2021 Fort Halifax Rediscovery Project -  Juniata College

Dr. Jonathan Burns, Director of the Cultural Resource Institute at Juniata College, will lead a team of 15 archaeology students who will endeavor to locate the site of one of Pennsylvania's frontier fort's, Fort Halifax.  It is believed that this historic fort is located within the borders of Fort Halifax Park.  This exciting field school experience will begin June 13, 2021 and end on June 28, 2021.  

For more information about the Fort Halifax Rediscovery Project: 
                    Announcement               Synopsis
              Juniata College Cultural Resource Institute

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​Friends of Fort Halifax, Inc. has been awarded three grants toward funding for the Juniata College Cultural Resources Institute "2021 Fort Halifax Rediscovery Project" field school scheduled for this summer.  FoFHP, Inc. would like to to thank these three organizations, and everyone so far for their support of this important historical endeavor to find Fort Halifax!
        Funding for this project is almost complete!

• The National Trust for Historic Preservation — Louis J. Appel Jr. Preservation Fund - $10,000.00 grant
• The Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission Keystone Historic Preservation - $17,746.00 grant
• The Stabler Foundation, a local charitable foundation providing grants to Non-Profit organizations and institutions located or providing their primary services in central and/or eastern Pennsylvania - $3,500.00 grant
  Additional Funding Initiatives:
• An anonymous benefactor has stepped up offering to match collective donations of up to $2,100 to secure the last $2,200 FoFHP, Inc. needs.  FoFHP is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. If you would like to support this funding effort to find Fort Halifax you can donate via your tax deductible check made payable to "FoFHP".  Please mail your check to:
  FRIENDS of FORT HALIFAX PARK, INC.
  Attention: Discovery of Fort Halifax Project
  PO Box 565
  Halifax, PA 17032​​ ​
• Flyrod Raffle - Get your ticket soon!  A handmade, beautifully crafter fly rod by rod maker Joe Baker will be raffled off for benefit of the Fort Halifax Rediscovery Project.  Representative Sue Helm will pick the winning raffle ticket on May 1, 2021!  Tickets are limited to 100 at $20.00 each.  See flyer for more information! 

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Latest News From FoFHP March Newsletter
The Stockade

"Friends of Fort Halifax Park, Inc. is pleased and very excited to welcome the JUNIATA COLLEGE CULTURAL RESOURCES INSTITUTE - FORT HALIFAX REDISCOVERY PROJECT to Fort Halifax Park this summer. Barring complications related to the pandemic, the school will take place at the park for 15 consecutive days beginning on Sunday, June13 and running to Monday, June 28. The archaeology work will be supervised by Dr. Jonathon Burns, from Juniata College. Dr. Burns, who is held in very high regard in the archaeology world also supervised the excavations at Colonial Fort Shirley, Fort Littleton, and Fort Ligonier and at the Stroud Mansion.
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Cooperating in the project will be a team of undergraduate and graduate archaeology field school students and facilitators with volunteers from the US veterans public service organization, Team Rubicon. The American Veterans Archaeology Recovery Organization may also be on hand.  This approach of involving veterans in the archaeology of military sites was pioneered in the UK and has been successfully implemented at Fort Ligonier in Pennsylvania and at Saratoga Battlefield in New York, as well as by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the Veterans Curation Program.

The archaeology team will be sleeping in tents and taking their meals on the porch of Yeager House. The school administrative office will be set up in the house. FoFHP has assembled a FOOD COMMITTEE to plan for breakfasts and dinners for the approximately 20 participants in the school. Lunch will be on their own. We are looking for sponsors - which could be individuals, groups, clubs, local businesses or restaurants - to provide dinners for the 20+/- school participants. If you would like to sponsor a meal, please call Norma (717-896-8510) and leave your name and number, speak to any FoFHP board member, leave a Facebook  message via our Facebook page, or email us friendsofforthalifax@gmail.com.   At present we have on the schedule volunteers for 4 individual dinners, an individual breakfast, and a group for 7 breakfasts.  Meal pick-ups can be arranged, if needed.  Thank you in advance for your generosity and/or consideration of assistance.
 
Fort Halifax Park will continue to be open to the public throughout the term of the archaeology school. Hiking, fishing, kayaking, and picnicking areas will still be available, although some sections will be cordoned off to the public as appropriate.
 
THANK YOU in advance for your assistance as we give a nice FRIENDLY HALIFAX WELCOME to the people who will be working hard to find FORT HALIFAX!"

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