Revisiting T. Apoleon Cheney's Survey of the Earthworks
Reading T. Apoleon Cheney's Ancient Monuments in Western New York, published in 1859, it was astonishing to find how many of these monuments stood in our own local area — and that so few people have ever heard of them.
The Smithsonian Institution had undertaken a study of the ancient earthworks, mounds, and burial grounds of the region, documenting as many as could be reached before the plough and the spade obliterated them. Even before the first settlers arrived, observers such as the Rev. Samuel Kirkland described repeatedly the ruins of ancient forts and fortified towns in Western New York, giving evidence, as he put it, of more art and ingenuity than was expected.
These accounts raise the questions this book pursues: who built these works, what remains of them after two centuries, and were the locations recorded by Cheney and others accurate?
A necessary word of caution: with very few exceptions, the locations discussed here lie on private property. Anyone wishing to visit them must obtain permission first, and all of these sites should be treated as sacred ground.