Survey: No evidence park was mission site
Advocate disputes findings, nominates land for historic status
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

MONROE - An archaeological survey of the proposed high school site in Thompson Park has found no indication that the land was the location of the historic Bethel mission settlement.

The study, which awaits state Department of Environmental Protection approval, was requested by the state as part of the township's application to build the high school on 35 acres of the park in exchange for turning over 172 acres to be added to the park elsewhere.

Meanwhile, however, a nomination that the land be entered into the state and national historic registers may also threaten the progress of the high school project.

"I find it very interesting that they're rushing and scrambling to destroy a historic site, instead of trying to do the right thing," said Richard Walling, an advocate of saving the park.

On Monday, Walling submitted the documentation necessary for nominating the site, which some say is where the Leni-Lenape Bethel Mission Indian Settlement once stood, for the historic registers. The process of determining the site's eligibility for inclusion can take up to three years, and Walling believes that nothing on the project could move forward legally until the process is completed.

"If we are legally precluded from doing anything, we will abide by it, but I don't think that is going to be the case," said Monroe Township Assistant Attorney Peg Schaffer.

The settlement dates back to 1746 and was included on Preservation New Jersey's "10 Most Endangered Sites" list for 2006. According to the organization's Web site, the settlement was led by Presbyterian minister David Brainerd. It consisted of 200 people, a church and a school. The Lenape who lived there had converted, under Brainerd's guidance, to the Christian faith. In 1801, the settlement was broken up because of ill feelings toward the Lenape from white men during the violence of the Seven Years' War

Schaffer said she has yet to see any evidence of Walling having started the nomination process, but if the site is deemed of historic value, those involved with the project will work with state and federal officials to protect and preserve the area.

The township's experts, along with representatives of the Cranbury-based archaeological firm of Richard Grubb & Associates, who conducted the survey, have determined that the site does not qualify as historic, according to Schaffer.

"Certainly, [Walling] is making a lot of assumptions, none of which have been borne out by our experts," Schaffer said.

The archeological firm's survey included approximately 600 shovel test pits that were each one foot in diameter, as well as a metal detector survey and a geophysical survey. It also involved background and historical research and interviews.

Walling, who said he has been researching the area for five years, was interviewed two months ago by Grubb & Associates as part of their probe. He cited a map, produced and distributed by Middlesex County in 1953, along with United States Geological Survey (USGS) maps, which he said prove that the settlement was located on the proposed school site. According to Walling, the site's historic status is indisputable, and he plans to pursue its preservation in every way possible.

"There is no question, because all of the references state that Bethel was located at the headwaters of Wigwam Brook," Walling said. "Statements by public officials to the contrary may be official misconduct, and punitive damages will be sought."

In the environmental impact statement (EIS) that Monroe officials submitted to the DEP, Township Historian John Katerba argued that the mission was on land owned by Brainerd, where the CVS Pharmacy now stands at Perrineville Road and Forsgate Drive in Jamesburg, across the street from Thompson Park.

A January letter from the DEP's office of permit coordination and environmental review, however, refuted Katerba's claim.

"Based on review of earlier USGS maps and flown aerials, evidence for the headwaters of Wigwam Brook on the proposed school site is incontrovertible," Kenneth Koschek, supervising environmental specialist wrote in the letter to the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation.

At the Board of Education's April 25 meeting, Walling made a statement presenting his findings and intentions. Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie declined to comment on the matter, as did Business Administrator Wayne Holliday.

"They've had this information for three years, and they've deliberately chosen not to do anything to address it," Walling said.

In a letter to Holliday dated April 25, Walling warned that if any actions were taken "to change the status quo of Thompson Park, a restraining order will immediately be sought, and punitive damages requested."

Like Schaffer, Board President Kathy Kolupanowich said she has received no indication that the project will be stalled by Walling's actions.

"What the Board of Education has said from the very beginning is that until we get a stay or injunction by a court telling us that we need to stop the process, the Board of Education will continue to move forward in getting this high school built," Kolupanowich said.

The plans for the proposed new high school project have been a source of controversy since their inception in 2003. Local citizens group Park Savers and other environmental groups have opposed the township's slated use of the land in Thompson Park for the project with ongoing litigation.

According to Schaffer, township officials have done everything that was asked of them by the DEP in regard to the site, and they are scheduled to meet with DEP officials within several days. From there, if the DEP determines that enough information has been gathered on the site, a final report will be issued to determine the further course of action.

"We are following regulations," Schaffer said. "We hope to get beyond all these efforts to stand in the way of getting the high school built."