.
Interest in Boughton Hill, one of the first sites archeologically excavated in the Rochester area, has recently been renewed. For the past three years separate amateur archeologists have been working near each other there. In a few weeks more work will commence; the notes of Parker and Ritchie are being carefully studied. The Morgan Chapter Study Group, recently organized, will focus on gathering all information on Gannagaro.
Both straight-sided ring-bowl and bulbar ring-bowl clay tobacco pipes appear at Boughton Hill. Also, a gray-bodied trumpet pipe with flared bowl is similar to several of the ring-bowl pipes. A gray-bodied portrait style human effigy pipe has a ring pattern on the bowl and a groove and punctate pattern on the stem. A dark tan-bodied mammal effigy (bear) pipe has a stem decorated with grooves and punctates. A dark- brown-bodied bird effigy pipe has a plain stem, as does another bear effigy pipe. A salamander effigy pipe has punctate marks on the stem.
Illustrates photos of Fort Hill and Boughton Hill, showing the site of the cemetery and the ancient spring. A grave excavated by Arthur C. Parker in 1919 contained about twenty skeletons, perhaps of victims of the battle. Other discoveries have been described by Frederick Houghton and Irving W. Coates. Areas of charcoal and soil in cultivated areas are sharply defined. Many beads, gun locks, axes, lead seals, and other artifacts have been found, including artifacts made of exotic carved stone. In 1848 E.G. Squier visited Fort Hill and described and mapped the site. Illustrates Squier's map.
Boughton Hill is the last village in the proposed eastern sequence of Seneca sites, following the Marsh site. In the western sequence, Rochester Junction is roughly contemporary with Boughton Hill, following the Dann site. The percentages of burials at the Boughton Hill and Marsh sites having marine shell objects, iron objects, brass or copper objects, and glass beads is consistently lower than the percentages of burials having those objects at the Rochester Junction and Dann sites. The decrease in frequency of burials containing shell is particularly noteworthy at Boughton Hill. A very unusual shell object at Boughton Hill is a shell spoon or ladle.
Boughton Hill is the archeological site of a Seneca "great town" destroyed in 1687.
Recent research has determined that De Nonville's expedition came to this place in 1687. The existing traces are those of the palisaded fort and occupy the summit of a high hill. The line of palisades can be traced at intervals. The entrance to the fort can be traced. The large village found abandoned by De Nonville was on Boughton's Hill, where many artifacts are found. During the early settlement of the country, the iron that was recovered there repaid the cost of clearing the land and was a source of material for early blacksmiths. Blacksmiths still continue to use iron that is brought to light by the plow.
Illustrates a brass kettle of 16 centimeters diameter and 11.5 centimeters height found at Boughton Hill.
The excavation project in 1984 was a second evaluation of the use of remote sensing techniques in locating sites of previous structures by identifying areas of fired earth or rock. Since the Gannagaro site exists primarily in the plowzone, a uniform collecting strategy is also necessary for distribution studies. Five 5-foot by 5-foot test units were established in 1984 across areas of magnetic anomalies. Removal of the plowzone revealed east-west plow scars in the subsoil surface, in addition to discolorations from roots or rodent activity. Two postmolds were found in one square. In two squares shallow basin-shaped features may have been the bases of larger pits, while in three units there were burned areas which presumably caused the magnetic anomaly. Further testing will be necessary to define intact cultural remains, but this work has successfully demonstrated the potential utility of magnetic surveys in locating cultural features. Much can be learned about the settlement pattern by delineating areas of domestic activity at this site using distributional analysis of burned/calcined refuse bone and other selected artifact classes sampled from the plowzone, in addition to other non-destructive survey methods such as magnetic surveys and infrared aerial photography.
A single Jesuit ring was found in one burial at the Van Son site. It has a VM monogram encircled by raised dots. Numerous rings of this general style have been found at Boughton Hill. Although no identical designs have been observed, the plain finger loop, the circle of dots, and the size are very similar.
Illustrates a Westerwald stoneware jug found at Gannagaro decorated with the Arms of Amsterdam.
The National Park Service prepared a report on Gannagaro in 1960, and the site has been declared eligible for National Historic Landmark status. The site covers an area of 20 acres or more. The site has been extensively dug. William A. Ritchie believes the site has virtually no research potential. To interpret the Seneca at this site, the archeological research required would be extensive and expensive. Some believe the site could be best interpreted in a museum using exhibits and other museum techniques. William N. Fenton agrees but nevertheless points to the need to protect the site from destruction through development. The Rochester Junction site might be an alternative site for interpretation of the Seneca in this period.
1968 Report to New York State Historic Trust: Gannagaro. Office of State History Report No. 83. October. 16 pp.
Gannagaro was apparently not a palisaded village. The longhouses were probably all located above the 800- foot contour elevation. The known cemeteries are on ridges running downward from the hilltop. The known middens are in gullies or swales between these ridges and near the top of the hill. Refuse dumps have also been found in the longhouse area, perhaps used to fill and level any depressions or surface irregularities. The National Park Service declared the site eligible to be a National Historic Landmark in 1964. On June 6, 1968, the collection of Harry L. Schoff including many Gannagaro artifacts was auctioned and dispersed. While most of the artifact collections from Gannagaro are available for study, many of the artifacts are scattered, impeding any attempt to make a comprehensive study of the site. Additional survey work at the site might reveal the village pattern and locate the palisade, if there was one, and would be of great scientific interest. An archeological excavation of the site would require an immense amount of time and money, not to mention the expense and time for cataloguing, proper artifact storage and conservation, and the preparation and dissemination of satisfactory site reports. There is, however, no guarantee the site would produce useful scientific data and artifacts. The maintenance of reconstructed longhouses or stabilized archeological features would be very difficult and expensive.
Illustrates a carved horn comb with the figure of a man behind a horse. A second man is on the horse. Nearly half the teeth are missing. Also illustrates a carved antler comb from Ganondagan depicting a European man holding a gun, with a dog at his side.
Two lists are from a notebook and field notes by Arthur C. Parker, partly from a report he wrote in 1920. A third list is based on field notes by William A. Ritchie, and a fourth list consists of information given by Albert J. Hoffman to Alfred K. Guthe. The first list, by Parker in 1919, describes 24 graves and/or skeletons. The burial of a child was on the hill at the pasture gate. Other graves had been robbed previously. Red beads were common, as well as gun parts, kettles, iron knives, wampum, and pipes. Parker's record of burials in 1920 includes 28 graves. The artifacts included combs, red beads, scissors, adzes, and knives. The record of burials by Ritchie dates from August and September 1934 and includes seven graves, with triangular brass points, a pistol, and remains of brass kettles. An eighth grave, in the second burial ground, was excavated November 2, 1934, and was a young child with six knives, an iron axe, a pair of shears, cloth, and pink ochre. Finally, Hoffman's list of burials at the Green site number 4 in October 1954 includes three graves. One grave had only an axe, while the grave of a child had red beads around the child's neck. The third grave was an adult and had brass kettles, 500 round red beads, a Jesuit ring, a perforated French coin, brass pins, a trumpet pipe, and many other objects.
1974 "A Catalogue of Jesuit and Ornamental Rings from Western New York State: Collections of Charles F. Wray and the Rochester Museum and Science Center." Historical Archaeology. Volume VIII. 22 pp.[83-104].
By 1687, Seneca native-made objects had decreased in number to less than 25% of the total material found on sites of that period. Jesuit rings marked IHS are the most frequently found at Boughton Hill, representing 36% of the total 36 rings from the site. However, they are 42% of the total 19 rings at the Dann site (ca. 1660-1675), 41% of the total 22 rings from the Marsh site (ca. 1650-1670), and 50% of the 18 rings from the Powerhouse site (ca. 1645-1660). The second most common type at Boughton Hill is the L-heart ring, represented by 19% of the 36 rings. The L-heart ring is 37% at the Dann site, 27% at the Marsh site, and 50% at the Powerhouse site.
The site at Boughton Hill should become a National Monument. Many different artifacts have been excavated from burials, pits, and refuse middens. Other excavators besides the writer have included in recent years Harry Schoff, Albert Hoffman, William Carter, Clarence Bills, and Robert Graham. The site, unbelievably, is far from exhausted. From exploration of the settlement pattern the entire community could be reconstructed.
1963 "Ornamental Hair Combs of the Seneca Iroquois." Pennsylvania Archaeologist. Volume 33, Numbers 1 and 2, July. 16 pp.[35-50].
Only 3% of the burials at Seneca sites from ca. 1550 to about 1640 contain combs. By 1650 approximately 5% of the burials produce combs, and the percentage jumps to 15% between 1660 and 1670. By 1687, at Rochester Junction and Boughton Hill, the percentage grows to over 20%. After 1700 combs gradually decrease. An effigy comb from Boughton Hill has two facing animals separated by an hourglass figure. It is from a posthumously disturbed multiple burial of two adult females and an adult male. A total of 42 combs is known to have been found at Boughton Hill.
1965(?) A Brick Making Pit on Boughton Hill, Victor, New York. Rochester, N.Y. 5 pp.
In 1965, an additional 40 feet of land was added to the Amico property from the Fred Green farm, and this included the remainder of a cemetery previously excavated and also encountered during construction of the Amico house. In April and May 1965 the area was further explored prior to landscaping and development of a fruit and vegetable garden by the Amicos. Several graves were re-excavated, and many beads, a delft jug, and a skull were found. A large pit of unusual dimensions was also found. It was 51/2 feet deep, 12 feet long, and 8 feet wide. It contained six stratigraphic levels, with garbage bones, red and black glass beads, scraps of brass, and many other objects. The fourth layer (of six) consisted of red- burned clay mixed with carbonized grass, and some of the clay had been formed by hand into rectangular loaf shapes or "bricks." Below this were layers of charred wood and gray ash and refuse. The pit had perfectly straight, vertical sides, which were parallel, and a flat bottom. The pit clearly represents an attempt by the Indians to make bricks.
1983 "Seneca Glass Trade Beads C.A.D. 1550-1820." Proceedings of the 1982 Glass Trade Bead Conference edited by Charles F. Hayes III. Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, N.Y. 9 pp.[41-49].
The Boughton Hill and Rochester Junction sites have produced more than 50,000 beads, but surprisingly there are but a few varieties. The previously numerous tubular beads at the Marsh and Dann sites were replaced by the round red, black, green, and white beads.
1985a "The Volume of Dutch Trade Goods Received by the Seneca Indians, 1600-1687 A.D. "New Netherland Studies: An Inventory of Current Research and Approaches. Bulletin Koninklijke Nederlandse Oudheidkundige Bond. Jaargang 84, nummer 2 en 3, juni. 13 pp.[100-112].
There is archeological evidence that the Seneca burials were plundered by the French in 1687. At Rochester Junction and Boughton Hill, perhaps 90% of the burials have been looted; the looters usually did not take native-made items. They took wampum and glass beads and other useable European items. Glass buttons, brass hawk bells, brass thimbles, brass spoons, and lead seals are generally less common at these sites than at earlier sites, such as the Marsh, Dann, Steele, and Powerhouse sites. Guns and gun parts, scissors, mirror boxes, iron awls, iron knives, iron axes, and beads are more common than at the previous sites, however. Records are available on 559 burials from the Rochester Junction and Boughton Hill sites. Illustrates a Rhenish stoneware jug with the Arms of Amsterdam, and a delft die from Boughton Hill.
1985b "Firearms Among the Seneca -- The Archaeological Evidence." Proceedings of the 1984 Trade Gun Conference, Part II, edited by Charles F. Hayes III. Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester. 2 pp.[106- 107].
The Rochester Junction and Boughton Hill sites (1670 to 1687) both have flintlock muskets and pistols as a relatively common burial offering with men. The surface refuse of these sites also has a great many gun parts and fragments. In sites dating after the French raid of 1687, firearms were seldom put in burials.
Gannagaro was visited by Robert La Salle in 1669 and bt Wentworth Greenhalgh in 1677. It was destroyed in 1687. Many burials at the site have been excavated. The village area is refuse-stained and is encircled completely by at least a dozen known cemeteries. Presently the site is divided into three major fields. Artifacts are found primarily after plowing, in the abundantly scattered refuse areas and pits, and in the cemeteries. Describes burials excavated in ten cemeteries and describes excavation of eight refuse areas and a pit. Lists and illustrates with sketches hundreds of artifacts.
In the 1675 to 1687 period, there were four separate Seneca towns including Ganagaro at Boughton Hill. The others were Rochester Junction (Sonnontuan), Kirkwood (Keinthe), and Beal (Gandougarae). Several smaller villages were scattered around Boughton Hill and were probably a part of that extensive settlement, in addition to the fort on the hill a mile to the west. Nearly all burials were headed towards the west; half were extended, and half were flexed. Grave robbers had looted more than 75% of the burials. As late as 1687 villages were compact and concentrated, and the longhouse was the only type of structure.