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Aldens' Progress The Alden House Historic Site, P. O. Box 2754, Duxbury, Massachusetts 02331 Aldens’ Progress News of the Alden Kindred of America, Inc. Spring 2009 SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES Tom McCarthy, Historian of the Alden Kindred of America must be the very best site associated with a person, event, or development of national (as opposed to local) historic significance. For the Alden House the designation means a “promotion” from the ranks of the more than 80,000 sites on the National Register of Historic Places, where it has been listed since 1978. But the Original Alden Homestead Site had not even The Alden House been listed on the Register. The National Park Historic Site Service runs the programs that confer both 2009 Calendar historical designations under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. W Museum opens: May 18 In addition to recognizing that no other historic Speak for Thyself: June 20 site was so prominently associated with Mayflower passengers, the National Historic Duxbury Free Day: July 11 fter lunch at our annual reunion on August Landmarks subcommittee of the National Park Annual Meeting & A 1, 2009 the Alden Kindred and the Town System Advisory Board endorsed four specific National Historic of Duxbury will accept plaques from the National claims to historical significance. First, the national Landmark Award: August 1 Park Service designating the Alden House and cultural impact of Alden descendant Henry Alden Open: September 26 Original Alden Homestead Site as the John and Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1858 poem The Priscilla Alden Family Sites National Historic Courtship of Miles Standish made the surviving Museum closes: October 12 Landmark. The presentation ceremony Alden House the most important physical site culminates an eight year process of self-study and associated with John and Priscilla Alden and a dialogue with the professional historical and focus of on-going national interest, especially archaeological community about the importance since descendants continued to live in and own of these sites to all Americans as part of our the house. Second, the sites are the most shared national historical and cultural heritage. prominent associated with John Alden, a person There are about 2,500 National Historic of national significance in the U.S. colonial Landmarks in the United States. Landmarks are period. Alden held positions of high economic designated by the Secretary of the Interior upon and political importance for almost the entire recommendation by a panel of professional seventy-one year history of the Plymouth Colony experts. Generally, to become a landmark a site (1620-1691), a span of public service unrivaled in Contents The Alden Kindred of America, Inc. Speaking for Ourselves Tom McCarthy…1 P.O. Box 2754 —105 Alden Street “Prence’s Packhorse” Jim Baker…………….....7 Duxbury, MA 02331-2754 Presidents Corner……………….…………………..3 Phone: 781-934-9092 Director’s Corner “Rink Ringquist …………9 FAX 781-934-9149 Annual Fund & Dues Report…..……………..4 Web: www.alden.org Special Invitation …...………….…………….……..5 They Too Faced an Uncertain Future… ..10 Hours: Monday-Saturday Noon-4PM Aunt Polly’s Gift Shop………………………...11 Last tour at 3:30 Necrology…………………………………………….....6 Open mid-May—Columbus Day Aldens’ Progress Spring 2009 2 seventeenth-century colonial America and perhaps in 2001 in good part because the Kindred had an the entire colonial period. Third, the Original Alden unprecedented opportunity. Will Gwilliam had begun Homestead Site, the c. 1630 Duxbury home of John his analysis of the architecture and construction of the and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden and their children, Alden House. James W. Baker had become the house yielded information when partially excavated in 1960 curator and brought us his lifetime of Mayflower that made a major contribution to the archaeological expertise from Plimoth Plantation. Alicia Crane literature on early seventeenth-century English Williams, the Kindred genealogist, had already done settlement sites in North America. Fourth, this more research into the historical John Alden than any archaeological site was the location of important person before her. This fortunate intersection of fieldwork and analysis by Roland Wells Robbins expertise was not likely to occur again. So now was the (1908-1987), a pioneer in the field of historical time to prepare our NHL nomination while each was archaeology. The overarching theme of the actively engaged with some aspect of Alden history. nomination was that no site in America better Gwilliam, Baker, and Williams all lent their expertise represented the multi-generational efforts of one to the nomination. In addition, Alden Ringquist family to interpret the historical significance of their played the crucial role in bringing the Town of ...we needed to heritage for themselves and their contemporaries. Duxbury enthusiastically on board. He was our liaison to the town manager, selectmen, school committee, explain why the The nomination process began shortly after I became and school superintendent. In the end, our house had become the Alden Kindred’s historian. As a professional nomination succeeded because of this “team of historian, I wanted to help the Kindred place our cousins” effort. a site of national understanding of John and Priscilla and the Alden interest by the late House on a firmer historical foundation. On May 7, We also had vital outside assistance, especially from 2001 Dr. Robin W. Winks and I “brainstormed” the professional archaeology community. A half dozen nineteenth cen- about the Alden sites. Chair of the History or more archaeologists discussed with me the tury. Department at Yale and a former chairman of the significance of the Original Alden Homestead Site. National Park System Advisory Board—the body that Two played a critical role in the ultimate success of makes the NHL recommendations to the Secretary of the nomination. The first was Dr. Donald W. the Interior, Winks suggested nominating the sites for Linebaugh at the University of Maryland. Linebaugh’s National Historic Landmark status. He argued that work on Roland Wells Robbins provided the basis for the process of researching what was significant about our successful claim that Robbins’ work at the site the sites and seeking confirmation of these claims by deserved recognition in the development of the field professionals would accomplish our aim. But he of historical archaeology in the United States. cautioned that the process took thorough research, Linebaugh appeared before the NHL subcommittee patience, and a willingness to engage in a dialogue both times that our nomination came before them. with the larger historical community about the His strong supporting remarks helped to convince the significance of the sites. Eighty-five percent of subcommittee to vote in favor of the designation. We nominations eventually succeeded, but the National also had more-than-exceptional assistance from Historic Landmarks subcommittee rejected half of all Edward L. Bell, the senior archaeologist at the Massachusetts Historical Commission, who drew on his earlier work with Plymouth Colony archaeological sites to carefully go through our nomination to offer numerous additional pieces of evidence to strengthen our archaeological claims. Thanks to the help provided by Don and Ed the national significance of the Original Homestead Site was established beyond debate. Establishing the historical significance of the Alden House proved more challenging. If John and Priscilla had built and lived in the house, proving its national nominations first time around, seeking further historic significance would have been easy. research and justification. Unfortunately, evidence from the historical record, the construction of the house itself, and archaeological Preparation of the nomination began in earnest in fall excavations at the site all suggested that the present Aldens’ Progress Spring 2009 3 house was built around 1700. The door has not been closed entirely PRESIDENT’S CORNER on the possibility that John and Priscilla lived at the site, but there was no evidence on which to make this claim. Instead, we needed to explain why the house had become a site of national interest by the I'm sitting in my reclining chair and late nineteenth century. The answer was that after the publication it is still winter. Instead of relaxing, of The Courtship of Miles Standish Americans made John and I'm confined to the house like a Priscilla national cultural icons and the house a shrine to teenager that has been grounded for commemorate their story. There simply was no better place to disobeying their parents and getting associate with the couple and Longfellow’s poem. caught. I am a victim of winter-"black ice" to be precise. As I had done many National Historic Landmark designation is the culmination of an times before, I walked out to the end involved process, and we had tremendous assistance from Patty of my driveway at night after arriving Henry and Erika K. Martin Seibert at the National Park Service home from work. Zip — down I went, never knowing what hit National Landmarks Survey Office, who were enthusiastic me. Results — one broken right arm, the humerus where the supporters of the nomination and helped shepherd it to a successful bone attaches to the shoulder. Off to the Emergency Room, the outcome. The nomination first came before the National Historic ortho clinic, and an ultra sling, lots of "painful" rest, and finally Landmarks subcommittee for discussion and review on April 12, lots of extensive physical therapy. Naturally, I am right-handed so 2006. The committee declined to vote on the nomination, asking us this presented lots of adjustments. All this time giving me plenty instead to sharpen the connection between Longfellow’s poem and of time to reflect on "Old Man Winter", the state of the economy, the existing Alden House and to do a full analysis and write-up on and what's on day-time television which is enough to get any one the Original Alden Homestead site’s archaeological significance.
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