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TRENTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY PLANS

PROTEST TO SAVE PETTYS RUN

ON WEDNESDAY JUNE 29 2011

The Trenton Historical Society (THS) will be in front of the Statehouse tomorrow, Wednesday, 6/29, from10 AM - 3 PM to protest the filling of Pettys Run and to educate the public concerning viable andaffordable options to the administrations proposed filling of the site. THS invites the public and membersof the media to come and speak to THS supporters about the concerns raised over the future of Petty'sRun.

Last month the State of NJ issued an advertising for bids for filling in Petty's Run, which they have termed"Stabilization & Closure of the Petty's Run Excavation." There is a fixed price of $410,434 for the work.

In early June the State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee passedA3699/S2667, the bill that would prohibit the burial of Petty's Run. The legislation now moves on to a SenateBudget and Appropriations Committee vote.

Meanwhile, the state is plunging ahead with burial plans. Bids have been received, and the low bid amounts toalmost $40,000 less than the state's budget. Local advocates continue to voice their opposition to the plan- theTrenton Historical Society held a protest at the State House on June 21 and will hold a second one WednesdayJune 29

The Pettys Run Archaeological Site is nationally significant and without equal. The State HistoricPreservation Office recognized this in May 2010 by awarding the site with a state Historic PreservationAward. Pettys Run presents a tremendous opportunity for public outreach and education, as well asprofessional study of 18th and 19th century New Jersey. The decision to cover the site, apparently madewithout a thorough alternatives analysis, was a vote not for restoration and preservation, and but for

destruction and interment. We urge the state of New Jersey to seriously consider options for stabilizationof the excavated site as is. Stabilization would invest the limited funds available in maintaining the sitespreparedness for the previously-completed interpretation and preservation plans, while allowing the site tocontinue to educate and inspire in the interim.

The Trenton Historical Society is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that seeks to study and

interpret the history of the City of Trenton, preserve its historic buildings and artifacts, anddisseminate information about the City and its illustrious past.

For more information, visit the Trenton Historical Societys website at

http://www.trentonhistory.org/index.html or contact the Society atpreserve@trentonhistory.organd (609) 396-4478.

See next page for additional Historical Background of Pettys Run

Historical Background of Pettys Run

http://www.trentonhistory.org/index.htmlmailto:preserve@trentonhistory.orghttp://www.trentonhistory.org/index.htmlmailto:preserve@trentonhistory.org

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In the early colonial period, Pettys Run was a fast-flowing creek between the Old Barracks and the NewJersey State House in the heart of downtown Trenton. Up until the time of the American Revolution,Pettys Run effectively marked the western edge of town.

Pettys Run was historically harnessed to power mills. From the 1730s through the 1790s, Pettys Runpowered a plating mill (a forge where plate metal goods were made) and a steel furnace. In the 19thcentury, first a cotton mill (c. 1812-20) and then a paper mill (c.1827-76) occupied this site.

Near the State House and Old Barracks, Pettys Run was contained within a stone-lined channel by theearly 19th century, but by the 1860s, the stream was very polluted from tanneries, other industrial sitesand domestic refuse disposal along its course. In the 1870s, after a growing public outcry, the stone wallsalongside the stream were covered over by brick vaulting and Pettys Run disappeared beneath thesurface of the city. Today, the Pettys Run stream corridor passes underground beneath the city and ispart of its storm-water drainage system.

In 1996, during site preparation work for an expansion of Thomas Edison State College, this one-of-a-kindarchaeological site was discovered. Excavations since that time have uncovered significantly intacttraces of the sites industrial uses, including the Trenton Steel Works, which is one of only five steelfurnaces that existed in the Colonies, and the only one whose archaeological remains have been locatedand excavated. Other extant remains include building foundations, privies, walkways, steps and property

walls of the late 19th-century residential properties that faced West State and West Front Streets.Additionally, a collection of artifacts, ranging from Native American stone tools to 18th- and 19th-centurypottery sherds and glassware, has been recovered.

The dig was included as a focal point in the master plan of Capitol State Park, a plan that would celebrateand interpret the site as a heritage tourism attraction and potentially serve as a catalyst for revitalizationand economic development in Trenton. The park plan has since been placed on-hold indefinitely, and inNovember 2010, the State Capitol Joint Management Commission, the entity responsible for overseeingthe State capitol complex, unexpectedly announced plans to fill in Pettys Run, with the intention ofuncovering it sometime in the future.

The State Capitol Joint Management Commission has the responsibility under state law to maintain,monitor and preserve the architectural, historical and artistic integrity of any completed project for the

restoration, preservation and improvement of the State capitol complex and to safeguard any relatedartifacts, documents and objects. While the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection hasindicated that burying the dig is a necessary step to preserve the site while limited funds are focused onexisting parks, local advocates and the larger preservation community have rallied to express concernabout the potential for physical damage to the site as a result of filling it in and later removing the fill. Inaddition, there is logical concern as to whether the site, once covered, would eventually be re-excavatedat all.

In January 2011, bills to prohibit the burial of Pettys Run were introduced in both the New JerseyAssembly and Senate. On May 9, the Assembly version, A3699, was passed. While this is encouragingprogress, the future of the site and burial proposal remain uncertain.