Fort Stanwix National Monument has a number of research questions that remain unexplored. To conduct research at Fort Stanwix, you must apply for a research permit through the Research Permit and Reporting System. For more information on the research needs of the park, policies, conditions, and procedures related to applying for a permit, please visit the National Park Service's Research Permit and Reporting website (https://irma.nps.gov/rprs/).
If you have specific questions pertaining to research projects in the park, please consult the resources on the page below and then send an email to the Division of Cultural Resources.
Archeologists excavate the remains of a bakehouse within the walls of the southeast corner of the fort.
National Park Service
Archeology
Nearly 50 years ago archeologists began to locate the remains of the original Fort Stanwix (briefly renamed Fort Schuyler, 1776-1781). Remnants of the original fort were discovered and nearly 500,000 artifacts were found dating to the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century.
Archeology continues today at Fort Stanwix National Monument. When maintenance or construction activities take place, archeology is done first in order to ensure that the site is not destroyed and the resources are preserved. These projects are driven by the desire to preserve the archeological resources at the park and meet compliance standards of the federal government.
As a result of these excavations other professional publications are available at:
Hanson, Lee (1974) "Outhouses in Rome, New York," Northeast Historical Archaeology: Vol. 3 3, Article 3. https://doi.org/10.22191/neha/vol3/iss1/3
Available at: http://orb.binghamton.edu/neha/vol3/iss1/3
Hanson, Lee & Dick Ping Hsu (1971) "Nineteenth Century Transfer Printed Earthenware from Rome, NY" Historical Archaeology, 5:74. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374456
More recent archeological excavations have taken place in order to document buried cultural resources that may be impacted by park activities and construction related projects. During the summer of 2013, NPS archeologists uncovered and documented the first 18th century feature found at the site in nearly 40 years.
For details about this excavation, see the full report:
Roache-Fedchenko, Amy (2014). Mitigation Report for 2013 Monitoring Excavations Related to the Fire Suppression and Parade Ground Replacement Projects (PEPC Project #29475), Fort Stanwix National Monument, Rome, NY. (pdf)
Currently there are no ongoing archeological excavations at the park, but several researchers continue to access the archeology of the site through the museum collection, including:
Scholz, Elizabeth, "The Teapots In The Tempest: Ceramics And Military Order At 18th Century Fort Stanwix" (2016). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. College of William and Mary. Paper 1477068174. http://publish.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=etd
Bowes, Jessica (2013). Archaeobotanical Remains at Fort Stanwix National Monument. Survey prepared for Fort Stanwix National Monument during National Council for Preservation Education internship. (pdf)
Jacobson, Michael (2013). Battlefield Delineation: Siege of Fort Stanwix and Battle of Oriskany Battlefield KOCOA Assessment and Mapping Project. Research Based on a Grant from The American Battlefield Protection Program to Rome Area Chamber of Commerce. (pdf)
Visit the park’s Museum Collection page to learn more about the artifacts and other museum objects.
History
A recent historic resource study of resistance to the systems of slavery in and around what is now Fort Stanwix National Monument was completed in 2022 in partnership with the Organization of American Historians (OAH) by Judith Wellman, Principal Investigator. It is focused on the underground railroad in the broadest sense and describes anti slavery, abolition, avenues of and support for freedom taking by enslaved people and their allies.
Wellman, Judith, (2021). "We Took to Ourselves Liberty" Historic Sites Relating to the Underground Railroad, Abolitionism, and African American Life in Oneida County and Beyond, prepared for the National Park Service in cooperation with the Organization of American Historians.
An in-depth study of historical events at Fort Stanwix focused on the treaties that were negotiated or signed at Fort Stanwix. This latest publication closely examines the treaties through historic texts to examine those involved with the treaties, and their actions before, during, and after negotiations took place.
During the 1970s, the NPS completed a report titled Fort Stanwix:History, Historic Furnishing, and Historic Structure Reports. This document helped to inform the design of the reconstruction, the park’s living history program, and better contextualized the significant history of Fort Stanwix.
The individual reports compiled in the document include:
Luzader, John F. (1976). Construction and Military History 1758 to 1777, in History, Historic Furnishing, and Historic Structure Reports, Office of Historic Preservation, National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/fost/history/history.htm
Torres, Louis (1976). Historic Furnishing Study, in History, Historic Furnishing, and Historic Structure Reports, Office of Historic Preservation, National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/fost/history/hfs.htm
Carroll, Orville W. (1976). Historic Structure Report, in History, Historic Furnishing, and Historic Structure Reports, Office of Historic Preservation, National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/fost/history/hsr.htm
Archives
The archives at Fort Stanwix consist mainly of park related documents. These files document the operations and management of Fort Stanwix National Monument and the history of park services and projects. More specifically, the park’s archives include records about the development of the park, administrative history, cultural resources management, interpretive programs, and the events occurring at the park during the course of its operation.
The Finding Aid (pdf), provides further information about the archives at Fort Stanwix National Monument. It should be noted that historic documents, which include the 18th century Roseboom Ledgers and the Orderly Book of the 1st NY Regiment (pdf), are included in the museum collection.
An interesting history of the park can be found in:
Zenzen, Joan (2009) Reconstructing the Past, Partnering for the Future: An Administrative History of Fort Stanwix National Monument. http://npshistory.com/publications/fost/adhi.pdf
Ethnographic studies reveal the complicated cultural histories of the people associated with Fort Stanwix. The ethnographic study completed to date is:
Bilharz, Joy (2009). Oriskany: A Place of Great Sadness, A Mohawk Valley Ethnography. Northeast Regiona Ethnography Program, National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, Boston, MA.
Further ethnographic research regarding the treaties signed or negotiated at Fort Stanwix is currently underway and will be made available once published.
Other Park Documents and Reports
2016 Foundation Document: Fort Stanwix National Monument. National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, Washington D.C. (pdf)
Before the construction of the fort, the area served as a meeting and exchange location for several American Indian tribes. This tradition of traveling through the area along the waterways and meeting to trade was continued through the construction and occupation of Fort Stanwix, the establishment of the Erie Canal as a primary transportation avenue, and today with the use of the nearby New York State Thruway. The park partners with Rome Historical Society to help tell this complex and rich history.
For more information about these resources and the resources of connected sites visit our partners at:
