Flint Mine Hill Archeological District

In 1924, Dr. Arthur Parker, a renowned New York archaeologist, excavated the Paleoindian site called Flint Mine Hill in the town of Coxsackie, New York. This is believed to be the largest and the most important site of its kind in all of New York. Thousands of flint points and other artifacts have been excavated and catalogued, many originating from the first peoples of the area. The flint found in this mine was a vital resource to the native people of the northeast and has been since the early hunter gatherers discovered it over 10,000 years ago. The site was continuously utilized by local inhabitants up to and including the Mohicans who were the last indigenous group to live on the land that is now Greene County. The property of Flint Mine Hill was purchased and later donated by Flint Mine Solar, LLC to The Archaeological Conservancy in 2021. Since the conservancy took ownership of this incredible place, they have been committed to maintaining Flint Mine Hill's historical integrity for future research.

   Flint Mine Hill was discovered in 1900 by William Beauchamp and proved to be an incredible find for archeologists. This site was used for thousands of years by Native Americans and many of the tools they made were found here in quarries or pits. It remained untouched until Arthur Parker excavated it in 1924 and has since been visited by many archaeologists to dig and discover prehistoric artifacts which number in the thousands. 

Flint Mine hill was first documented as early as 1900 by William Beauchamp. It was not excavated until 1924 by New York Archaeologist Arthur Parker. The site is 900 feet wide and at least a mile long. Archaeologists found three large quarries and hundreds of flint pits containing hammer stones, unfinished blades and arrow points. On the top of the hill a 6 foot deep and 60 foot long trench was made where broken or unfinished blades and arrowheads were found. Many of the artifacts excavated from this site are currently displayed in several different museums in the area, including the NYS museum located in Albany NY. Boulders were discovered which appear to be set up as workshops for making new tools or cooking. The materials from this site have also been found in other surrounding areas, suggesting that some Natives were trading or taking the materials with them to other places, making it a very important Native American locality. Natural resources such as the wild berries and springs discovered by Parker was another natural resource that made Flint Mine Hill attractive to the Native Americans. 

The Flint Mine Hill quarry site is well known as a paleoindian site. This is defined as an excavation site of Native American artifacts, in this case flint points, dating back to the first paleoindians in this area. Paleoindians are a specific group of hunter gatherers who first came to the Americas at the end of the last ice age around 12 thousand years ago. They created many different types of flint points that they used for weapons such as thrusting spears and the Atlatl which was a type of lever used to launch spears in an arrow like fashion. Many of the points found at this site are made at different levels of refinery, suggesting that this site has been used by indigenous people for thousands of years including the Mohicans. These people from across time developed more advanced shapes and edges as well as improved practices to shape them. This is evidence of use of this site over the course of a long period of time.

The archaic hunters and gatherers from between 6 and 10 thousand BP came in groups from all over the northeast. Some proof of this movement is found in the artifacts left behind that are made from non-local materials such as jasper and quartz. There have also been some of the flint points from this site found as far as Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Migration patterns of these people also show returning back to these important sights as well so they might have settled in the area for a while whilst quarrying the Deepkill and Normanskill Shale and Chert found at this site. Existing large stone artifacts left behind show some signs of movement from their original position. These stones might’ve served as a type of workshop for cracking rocks or could be possible areas used as campsites too. At one of the Middle Archaic sites used between 6 and 8 thousand BP there are 3 adjacent artifact depositions that may suggest 3 households or family-like groups known as bands occupied this area at one point. Over time more developed groups like the Mohicans grew near the area and this quarry was more than likely an important resource for them. It makes sense the quarries would’ve made local people like the Mohicans more attracted to this area than other parts for settlement due to its resource being a vital necessity for these thousands of years. The flint mine hill is now an archaeological and a historical site. Obtaining the site was hard, it was suggested that flint mine Hill should be protected by the New York State government, but the bill was never signed and stayed in private ownership until 1960. The site became listed on the National Register of historical places in 1978. About 200 acres have been studied around the area. Now some of the land has been donated to the building of solar farms. The Flint Mine Solar Project planned to acquire 1,700 acres of land in the valley to power almost 21 thousand homes. The business running this operation is called Flint Mine Solar. They donated property containing parts of the site from its owner. The site will remain a historical site and continue to be maintained and protected against all future development.” “The preservation of the site will contribute to the public knowledge of the site's significance.” ²

The significance of the flint mine hill site has so much value. The amount of knowledge archaeologists have gathered from this site is more than most archaeological sites on the east coast. The legacy of the historic site has been shown to have artifacts ranging from the end of the ice age to the Mohican era. Although there have been many changes to the site, preservation of flint mine hill will contribute to public knowledge. Solar farms have been placed around the area of the site. But the site will continue to be researched, maintained and protected by any future development.

1.Curtin, Edward V.. Early to Middle Archaic: Glimpses of Early Ways of Life in Greene County, New York, Fieldnotes. April 4th 2013. Accessed March 23rd 2022. http://curtinarchaeology.com/blog/2013/04/04/early-to-middle-archaic-glimpses-of-early-ways-of-life-in-greene-county-new-york/.

2.Parker, Arthur C.. The Great Algonkin Flint Mines. The Times Presses, vol. 4, no. 4. Published 1925.