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Can you dig it? JB MDL is rich in history

  • Published
  • By Airman Ryan Throneberry
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Imagine the thrill of finding a 10,000-year-old arrowhead while walking through Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Though JB MDL just celebrated its second birthday, the history of the land transcends millennia as proven by the vast amount of artifacts found here.

The base archeological department has found everything from ancient Native American artifacts to World War II-era remnants here.

"We are sitting on a huge resource of historical information," said Adrienne Duryee, 87th Civil Engineer Squadron staff archeologist from Morristown, N.J.

The numerous well sites on base have become a topic of conversation since a Browns Mills native fell into a well on joint base property Dec. 31.

"The incident earlier this month has pushed us to look further into these sites and discover their significance," said Duryee.

The 87th CES environmental office is now questioning what the archeologist will find in the more than 200 potential well sites.

Duryee said each well will be examined for possible historical artifacts before any action will be taken to fill them in. Artifacts located within well deposits may give clues to who lived in the rural and relatively unknown pineland communities centuries ago.

"Preservation is always the goal," said Duryee. "Unfortunately there is a delicate balance between preserving a site and excavating it. Excavation usually means the site will be destroyed in the process."

The National Historic Preservation Act, enacted in 1966, requires representatives on federal installations to identify, evaluate and nominate significant historic properties for placement in the National Register of Historic Places. The purpose of the federal law is to ensure the U.S. government preserves historic sites for future generations.

Historical sites and landmarks are scattered throughout JB MDL's 42,000 acres. One hundred twelve of the 256 known archeological sites in Air Mobility Command bases are located within JB MDL's borders.

The 87th CES employs an aerial light detection and ranging system to make short work of finding such sites, said Duryee. This LIDAR system sends out laser pulses to map the contours and depressions of the land, not visible with aerial photography.

"Time wise, the LIDAR has been extremely beneficial because we don't have to go wandering in the woods in search of possible locations," said Ken Smith, 87th CES environmental chief. "It allows us to locate potential sites from our computers."

The 87th CES has found Native American archaeological sites here dating from the Paleo-Indian period, 10,000 B.C, through the Contact Period, 1650 A.D. Many arrowheads and pottery shards have been excavated from the sites.

Duryee said in addition to ancient Native Americans, other groups may have settled this land including early European settlers, colonials and possibly African American families who escaped the South using the Underground Railroad.

"We can only speculate at this point who these people were but that's the biggest question," said Duryee.

The historic town of Pointville is another site of significance on base. The town developed around the Cherry Valley Tavern, built in 1800, on modern day Texas Ave, south of the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center. Pointville included 30 homes, three stores, the tavern, a school, a church and a blacksmith shop in its heyday during the mid to late 1800s. The town came to an end during the start of World War II, when the U.S. Army bought the land to build training facilities. The tavern remained after the demise of the town, making it the longest standing Pointville building. It was demolished in 1961 having stood for 160 years. Excavation of the tavern began in 1993, revealing many bottles, spoons and tableware under what was the tavern floor.

"There is so much history here," Duryee said with a smile.

This is what archeologists on base have dug up thus far, but the remains of today become the history of tomorrow so there will always be more to find.