Nat E. Booth restoring artifacts. SoutholdLOCAL photo courtesy of Robin Radich Klotz.
A plan to spotlight some of the Southold Indian Museum’s rare artifacts during the town’s 375th anniversary anniversary celebration has at least one resident seeing red.
Robin Radich Klotz said her step great-grandfather, Nat. E. Booth, was founder of the Indian Museum. When she read that an idea was pitched at a recent town board work session to display some of the museum’s artifacts around town, alarm bells went off.
“I am gravely concerned about the safety of these artifacts,” she said in an email to SoutholdLOCAL. “Nat E Booth put most of his life into excavating and restoring these items. For the town to haphazardly display them throughout town only can lead to disaster, theft and a loss of this culture all together.”
According to an article printed in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on August 29, 1925, the original Long Island Chapter of the New York State Archeological was formed on August 19 of that year. Its mission was “to promote study and intelligent research covering the artifacts, rites, customs, beliefs and other phases of the life of the original aboriginal occupants of New York State up to and including the whites; to preserve the evidences of those people; and to cooperate with the State Association in effecting a wider knowledge of New York State Archeology and to help secure legislation for needed ends.”
The plan was presented to the town board at a recent work session as a way of drawing tourists to the area and showcasing Southold’s rich Native American history.
“I hardly call displaying these artifacts throughout town without supervision preserving the evidence,” Klotz said. “I don’t believe the board understands the importance of these items. Nat Booth himself restored nine Indian pots, of which there are only 26 in the northeast of its kind. Nat would be rolling in his grave, I’m sure, along with the rest of the charter members.”
Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell, who was not at the work session, said principal planner Mark Terry, who helped to present the proposal, sits on the Indian Museum’s board of trustees and was not speaking for the town.
“We were not asked to, nor did we offer, to organize or participate in a traveling display of artifacts from the museum. The conversation was with representatives to ask for town support of its general mission and objectives. A conversation about the town running such a display never took place. It concerns me that someone who happens to work for the town and was part of the discussion may have given people the wrong idea about the town’s role. I will address that issue internally.”
Southold Town Councilman Bob Ghosio, who is the town’s liaison to the 375th anniversary celebration committee, said he doesn’t think it’s “fair to say the town is haphazardly displaying the artifacts. The museum came before the board to tell us they planned to do public exhibits in an effort to bring attention to the museum and thought that it was a good tie-in to the town’s 375th anniversary celebration. They asked if the town would be willing to allow them to do displays in various town facilities such as the Downs Farm Preserve. The decision to display the artifacts is solely at the discretion of the museum directors and I wouldn’t think that they would deliberately put these important items from the past in harm’s way.”
The Museum, located at 1080 Main Bayview Road, was the subject of a discussion led by Terry, who hopes to create a digital inventory of the rare artifacts.
Terry said he hopes to commence the project in tandem with the town’s 375th anniversary celebration this year.
In addition, Terry said he’d like utilize Suffolk County’s hotel tax funding mechanism to help promote the Museum as a destination for tourists, showcasing the establishment’s historical significance.
One idea, he added, was to host off-site artifact exhibits at places including the Downs Farm Preserve in Cutchogue, with the hope of highlighting the Museum and generating additional visitors to the facility.
Currently, the Museum is only open one day a week, on Sundays from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. and in the summer, both Saturdays and Sundays, during the same hours.
Grant funding, Terry said, would be sought through Suffolk County’s Community Arts & Film Cultural Arts Competitive Grant Program, and the East End Arts Council.
Joe Townsend, who sits on the Indian Museum’s board of directors, said the museum was originally formed by a group of local, amateur archeologists, including farmers, residents, and longtime Southold families, including the Cases and the Booths.
Having acquired close to 100,000 artifacts, the Suffolk County chapter of the New York State Archeology Association built the current museum on Main Bayview in 1962, Townsend said. Over the years, the board has become less active, he said; the goal is to revitalize and find ways to improve the facility and showcase its vast collection to the public
“We have one of the finest collections of Algonquin pots,” as well as earlier pots formed from archaic soapstone, he said.
During the upcoming year, Townsend said the goal is to build displays and place them in commercial and public spots to promote the Museum and its collection.
A local archeologist, Townsend said, will categorize the collections and a local graphic artist will create the actual display boxes, perhaps with donation opportunities in the commercial settings.
Families from each hamlet donated artifacts, Townsend said; an “amazing” collection of pennies also exists.
Townsend added that another contributor, Roy Latham, has donated artifacts that are currently exhibited in some of the finest museums in the country, including the Smithsonian. “We are fortunate enough to have the best of his collection,” he said.
The request would currently be for a $5,000 grant but down the line, the hope would be to seek even more funding, Townsend said.
Local wineries are also interested in displays, he said; a future art exhibit could be created in conjunction with local galleries, he said.
Jim McMahon said Downs Farm Preserve would have programs in conjunction with the Museum, with an eye toward sparking interest in the facility and excitement over arrowheads, points, and pottery that comprise a rich piece of Southold’s history.
Although schoolchildren used to frequent the facility in past years, budget cuts have limited those visits; a summer camp will be held this summer.
Of the plans, Councilwoman Jill Doherty said, “It sounds like a perfect fit.”
“I don’t see the downside,” said Justice Louisa Evans.
The board said they would support the grant application.
