Colgate Archaeology Project at Camp Fiver Reveals Nineteenth-Century Rural Life in Poolville
In the spring of 2023, Dr. Kristin De Lucia, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Colgate University, approached Fiver with an amazing archaeological opportunity for Colgate students and Fiver participants. Dr. De Lucia reviewed the 1999 archaeological survey of Camp Fiver and identified where a 19th-century household and nearby mill were located. As part of the Fall 2023 Archaeological Field Methods course that she would be teaching, she wanted to excavate this site, situated near Camp Fiver’s parking lot.
Pictured here: 1859 Gillette's Map of Madison County, New York from Actual Surveys under the direction of J. H. French, Syracuse. Gillette's 1859 Topographical Map of Madison County
We connected Dr. De Lucia with David Keefe Jr., whose family owned the farm that ultimately became Camp Fiver. According to David, the land that she excavated had a barn and a cabin where a homesteader family once lived. The land was home to a dairy farm, on which the family worked for decades. The other area Dr. De Lucia identified was once home to a mill that traced back to the 1850s, when most of the town of Poolville was being populated by Irish farmers. David explains, “They grew many crops, but one of the principal crops was ‘cow corn’ which is vital for a dairy farm but not too tasty for humans. The mill was built as a communal-use mill, where they diverted the river to use its energy to drive a water wheel, connected to a carved wood rotor and gears, that ultimately powered the grinding of corn into cattle feed, wheat, and flour.”
Pictured here: Dr. De Lucia’s Archaeology Class. With their professor’s support, her students also developed middle school lesson plans to teach Fiver youth about archaeology.
Throughout the summer, Camp Fiver’s Facility Director, Joe Flatley, and Camp Director, Mary Lee Dinski, worked with Dr. De Lucia to share additional historical information about our camp property and plan for the dig. Other members of the Poolville and Fiver community provided support, including our CNY Steering Committee member, Bruce Moseley. When Colgate students ultimately conducted their site excavation during the fall, they found animal remains, ceramics, and miscellaneous finds, including coins, pipes, and piano and furnace remains.
The project culminated in a presentation given by Dr. De Lucia and her class in December to share their findings with the Colgate and wider Hamilton & Poolville communities. To view the presentation, click here.
Special thanks to Professor Kristin De Lucia, Georgia Banner, McKenna D’Amico, Emily Falk, Jack Hirschle, Harrison Lerner, Blanca Rivas, and Kaleigh Wright, and TA Joseph LaMuraglia for partnering with Fiver on this exciting find! We hope to continue learning more about Camp Fiver’s history to share with participants in the years to come.
