172 NEW YORK STATE Ml'SEU.M 



worthy of study. How numerous are the fort sites may be sug- 

 gested when it is stated that from a hill just over the town line in 

 Charlotte are to be seen the sites of seven and possibly eight fort 

 and camp sites. 



One of the sites to which considerable attention was devoted is 

 situated in a sugarbush on the Martin McCullough farm, lot 38, 

 Gerry township. Here surrounded by a swamp from which rise 

 sloping hills is a rise of land some 3 feet above the swamp level. 

 Upon this rise of ground is an oval or rather kite-shaped earthwork 

 1297 feet in circumference. The wall is now from 22 to 24 inches 

 in height and is composed of the earth which was scooped from an 

 outer ditch bordering the wall. This earthen ridge first attracted 

 the attention of Obed Edson who some fifty years ago was engaged 

 in running the lot lines. Some mention of it is contained in the 

 various county histories to which he has contributed or written. 

 Numbers of men distinguished in archeologic science have visited 

 the place and more than a dozen years ago representatives of the 

 Smithsonian Institution made some investigations there. To the 

 west of the earth wall rises a small knoll which appeared to be 

 composed of glacial sand and to the north running through a little 

 valley is a brooklet. Within the wall are numerous pits or depres- 

 sions 5 or 6 feet in diameter and 3 to 9 inches deep. These, upon 

 examination, proved to be shallow refuse pits with an original 

 depth of from i to 2^2 feet. A rather remarkable pit is situated 

 almost in the center of the inclosure and measures 157 feet in cir- 

 cumference with a depth of 5 feet. The earth wall is surrounded on 

 its outer side by a ditch which is at present but little more than a 

 foot below the normal level of the surface. The wall at present is 

 on the average 8 or 9 feet through at the base and the crest of the 

 ridge rises 2 feet in places. The ditch and wall are entirely visible 

 in lot 38 and the wall may be traced in lot 30 where the ground has 

 been cultivated for several years. An enormous white pine stump 

 stands on the northwestern side of the wall. A cross-section of 

 this stump was made by Hon. Obed Edson and more than 400 

 rings were counted. At the northwest corner of the earthwork 

 where the stump stands, the surface of the ground is 20 feet higher 

 than the brook bed, which lies to the north 25 feet distant. At the 

 lot line on the east the earth wall takes an abrupt turn almost at 

 right angles and runs about parallel to the line for 450 feet. 



Within the inclosure at about its mid point is the bowl-shaped 

 depression, previously mentioned. The pit is 5 feet deep and 50 feet 

 in diameter. In area the inclosure is about 3 acres. 



