QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
The First Season of Archaeology at Indiana...Part 3

Reconnaissance at Lock No. 1: In addition to the excavation, other portions of the work involved mapping the existing remains of Lock Number 1 on the canal system, completed by 1835. This lock is described in an 1835 Engineer’s Report for the Grand River Navigation Company as a chamber 112' long by 33' feet wide with masonry sides and oak gates with a unique system of sluices used to fill and empty the lock.

One of the masonry counterforts from Lock No. 1 [Image 9]

A survey of the lock area revealed that several masonry abutments or ‘counterforts’, as described in the engineer’s report, were still visible although in a very compromised condition [IMAGE 9]. Six abutments on each side of the lock were subsequently cleared of vegetation, photographed and mapped as a preliminary step towards the documentation and protection of this significant heritage resource.

Heritage Education: Promoting heritage awareness to the public should be an essential component of any archaeological excavation and the project this summer was no exception. A Media Day held on June 3 was attended by four reporters and later followed by two other reporters from local papers. Media coverage of this type not only attracts visitors to the site but serves as one means of ‘getting the information out there’ and establishing a connection between the local communities and the many historic sites in the region. In response to a press release sent out from Ruthven Park, four school groups from Cayuga Secondary School also visited the site. Moreover, a heritage language immersion school group from the Six Nations Reserve as well as a visit from the staff at the First Nations Haudenosaunee Resource Centre in Ohsweken were a welcome presence at Ruthven Park, re-establishing the connection to First Nations people that was so important in the past.

Signposting event with Marilynn Havelka, Lynne Van Wyck, Betsy Smith and John Triggs [Image 10]

Another important event during the summer was the placement of three street signs [Image 10]: Markland, Merritt and Mill Lane, to commemorate the former town of Indiana and also in recognition of the new research initiative undertaken at the site in partnership with Wilfrid Laurier University. It is hoped that future research endeavors in years to come will provide additional information useful for the interpretation and presentation of this fascinating aspect of Ruthven Park.

Acknowledgments: I would like to thank Marilynn Havelka for her unwavering and enthusiastic support of this project. Likewise the interest shown by the Members of The Lower Grand River Land Trust Inc. many of whom attended an evening tour of the excavations, was greatly appreciated. Thanks are also extended to Linda Jackson who was always ready and willing to lend a hand and accommodate my requests for either the phone, fax or computer on short notice. I also wish to thank restaurant owners Peter and Lynne Van Wyck who graciously allowed the troop of motley archaeologists to trod past the Gingerbread House each day, providing a topic of conservation, I’m sure, for those dining. Also, the success of the project owes much to the dedication and professionalism of the three Teaching Assistants: Shan Ling, Christine Morgan and Melissa Novak. Of course, the greatest credit goes to the students themselves who persevered through six weeks of sometimes exhausting work, after-hours record keeping and a series of assignments and tests used in their evaluation: Shawn Kretz, Lindsay Harasymchuk, Elia Marini, Rob Wolfenden, Andrew Howes, Andrea MacCallum, Anthony Ho, Emily Zeran, Laura Forsyth, David Barker, Lisa Fildey, Tom Deer, Sarah Henderson, Sara Lavery, Ryan Johnston, Sarah Morrison, Victoria Brooks, Rosemary Cammisuli, Chris Donaldson, Peggy Lambert, and Rebecca Knapp.

Dr. John R. Triggs,
Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies,
Wilfrid Laurier University,
Waterloo, Ontario