Skull Found At Site Fire District Wants For Station

Archeology investigators found a skull last week on the parcel of land at Post Road and Cedar Avenue wanted by the East Greenwich Fire District for a new fire station.

It is presumed to be Native American remains.

The Fire District is looking at the parcel of land to build a replacement of Station 1, the Main Street fire station. The Fire District presented the reasoning behind building a new station at a special meeting last Feb. 18 at New England Tech. The main reason to move the station is because most EGFD calls are coming from beyond the downtown area and the only other fire station is located across town on Frenchtown Road.

The state has put a $360,000 price tag on the property.

The company undertaking the investigation – Public Archeology Laboratory, a non profit cultural resource management firm – spent the first few days of April on the site conducting what's called a Phase Two study after finding enough hints of Native American remains during a Phase One study conducted earlier this year.

“We tend to go about 3 feet but it does vary,” said project archeologist Erin Flynn at the site April 2. “We try to reach sterile soil. Here we are having some fill layers – some soil that’s been brought in on top of some intact soil.”

She and two others were digging deep holes then taking the dirt from the holes and sifting it to see what they found. The skull was found on Thursday.

"Our study parcel is currently owned by the state and field investigations are being coordinated through RIDOT and in consultation with the Narragansett Indian Tribal Historic Preservation Office," said Jay Wallin, PAL's lead investigator, in an email. He said the full report, which could take weeks, will outline the findings.

"During the Level Two search, whoever was digging found the top of a skull and stopped digging," said Deputy Fire Chief Russell McGillivray. The Rhode Island State Police confirmed remains were found – by law they had to be notified. "Nobody's worried that it's Jimmy Hoffa or anything. Now, we've got a month to wait for the final report."

McGillvray said the news was not unexpected. 

"We always knew there was going to be something there. Even the state said that across the street, at Trafalgar East, there's already a recognized [burial] site," he said. If the remains are confined to just a portion of the parcel, construction of a new fire station could still take place, he said.

Phase Three would involve recovery of any remains, but that's only if the remains are located where construction would take place, he said. McGillvray said he was hopeful because the northern part of the parcel used to be Cedar Avenue before it was relocated to align with Forge Road. He thought it was unlikely there would be remains under that portion – although it's doubtful any study was been done at the time the old road was built.

The Fire District commissioners plan to use money from the impact fee account to buy the parcel of land if it proves to be buildable. But legislation before the General Assembly calling for the town to take over the Fire District calls any future action into question. The General Assembly is expected to vote on the bill within the next several weeks.