Josepth Rothrock was a leader in conservation and reforestation with a primary goal. to preserve, protect and propagate the forest. Rothrock was appointed commissioner of forestry in Pennsylvania in 1895. He opened the Pennsylvania School of Forestry at Mont Alto in 1903. The school is now the Penn State Mont Alto campus in the heart of the South Mountain region.
The special rotating exhibit during June in the barn at Allison-Antrim Museum, 365 South Ridge Avenue, Greencastle, PA will include prehistoric archaeological artifacts from the Antrim Township Ebbert Spring site. The exhibit opens June 1. The museum is open Monday through Friday from noon – 4 pm. The exhibit can also be viewed on Sunday, June 12, 1 – 4 pm.
Cumberland Valley Chapter #27 of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc. has been actively conducting an archaeological excavation at the Ebbert Spring site since 2003. Pennsylvania has dubbed Ebbert Spring a Super Site. Ebbert Spring is located two miles south of Greencastle, PA off of Route 11. Evidence unearthed to date indicates that the spring had been continuously visited by Native American groups from the Paleo Indian period (10,000-8,000 B.C.) right up to and including contact with the first European fur traders in the early 1700s. In addition to being a registered prehistoric site, the property is also registered as a Pennsylvania Historical Archaeology Site due to its association as the home of William Allison, father of Greencastle’s founder, John Allison. Many historical components have been excavated that relate to the 250-year existence of the Allison & Ebbert family farmsteads. In 2010, Andy Stout, Greencastle native, wrote an article in American Archaeology announcing that Atapco Properties, Inc. donated more three acres of land around the Ebbert Spring site to the Archaeological Conservancy for permanent preservation. Atapco owns the land north of the Ebbert Spring site.
More than 22 different styles of Native American pottery and 65 culturally related types of projectile points have been found to date. Pottery shards have been uncovered that are associated to types related to both the Susquehanna and Potomac river watersheds and also to those found within Maryland and Virginia coastal and inland regions. Many of the projectile points are made from lithic materials such as jasper, chert, quartz and chalcedony, most not common to this area. Approximately 70% of the lithic artifacts found at Ebbert Spring are made of rhyolite, which likely has its origins at the Snaggy Ridge-Carbaugh Run quarries near Caledonia State Park in Adams Co., PA. The varied amount of pottery and projectile points, as well as the many types of stone and bone tools found on this site, indicate that it was used extensively as a base camp or village site. It also suggests that an extensive trade network was located here, throughout the centuries.
Some of the more interesting artifacts that have been uncovered include: a 70% complete clay pot (2003), a fluted Paleo point (2005), a complete tubular clay pipe (2006), and a small clay effigy of a human head, complete with shell inlaid eyes (2010). Native American ceramic pottery, projectile points, bone, antler, and stone tools such as, drills, scrapers and knives will be on display.
In addition to the artifacts excavated, many features have been found that help interpret how the site was utilized in the past. Features include fire hearths, storage and trash pits, and post mold holes that help identify the size and shapes of Native American structures that were located at the Ebbert Spring site. During the 2008 season, a section of a palisade stockade line was uncovered, that indicates some group was trying to provide a safe enclosure around their encampment.
For more information, please visit the website at www.greencastlemuseum.org
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