Barkhamsted in Litchfield County, Connecticut — The American Northeast (New England)

Barkhamsted Lighthouse Village Grind Stone

A Connecticut State Archaeological Preserve

By Alan M. Perrie, April 9, 2017

1. Barkhamsted Lighthouse Village Grind Stone Marker

Inscription. The residents of the Lighthouse community were largely self-sufficient when it came to their subsistence. Bone fragments found in their fireplaces show that they ate deer and small wild game. Gun flints (used in flint-lock rifles) and gun parts recovered in the archaeology of the site show that they used firearms to hunt that game. Archaeologists also found the bones of domesticated animals, including cow, so those too were part of the diet of inhabitants.

We also know that they farmed the land. Just across East River Road, is a narrow island that early nineteenth-century land records describe as “James Chaugham’s plow land,” and other documents refer to a plot in the village itself as “Molly Chaugham’s garden.”

We don’t know exactly what they were growing in the “plow land” or garden, but it is likely that corn was grown by the villagers and meal was produced on this grind stone.

The grind stone you are looking at here was used to grind seeds or dried corn kernels; the flat, worn-down surface resulted from thousands of hours of grinding with a hand-held stone or “mano.”

Erected by Barkhamsted Historical Society.

Location. 41° 56.551′

The Grind Stone and its Marker image. Click for full size.

By Alan M. Perrie, April 9, 2017

2. The Grind Stone and its Marker

N, 73° 0.372′ W. Marker is in Barkhamsted, Connecticut, in Litchfield County. Marker can be reached from East River Road 1.7 miles south of Connecticut Route 20. Touch for map. The marker is located on the Lighthouse Trail, 0.2 miles from the Trail-head. The trail starts at the Barkhamsted Lighthouse Village Marker found 1.7 miles south from state route 20 on East River Road. Marker is at or near this postal address: 410 E River Rd, Riverton CT 06065, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Barkhamsted Lighthouse Village Stone Quarry (here, next to this marker); Barkhamsted Lighthouse Village Cellar Holes (here, next to this marker); Barkhamsted Lighthouse Village Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); Barkhamsted Lighthouse Village Charcoal Kilns (within shouting distance of this marker); Peoples State Forest (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Barkhamsted Lighthouse Village (about 300 feet away); Camp White (approx. 0.3 miles away); Henry Robinson Buck (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Barkhamsted.

Also see . . .
1. Barkhamsted Lighthouse. (Submitted on January 2, 2018, by Alan M. Perrie of Unionville, Connecticut.)
2. Barkhamsted Lighthouse. (Submitted on January 2, 2018, by Alan M. Perrie of Unionville, Connecticut.)
3. Barkhamsted Historical Society. (Submitted on January 2, 2018, by Alan M. Perrie of Unionville, Connecticut.)

Map of the Lighthouse Trail with its 6 markers. image. Click for full size.

By Alan M. Perrie, April 9, 2017

3. Map of the Lighthouse Trail with its 6 markers.

Categories. • Anthropology • Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers •

Credits. This page was last revised on January 5, 2018. This page originally submitted on January 2, 2018, by Alan M. Perrie of Unionville, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 58 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 2, 2018, by Alan M. Perrie of Unionville, Connecticut. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.