Newtown Youth Dig Into The Past

By Susan Coney

Newtown Town Historian Dan Cruson recently led a group of young adults and their parents in an archaeology investigation that took place at Putnam Park in Redding. The program. sponsored by the C.H. Booth Library under the direction of Margaret Brown the Young Adult Librarian, drew a number of participants as part of the “We Dig Summer Reading” program.

Families gathered in the meeting room of the library last Tuesday to view slides and see and handle the unique tools used in the investigative digs held at Putnam Park, the site of a Revolutionary War encampment. Mr Cruson, a skilled archaeologist, is one of the few individuals who has been able to obtain permission from the state to dig and research the historical site.

When first speaking to the group, Mr Cruson related that the work he is passionate about is similar to the popular television show CSI where scientists use forensic evidence; he as well uses similar techniques to assemble clues of how people lived in the past. Mr Cruson commented that he initially became interested in archaeology as a youngster while attending church picnics at Putnam Park.

The second portion of the program took place at the 800-acre Putnam Memorial State Park, which was used during the Revolutionary War in the winter of 1778-1779 as a campsite. About 3,000 bluecoats endured the harsh winter with inadequate food and clothing.

Mr Cruson explained to the participants that during the American Revolution battles were postponed in the winter months because the flint, essential to the firing of guns of the period, was incapable of igniting a spark in cold weather. He went on to divulge other interesting facts; for example, provisions for the soldiers arrived down Church Hill Road and West Street in Newtown and were sent on through Danbury prior to being delivered at the camp site.

During the program the participants visited the museum at Putnam Park and Mr Cruson showed them relics recovered from the Redding site. The group also viewed piles of stone that line the park trail where the remnants of the chimneys that belonged to the small huts in which soldiers lived still remain.

Christine D’Alessandro, who will be a freshman this fall at Newtown High School, attended the program with her mother Jill and little sister Kathryn. “It was a nice program. It was easy to envision what Mr Cruson told us once we arrived at the park. I liked that he was able to tell us firsthand about his experiences and the excitement that comes with discovering something for the first time. Not very many people are allowed to do what he does,” Christine said.

James Alworth and his little sister Olivia shared the excitement of the program. James wanted to attend because he has a keen interest in archaeology. “We live close to Putnam Park and I thought it would be very interesting to learn more about it,” James said. Olivia is an avid reader of the American Girl series of historical fiction books and is especially taken with the books written about the Revolutionary War. “I read all the American Girl books and wanted to come to learn more about that time period,” Olivia said.

The archaeology investigation offered by Mr Cruson provided young people with the opportunity to learn more about the history pertaining to the geographical area they live in as well as exposed them to the tools and methods used in site excavation. Mr Cruson presented an exciting, informative, hands-on program that proved to be very popular with the young crowd who attended.