National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form
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NFS Form 10-900-b 0MB No 1024-0018 (Jan. 1987) United States Department of the Interior f. ,_ National Park Service \ « / 19d/ National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form This form is for use in documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in Guidelines for Completing National Register Forms (National Register Bulletin 16). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. For additional space use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Type all entries. A. Name of Multiple Property Listing The Indian Use of the Salt Pond Region between 4QQO B f P. and 175fi A ? D r B. Associated Historic Contexts The Indian Use of the Salt Pond Region between ca f 4000 B,P T ca, 1750 A,D, C. Geographical Data The salt pond region extends across the southern edge of Rhode Island (figure 1), Located within Washington County, the area includes portions of the towns of Westerly, Charlestown, South Kingstown, and Narragansett ? The eastern boundary $s Houte 108 in Narragansett; the western boundary is the Pawcatuck lUyer; the southern boundary is Block Island Sound; the northern boundary generally is U,S, Route 1, Exceptions to this northern boundary occur (11 at the intersection of U,S, Route 1 and Narrow Lane, The boundary at this intersection follows the 60 foot contour line north and west around Cross Mills Pond, and (2) at the inter section of U,S, Routes 1 and 1A in Westerly, At this intersection, the boundary turns southwest along Route 1A to the Pawtucket River shoreline immediately adjacent to intersections of Avondale Road and India Point Road, LjSee continuation sheet D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60 and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Planning and Evaluation. certifying official Date State or Federal agency and bureau I, hereby, certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis for evaluating relate/1 propefties^r listing in the National Register. Date E. Statement of Historic Contexts Discuss each historic context listed in Section B. Summary Introduction The Salt Pond context provides the temporal, geographical, and cultural framework for the identification, evaluation, and protection of Indian archaeological resources in the State's salt pond region. The region contains a series of coastal lagoons, salt ponds in local terminology, that were established approximately 4000 years ago. Indian groups used the area for its specialized resources: fish, shellfish, lithic cobbles, and with the beginnings of horticulture, the area's long growing season and relatively fertile soils were favorable to maize cultivation. The archaeological and historical record documents a fairly continuous use, especially after 3000 B.P., into the 18th century A.D. Although limited use continued after 1750 A.D., colonial settlement following Indian defeat in King Philip's War of 1675- 76, increasingly restricted traditional Indian uses so that by the mid 1700s, most of the remaining Indian population had moved outside the region, taking up lumbering, livestock raising and farming. The Geological and Environmental Setting The Salt Pond context extends across the southern edge of Rhode Island from Westerly to Narragansett and contains the salt ponds: Maschaug, Little Maschaug, Winnapaug, Quonochontaug, Ninigret, Green Hill, Trustom, Card, Potter and Point Judith (figure 1). The area includes the land and ponds south of the terminal moraine laid down approximately 12,000 to1 l6:,000 years ago by the retreating Wisconsin ice sheet. After several millenia of rising sea level, the modern configuration of the ponds was reached around 4000 years ago (Boothroyd, et. al. 1985). The dominant environmental feature is the coastal lagoons, or salt ponds. These tidal features are sheltered from the ocean by barrier spits. The ponds vary in length from one to eight kilometers and in width from 0.8 to 3.5 kilometers. Average depths are 3 to 4 meters. The ponds provide habitat for a wide variety of fish, shellfish, and water fowl. The lands adjacent to the ponds are well-drained, relatively fertile and level to gently sloping. The ponds are fed primarily by fresh groundwater and secondarily by a few small streams. Springs and glacial kettle holes dot the region providing additional localized sources of fresh water. To the north, the terminal moraine provides an abrupt geological and environmental boundary. Bounded on the north by the moraine and on the south by Block Island Sound, the region forms a distinct coastal environment that offered specialized resources to indigenous Indian groups. Indian Use of the Ponds At the time of European contact and settlement in the 16th and 17th centuries the salt ponds were used for specialized fxlsee continuation sheet NPS Form 10-900* OMB Appmval No. 10244018 (M«) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number E Page 2 tasks. In the late 1630s Roger Williams observed that coastal areas were used in the summer for family gardens and fields. He also observed the year-round gathering of shellfish for sustenance and the gathering of quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria) for the manufacture of shell beads and wampum. These tasks were parts of an overall seasonal land-use strategy that involved other coastal and interior areas for winter residence, hunting, fishing, and gathering. In the 17th century and perhaps the 16th century, the salt pond region was the locale for another specialized use, trading with the Europeans. The extent of change in Indian land use between 4000 B.P. and 1750 A.D. is poorly understood. In particular, the temporal depth of the family gardening settlement observed by Williams is unknown. The use of shellfish for food, however, appears to be continuous. Stratigraphic data from shell middens (the Appleby Site, Rl-801, and the Foster Cove Site, RI-16) on Potter and Ninigret Ponds date to 3090 +/- 70, 2080 +/- 70, 1619 +/- 70, and 1120 +/- 80 B.P. In addition, shellfish in geological context have been dated to approximately 4100 B.P. Quahog and whelk were also used for the production of wampum, a secular and religious commodity. Wampum-making tools and shell waste have been recovered from Port Ninigret (RI-15), a 17th-century Indian- European trading place. The area's shell middens and other sites contain data that indicate other specialized uses of the region: processing faunal resources such as deer and fish and the procurement and reduction of lithics. Deer and fish bone, as well as other mammal and bird bones are frequently recovered in shell middens. Evidence of the procurement and reduction of stone materials, most notably glacial quartz cobbles occur at sites throughout the region. The use of the region for family horticultural plots, described in the 17th century by Williams, has not been completely substantiated by archaeologists. Archaeological evidence, however, strongly suggests household settlements at several locations. These sites contain "domestic" artifacts such as pipe fragments, ceramic container sherds, bone awls, beads, and pieces of worked graphite (RI site files #15, 16, 171, 667, 801, 1050, 1054, 1058). Thus far, remains of cultigens or post hole features indicative of a wigwam have not been recovered. The ecofactual and architectural data, combined with the artifactual record would more firmly document Williams' observations. With the exception of a carbonized bean and maize recovered NPS Form 10-000* 0MB Appeal No. 10244018 (M«) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number E Page 5 ...,. from two 17th-century sites, no maize or other domestic plants have been recovered from any Rhode Island sites (Salwen and Mayer 1978). The earliest maize in southern New England was recovered on Martha's Vineyard and dates to approximately 1200 A.D. (Ritchie 1969). While it is possible that the biotic richness of southern New England's estuarine environment made the sustained use of domestic plants unnecessary, a more reasonable explanation for the .scant evidence is simply that very little has been found. Early narratives from the 16th and 17th centuries record broad expanses of cleared lands, gardens, and storage facilities, and a seasonal calendar and mythology heavily influenced by the requirements of maize cultivation (Williams 1866; Winthrop 1853; Wroth 1870). The diversity and abundance of natural food resources, however, may have precluded a heavy reliance on domestic plants. Instead, a diverse mixture of domestic and other foods may have provided the basis for a mixed horticultural economy. After King Phillip's War in 1675-76, the Indian use of the ponds became increasingly restricted as colonists moved into the area. In the 1700s the Indian leadership sold much of the remaining land to whites, but missionary accounts in the 1740s describe Indians living in wigwams (Simmons 1982). Accounts persist into the 19th century of some white landowners permitting Indians to gather shellfish and conduct other subsistence activities. The date of 1750, chosen as the end date of this context is therefore somewhat arbitrary, but generally represents a decreased Indian use of the region during the 18th century as the remaining Indians, engaged in lumbering, farming and livestock, became more restricted in an area north of the ponds. Research Significance While the maritime environment was a pervasive and continuous influence during the Indian use of the region, important cultural changes no doubt occurred.