West Point Foundry Artifacts Open House -- Saturday, Nov. 18

(COLD SPRING, New York) - On Saturday, Nov.18, from 1 - 5 p.m. the public is invited to view archeologically excavated artifacts from the West Point Foundry Preserve. The artifacts include those unearthed from the vicinity of foundry workers homes and from an area where the famous Parrot gun was tested. The free event, part of Putnam County History Days, is hosted by the Village of Cold Spring with help from Scenic Hudson and the Putnam County Historical Society & Foundry School Museum.

The artifact collection is owned by Scenic Hudson and stored by the Village of Cold Spring in a specially-designed room in the Cold Spring Village Garage at 49 Fair St. Elizabeth Norris, assistant archeologist for the West Point Foundry Preserve, Scenic Hudson and Foundry School Museum staff will be on hand. Ms. Norris, a PhD candidate, is studying the collection to learn more about the lives of the foundry workers. Photographs taken during the excavation will be on display and refreshments will be served. Also a tour of the West Point Foundry Preserve led by Ms. Norris will begin at 2 p.m.

The artifacts on display are a sampling of the 145,000 artifacts unearthed before the federal Superfund Cleanup at the foundry took place from 1989 to 1992. It was the first major project to protect the archeological legacy of a Superfund site using National Historic Preservation Act standards. Tons of contaminated soil caused by the former Marathon Battery Company on Kemble Avenue was removed from Foundry Cove Marsh. At the completion of the Superfund archeological investigation, the artifacts were moved to Orange County Historical Society in Arden, N.Y., are they were safely stored for nearly 10 years. Scenic Hudson took ownership of the collection in 1996 when it purchased the 87-acre West Point Foundry property which contains the restored marsh and the remains of the 19th century West Point Foundry ironworks. Through a partnership of the Village of Cold Spring, Scenic Hudson, Putnam County, and the Putnam County Historical Society & Foundry School Museum, the artifacts were moved back to Cold Spring in April 2005. Village Mayor Anthony Phillips recognized the collection's importance and constructed an archival storage room in the village garage. Putnam County provided workers and vans from its highway department to assist Scenic Hudson in moving more than 180 archival boxes. The Putnam County Historical Society & Foundry School Museum is responsible for curating the collection. With the collection stored in Cold Spring, West Point Foundry archeologists, museum curators and other researchers can study the collection to learn more about the foundry workers and the important contributions they made to the country's economic transformation.

Directions: From the traffic light at Route 9D and Main Street in Cold Spring, make the fourth right onto Fair Street. The Cold Spring Garage is located at 49 Fair Street between Riverview Restaurant and the village ballfields.