Possible burial site could slow Rankin Estates development

By LOUISE TETREAULT, Valley Breeze Staff Writer

NORTH SMITHFIELD – The town's Conservation Commission and local and state historians are racing to beat the development clock to preserve what they believe are Indian and colonial burial grounds dating back to the 1675 King Philip's War.

"Unless we get that registered, we have no legal means of protecting these areas," said Edna Kent, a member of the Rhode Island Advisory Commission on Historical Cemeteries.

The area in question is the proposed site of Rankin Estates, a 168-acre development located in the southwest corner of town in back of Rolling Acres, behind Rankin Path and the rear portion of Brookside Road.

Narrangansett Improvement Company of Providence, a firm not linked to native Americans, is the would-be developer here.

As part of a routine request from the Planning Board, Conservation Commission members set out on several trips to the site. Their routine assignment became less so in December when members noticed a series of stone mounds surrounded with stone walls on three sides.

"It's not a normal boundary wall. It's a special enclosure wall. The sides are very level," said Irene Nebiker, a town historian.

It's a site that Nebiker is very familiar with. In 1974, she surveyed the area and recorded her findings and took photographs as part of her master's thesis which included the about the historical geography of North Smithfield.

When Conservation Commission member Ruth Pacheco struck up a conversation with Nebiker at a meeting, the historian shared her findings. Lo and behold, 35 years later, the areas Nebiker discovered were still relatively untouched.

Kent said that the site is consistent with other Indian burial grounds she has seen as a member of the governor's Rhode Island Advisory Commission on Historical Cemeteries.

"They probably didn't have enough time to bury them," she said.

With a war raging, survivors needed to bury their dead quickly and move on.

The wall, Kent believes, was built by either the Wampanoag or Nipmuc tribes living in the area either immediately after the battle or at a later time.

Another clue to the area's importance comes from historical maps and documents. Nebiker discovered in her research that the burial grounds are in the area of what has long been thought to be the historic Nipsachuck Swamp.

The fact that this section of town still holds its Indian name is another supporting piece of evidence that indeed the battle, which is described in a letter written by William Harris in August 1676, took place in that area.

"It's the site of important battles. It could have changed the whole outcome of the war," said Nebiker.

Nebiker and Kent both said that if Captain Daniel Henchman of the colony had taken pursuit of Philip immediately rather than wait a day, Philip would not have had the opportunity to expand the war throughout most of New England. In addition, Philip's losses in men, arms, and supplies, would have been a limiting factor to their activities during the fall and winter.

Instead, Philip continued his activities in the Nipmuc country as far as the Connecticut River Valley.

Don Gagnon, Conservation Commission chair, said the site should be preserved as a site of historical significance.

However, the road to doing this is still unwinding.

The first step the group is taking is asking Kent's state commission to designate the area as a historic Rhode Island cemetery. That would involve putting up signs which would give the immediate area some protection as indicated in Title 23 Chapter 18 of the state's laws. The commission is looking into whether the land owner's permission is required first.

Next is reporting their findings as required by state law, to the state archeologist, Paul Robinson. Gagnon said the group also wants to speak with Chief Wilfred Greene of the Wampanoag as well.

Sharing their findings with the Town Council is also in the works Gagnon said.

"We'd like the Town Council to write letters to our congressman and senators asking them to work with us in naming the site a historical battleground if the site warrants it," said Gagnon. "The National Park Service runs the American Battleground Protection Program. By having the senators and the congressman working with us we may be able to get through to the National Park Service a little earlier so we can get this thing done. And they provide grant money."

Gagnon said the process of dealing with the information they've uncovered is an evolving one for the Conservation Commission and they're learning as they go along about what needs to be done.

Even the names of landowners involved isn't clear yet.

"We're trying to do it in a staged manner. We're not trying to rush into it," said Gagnon. "We want to do it right and we want to do it slowly. We want to be sure of what we are doing and what steps are needed so we can report in a factual manner."

Although this rediscovery of the site is just outside the proposed Rankin Estates, committee members as well as Kent and Nebiker believe that it provides enough evidence to warrant a closer look at the entire area for historical markings.

As a matter of fact, Gagnon said the committee has found two other sites, one of which is within the proposed development. There, uninscribed colonial headstones and footstones were found.

Commission member Mike Rapko is also hoping that those in town who value their find will step forward.

"If people in town interested in history come to the Planning Board meetings, maybe something can be done," said Rapko.

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