Archaeology Day at Fort Laurens will be held this year from 10am -5pm on Saturday October 5. Fort Laurens is the site of Ohios only Revolutionary War fort, originally constructed in 1778 when Ohio was still very much a howling wilderness frontier. It was abandoned about a year later when war aims changed and as a result many of its secrets were lost to the ages, or so it would seem.

Over the past 30 years or so several archaeological and other research projects have been conducted at Fort Laurens and learning about the fort and the soldiers stationed there continues to the present day, even nearly two and a half centuries later. Archaeology Day events will include presentations on the history and archaeology at Fort Laurens including tours of the grounds highlighting where important events and archaeological projects took place. There will also be a mock archaeology dig for the kids and demonstrations of flint knapping or the art of taking a raw piece of flint and crafting it into a spear point. If you have artifacts that you have found over the years or a box with grandpas old arrowhead collection from the farm bring it along. There will be an archaeologist on site to help you identify them and determine how old they might be. There may even be a Revolutionary War soldier or two on hand to tell you what it was really like in the olden days.

Fort Laurens is located off I-77 at exit 93 between Canton and New Philadelphia and just south of Bolivar, Ohio. Other nearby attractions includes Zoar Village and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Fort Laurens site admission is $4 for adults and $3 for children.

For further information call 330-874-2059 or 800-283-8914. Email [email protected] or visit the Fort Laurens web site www.fortlaurens.com

Bill Pickard