Wickers Creek Archaeological Site

While the written histories of lower New York usually start with Henry Hudson’s 1609 exploration of the Hudson river, it is believed that the first people to use and settle in the Hudson Valley were Paleoindian peoples around 11,000 years ago (an era that historians and archaeologists call the Archaic Period). During the Woodland Period, ca. 1000 CE to the start of the European colonization of the Americas, much of lower Westchester County along the Hudson River was settled by a Native American tribe called the Wiechquaeskeck (multiple spellings), an Algonquin speaking people related to the Lenape (Delaware) tribes. The central settlement of this people, probably also called Wiechquaeskeck or Wysquaqua (the native name for what we now call Wickers Creek), is believed to be within the present-day Village of Dobbs Ferry between the Saw Mill River and the Hudson River. The name “Wickers Creek” is believed to be a linguistic corruption of Wequeskeck, phonetically translated through Dutch and English since no understanding of their language existed in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The approval for construction of The Landing condominium development in 1987, came with a condition from the Village of Dobbs Ferry that environmental and archaeological impact reports were submitted and signed off on by state and independent officials prior to the start of construction. Present day Wickers Creek runs from the Saw Mill River to the Hudson and the community that has built up around it have long known of the archaeological significance of the area. Many locals and avocational archaeologists have recovered artifacts from the area in over the years and its archaeological and cultural importance has long been defended by residents, Native American descendants, and community activist groups. Between May of 1987 and May of 1988, archaeological teams conducted surveys and excavations to determine the archaeological importance of the site. What they found was a complex site showing native use of the area as well as the 19th-20th century remains of an estate called “Agawam,” previously owned by Edwin Gould, son of financier and railroad magnate Jay Gould who once owned Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown.

Throughout the archaeological proceedings at the site over 14,000 stone tool artifacts were recovered. This includes projectile points (arrowheads), hammerstones, drills, and a large assemblage of debitage, or the discarded material produced in the construction of stone tools. There were also several sherds of native pottery found at the site, including a never-before encountered style of native pottery now called Wickers Creek Cordmarked. One of the main features of the site was a shell midden, or refuse pile comprised of discarded oyster shells, that was estimated to be 10 meters by 30 meters in size and seems to date to the Woodland Period. From other parts of the site a large collection of 19th century artifacts were recovered, including pottery sherds, railroad spikes, and a fractured but nearly complete clay pipe.

 The site is now adjacent to a well-kept beach overlooking the Hudson River, accessible to the public. It is maintained and secured by The Landing condominium community. The Dobbs Ferry Historical Society has a small collection of artifacts and documents on the site and the village maintains a permanent exhibit of the excavation and artifacts in the Village Hall at 112 Main Street.

Buckland, John Alexander. 2009. The First Traders on Wall Street: the Wiechquaeskeck Indians of Southwestern Connecticut in the Seventeenth Century. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books.

Fiedel, Stuart, and Geary Zearn. 1987. Rep. The Stage LA and 1B and Stage 2 Archaeological Survey of the Mt Mercy Property, Dobbs Ferry, Westchester County, New York. Verplanck, NY: Cultural Resource Surveys Inc.

Kaeser, Edward J. 1996. “The Mount Mercy Site, Dobbs Ferry, Westchester County, New York.” Journal of the New York Archaeological Association, no. 111: 1–20.

Mead, Elizabeth D, A Michael Pappalardo, and Diane Dallal. 2011. Rep. Phase 1 Archaeological Investigation: Mercy College Master Plan. New York, NY: AKRF Inc.

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Pritchard, Evan T. 2010. Henry Hudson and the Algonquins of New York: Native American Prophecy and European Discovery, 1609. Tulsa, OK: Council Oak.

Roberts, William L. 1988. Rep. The Wicker's Creek Prehistoric Site at Dobbs Ferry, Westchester County, New York. New York, NY: Greenhouse Consultants Inc.