Archeologists find artifacts at Fairfax County site that was a bustling port
Centreville resident Karen Schweikart digs history.
Bent over a shallow pit on a recent Saturday morning, Schweikart, with a garden trowel and metal dust pan, performed the slow and meticulous task of archeology. She was working to exhume what remains of a colonial era building that might help historians learn more about the port town of Colchester.
Colchester once was a bustling port to which tobacco planters from southern plantations would bring their crop for export to England. Later, wheat and other commodities were shipped from the port.
Capt. John Smith, an explorer who is probably best known for helping establish the Jamestown settlement, also is believed to have visited the site in 1608 when he explored the Occoquan River, encountering several Native American tribes, according to historians leading work at Colchester.
The site is owned and operated by the Fairfax County Park Authority. The purchase of the 135-acre lot in April 2007 for $9.52 million was financed by bond money, agency spokesman Matthew Kaiser said.
The property, which includes a house used as a residence for archeologists, was purchased from developers and included the largest parcels of undeveloped land remaining in private ownership in the Mount Vernon District, according to Park Authority officials.
Archeologists are evaluating the site for potential inclusion in the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.....
Read entire article at The Washington Post
Bent over a shallow pit on a recent Saturday morning, Schweikart, with a garden trowel and metal dust pan, performed the slow and meticulous task of archeology. She was working to exhume what remains of a colonial era building that might help historians learn more about the port town of Colchester.
Colchester once was a bustling port to which tobacco planters from southern plantations would bring their crop for export to England. Later, wheat and other commodities were shipped from the port.
Capt. John Smith, an explorer who is probably best known for helping establish the Jamestown settlement, also is believed to have visited the site in 1608 when he explored the Occoquan River, encountering several Native American tribes, according to historians leading work at Colchester.
The site is owned and operated by the Fairfax County Park Authority. The purchase of the 135-acre lot in April 2007 for $9.52 million was financed by bond money, agency spokesman Matthew Kaiser said.
The property, which includes a house used as a residence for archeologists, was purchased from developers and included the largest parcels of undeveloped land remaining in private ownership in the Mount Vernon District, according to Park Authority officials.
Archeologists are evaluating the site for potential inclusion in the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.....