Battlefield Advisory Board dissolves after finishing decade-long study

MONTAGUE — After more than a decade of work spent on discovering the full story of the King Philips War and Great Falls Massacre in Turners Falls and surrounding area, the Battlefield Grant Advisory Board has disbanded as the final grant from the National Park Service runs out.

The board, which started meeting in 2014, was initially comprised of members representing the towns of Montague, Gill, Greenfield, Deerfield and Northfield, alongside tribal representatives from the Chaubunagungamaug Band of Nipmuck Indians, the Elnu Abenaki, the Narragansett Indian Tribe, the Aquinnah Wampanoag and the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe of Mohican Indians.

After 11 years of monthly meetings, the nine-member board formally disbanded on Wednesday, Nov. 5, as the final 2023 American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Site Identification and Documentation grant comes to a close.

“It has been really important to have all this support. I really thank you,” Battlefield Advisory Board Project Coordinator David Brule said during Wednesday’s meeting, after thanking the various stakeholders for their work and attention on this historical undertaking. “We all thank you for having been here all those times, and all over the first Wednesday of every month since 2014, except for a break in COVID-19.”

This endeavor to contextualize the history of the King Philips War in the Connecticut River Valley has been funded over the last 11 years in three cycles by the National Park Service as part of the ABPP. Work got underway with the establishment of the advisory board in 2014, with efforts to start the study dating back to 2012.

The research was done to understand the extent of the Great Falls Massacre, which occurred on May 19, 1676, nearly 350 years ago. This massacre is considered to be the major turning point of King Philip’s War, when 300 women, children and elders were killed during a surprise pre-dawn attack led by Capt. William Turner.

While the history of the massacre was largely told by the English, Native perspectives of that day, and the subsequent battle between English and Native forces, have been a focal point for this effort to tell the whole story centuries later. Archaeological surveys have been completed in Montague, Gill, and Greenfield, with surveys in Greenfield finding large clusters of musket balls and personal effects in 2024 near Meridian Street, Colorado Avenue, Colrain Road and Nash’s Mill Road.

A 406-page final technical report by Kevin McBride, David Naumec, William Keegan, and David George of Heritage Consultants LLC completed in September includes information from previously completed research and contains maps, pictures, an inventory of artifacts and other relevant information. This report was funded with the ABPP Site Identification and Documentation grant.

Notably, this final report does not contain statements by representatives of the tribes impacted by the massacre from a previous 2016 technical report that the board oversaw, so an addendum to include these essays as a separate booklet will be developed and distributed to accompany physical copies of the final report, Brule said.

“I think you’ve created a context for a cross-cultural, open dialog and informed by science, answering the question, ‘What happened here?’ from many perspectives,” Andrew Grant said to the board about its work from his perspective as an involved community member. “It’s been a profound act of diplomacy and care over time.”

In his remarks on the work by the board, Northfield member and former president of the Nolumbeka Project Joe Graveline commended the town of Montague for maintaining its commitment to healing and reconciliation, as set forth by the 2004 reconciliation ceremony during which the town and members of the Narragansett Tribe formally recognized the conflict.

“They have honored to the letter their commitment to open up and move forward with a healing dialog,” Graveline said.

The work continues

Although this formal version of the board has dissolved, active members and interested community members have shared their dedication to continuing the work through an ad hoc committee.

Before the final meeting, Brule confirmed with Montague Town Administrator Walter Ramsey that the meeting space at Montague Town Hall would be available to the ad hoc committee if they wish to use the space moving forward.

Some of the continuing efforts by the former board include the ongoing signage project in Turners Falls to educate on the Great Falls Massacre. The signs, designed by Indigenous artists, could potentially be installed before the end of the year, but a date has not been set.

The three signs were showcased at the Wednesday meeting, and were developed with the help of a FirstLight Hydro Generating Co. FirstLight Sustains Grant for $5,000.

Greenfield Chief of Staff and Choctaw Nation Citizen Erin Anhalt has offered her assistance with Greenfield Historical Commission Vice Chair Tim Blagg to help expand the ongoing Indigenous signage project in Turners Falls into Greenfield. Signage in Gill also has been a goal, with Lynn Tomb of Gill stepping up to volunteer her time and sharing her idea for a Great Falls Discovery Center exhibit showcasing the findings of the study.

Graveline said the Northfield Historical Commission is interested in expanding the archaeological research to Northfield, where the first Connecticut River Valley battle of the King Philips War took place in 1675. Since Graveline and his neighbors own property where musket balls have been discovered, this access provides a “rare opportunity” to research this land as the makeup of the landscape changes. The ad hoc committee would be able to offer assistance to the Northfield Historical Commission for such an endeavor.

“So we’ve got three projects you just outlined,” Blagg said in summarizing the brainstorming of ideas for continued work.

To see these ideas through, the former advisory board has set a date to meet on Jan. 7, 2026, to continue their existing projects and continue planning for the 350th anniversary of the Great Falls Massacre in May 2026. Brule suggested a meeting for December of the ad hoc committee, but January was decided for member availability.

“Would you like a break, David?” Kit Carpenter, former advisory board Gill representative teased.

“Well, this is just what I do,” Brule replied.