Lecture Looks at 1604 St. Croix Settlement

Archaeologist Pendery discussed the newest information on the archaeological excavations of the first French settlement in the New World in 1604. Samuel de Champlain was one of 79 men who chose to set up a trading post on St. Croix Island at the mouth of the St. Croix River, today located at the boundary of Maine and Canada. Almost half of the men died the first winter due in part to the harsh climate. The following year the trading post was moved to the Canadian shore at Port Royal.

The excavations on St. Croix Island, conducted jointly by the U.S. National Park Service and Canadian scholars, have found the sparse but intriguing remains of this first French settlement.

More news about Ongoing Events

Investing In A Region's Future

A small and unobtrusive research institute at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus thinks it has found the remains of the Bonhomme Richard, the ship commanded by Continental Navy captain John Paul Jones off England in 1779.

The project was mentioned briefly during a symposium on maritime history earlier this week at the Avery Point campus. Its significance calls for some additional elaboration and attention in this region, which continues to grapple with the future. The project, organized and directed by the nonprofit Ocean Technology Foundation, fits perfectly into a role for the region as a center for maritime research and exploration linking the past and future.

The Institute undertook the project three years ago, joining historical data and state-of-the-art undersea technology. This included the development of a computer model of the ship showing how the damaged hull would have drifted. The ship sank in a celebrated battle off the northeast coast of England. Jones and his crew abandoned the heavily damaged ship and fought their way aboard and captured the HMS Serapis in the storied battle, in which Jones uttered the famous line, ?I have not yet begun to fight.?

This short article : Marine archaeology is a specialized mission