by Frank Schroth

The Board of Selectmen in their capacity as Trustees of the Governor Stoughton Trust heard from Mary Harper and Sarah Sportman of Archeological and Historical Services Inc. who had performed a survey of the old Town Farm to determine if it was a Native American burial site. They concluded it is not. “There is not ambiguity about it,” said Ms. Harper.

Pulte Homes has a P&S with the Trustees of the Governor Stoughton Trust to build 23 homes on 30 acres of the the Old Town Farm which was left to the town to benefit the poor of Milton. It was brought to the attention of the Trustees that there were mounds and rock piles that were thought to be possible Indian burial sites. The trustees together with Pulte agreed to have a survey and analysis done. The results were discussed on Wednesday.

Harper and Sportman’s report is thorough. They surveyed the site, excavated several of the mounds, performed a visual assessment and documentary research, followed requirements as specified by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and consulted with Gilbert Solomon of the Ponkapoag Tribe. They explained that that mounds are tree throws. Tree throws are created when a tree topples and creates a root mass. They explained that tree throws have very specific qualities and characteristics. They can appear in clusters due to weather events that affect a particular area in a specific way. Burials, they said, have different “signatures.” Typically, a burial site, they explained, will be characterized by swales, not mounds. They said everything about these mounds “was consistent with tree throws.”

With regard to the piles of stones on the property, they said these were the result of field clearing not burials or wagon loading as had also been suggested. They conclude that “there is absolutely no evidence of burials.” They did discover a piece of pottery that they identified as being from the mid-19th century.

The report has been submitted to the Massachusetts Historical Commission for a 60 day review. The Commission has identified the structures on the property as being historically significant. Most of those structures are on the parcel owned by the town. The pest house is in land owned by Pulte and is likely to be relocated according to a representative from Pulte Homes present at the meeting. He said that Pulte would retain the services of Archeological and Historical Services to continue to guide them through the process with the Massachusetts Historical Commission.