The Town of Montague, Massachusetts, has been awarded a highly competitive Site Identification and Documentation Grant from the National Parks Service American Battlefield Protection Program (NPS ABPP) to identify features relating to the 1676 Battle at Great Falls (Wissatinnewag-Peskeompskut). The battle was fought on May 19, 1676 in northwestern Massachusetts during King Phillips War (June 1675 – August 1676). Heritage will assist the Town by conducting the archaeological examination, including metal detecting and working with Tribal cultural experts from descendant Tribes to help guide field activities, data analysis, and the final technical report.
The Town worked in conjunction with the Battlefield Advisory Board, consisting of representatives from four neighboring municipalities in the battlefield area, as well as representatives from the Narragansett, Gay-Head Aquinnah, Elnu Abenaki, and Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck tribes, and the NPS ABPP and the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC). A long-term goal of the project is to eventually prepare a National Register of Historic Places registration form to nominate the battlefield and associated sites to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Greenfield Recorder recently featured the upcoming work, and the article can be read at the link below. We are excited to work with the Town and Tribal organizations on this significant project, and look forward to the results of the survey.