Hidden North Smithfield: A buried prehistoric site

NORTH SMITHFIELD – Buried beneath concrete and earth in what is now roadway and a quiet suburban neighborhood lies a site where evidence of prehistoric life was once discovered.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, North Smithfield’s Three Dog Site RI 151 is often represented with a photo of forested woodland by those who aim to document it on various sites online.

But the acre plus of land where archaeologists discovered tools and more pointing to its occupation more than 3,000 years ago was actually used to widen Farnum Pike in the early 1980s, and soon after, to build the development now known as Cedar Forest Road.

The nomination form for the spot’s historic status, filed in 1981, tells the story.

The site, which was owned at the time in part by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, with a portion also found on privately-owned land belonging to Benjamin Chester of Pawtucket, was discovered when contractors working to widen Route 104 dug up bone fragments. To ensure the land had not once been used for human burial grounds, work was halted and an archeological survey was commissioned.

Artifacts, including, “lithic tools and chipping debris,” were found in 52 of the excavated spots, notes a nomination form for the National Register, which documents sites across the country deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. The form was completed by Janet Soloman, a research supervisor for the Public Archaeology Laboratory.

Soloman pointed to evidence of, “prehistoric occupation,” noting artifacts found were estimated to be between 3,000 and 4,500 years old.

“A diagnostic quartz Squibnocket Triangle point fragment and the primary utilization of quartz indicate that the site dates from the Late Archaic period,” Soloman wrote. The discovery of finished tools within the 1.2-acre area, she added, indicated, “that tool manufacturing along with tool maintenance was an important site activity.”

A hearth or refuse pit with bone fragments was also uncovered, indicating the site was used for hunting and processing of animals for food, according to Soloman.

A listing for the Three Dog Site property on Farnum Pike was added to the National Register.

But although the space was deemed worthy of preservation on a national level, progress marched on in North Smithfield.

Since the bones discovered were determined to be from animals rather than humans, no laws required a change in plans, and RIDOT continued to widen the roadway, paving right over the discovery.

Town property records show that Chester sold his privately-owned portion of the site to Maple Oaks Construction Inc. in 1986, and soon after “Pine Crest Acres,” were built, with lots sold to residents of what is now Cedar Forest Road.

North Smithfield Heritage Association President Richard Keene includes the Three Dog Site in the organization’s tours of the historically significant Nipsachuk region, although there’s not much to see there today.

“It looks like it went from the highway into the development,” Keene said, in reference to maps included with the register form.

When the discovery was made in the early 1980s, Keene was working for the Primrose Fire Department, where he would later serve as chief.

“We didn’t know that any of this was going on,” he said. “I don’t think they wanted anyone to know.”

Keene notes he only found out about the site after he joined NSHA six or seven years ago.

“I happened to be looking for places in North Smithfield that were on the National Register and I came across the report,” he said.

Keene said that while not a lot of people are aware of the site’s history, they’re not shocked when he tells the story.

“They’re not surprised,” he said. “People are pretty cynical about government.”

While he’s unsure exactly where the site got it’s name, Keene noted it could because the bones of three dogs were discovered.

The form notes that, “the distribution of cultural materials was concentrated in two activity areas, and in low density scatters around these areas.”

There’s a chance, he said, that residents in the area could uncover 4,000-year-old artifacts right in their own front lawn.

“That was a place were natives gathered every year,” he said of the buried site. “People have been living here a long time.”

Our new “Hidden,” series aims to document unique and unknown stories and places in our northern Rhode Island communities. If you know of a topic or location worthy of a feature, contact [email protected].