Archaeologist Harbour Mitchell will discuss the Archaeology of Merryspring at Merryspring Nature Center on Tuesday, June 18, at noon.

Harbour Mitchell’s talk/walk-in-the-park will focus on two archaeological sites located in Merryspring Nature Center. 

Archaeological recoveries indicate the earliest site is a long forgotten Revolutionary War militia encampment once protecting the County Road, a remnant of which still exists as the Conway Road.  After the war, the militia encampment was the home of Michael Shays (c.1780s); Joseph Hardy (c. 1791); William Gregory (c.1793); and Elisha Gibbs (c. 1799). 

The second site, only a few yards away in the same field, belonged to Asa Hosmer, Camden’s first school teacher.  Hosmer’s home was built about 1803, and appears to have been abandoned in the mid-late 1820s.

Mitchell's archaeological career extends over 30 years and includes working for the University of Maine, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission in Augusta, the US Dept. of Agriculture, and professional archaeological contractors throughout the region.  His research continues today as private efforts in Midcoast Maine.

This in-person talk is the first in the Summer Talk Series co-sponsored by Bangor Savings Bank and Camden Riverhouse Hotel. Attendance is free for members; $5 for non-members.

Merryspring is your community nature center offering walking trails, cultivated gardens, wildlife, and ecology and horticulture educational programs all year round. The park is located at the end of Conway Road, just off of Route 1 in Camden behind Hannaford Shopping Plaza. For more information on this program, please contact info@merryspring.org or call 207-236-2239.