TerraSearch recently assisted the Connecticut Office of State Archaeology (OSA) and Hebron Historian John Baron in attempting to locate the original location of the John and Mary Marks Peters House in Hebron, Connecticut. The house was built by the Peters in the early 18th century, and was home of their children, including the Reverend Samuel Peters, and later the home of Governor John S. Peters. Cesar Peters, an enslaved child who was purchased by Mary Marks Peters around 1759, lived at the house from age 9 until he was sold to the Reverend Samuel Peters in 1770 when he married a woman named Lowis without Mary's permission. Cesar and his family were later manumitted by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1789. He and Lowis petitioned the Assembly following a lengthy ordeal involving the family's abduction and attempted sale to a South Carolina Planter. Their sale was organized by John and Nathaniel Mann, who were managing Reverend Peters' estate while he was living in England. The Hebron community actively supported the family's rescue and eventual emancipation and the Peters family's story is an important part of Hebron's history. For additional background information about the Peters family, including a fuller accounting of Cesar's and his descendants lives, please see the links from the Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut, Connecticut History, or the Hebron Historical Society.
The GPR survey was successful in locating three interesting rectangular subsurface features within the location predicted by John Baron. The largest of these anomalies is undoubtedly the house, as it contains a deep cellar hole and is approximately 15 meters (~50 feet) by 6 meters (~20 feet), a substantial dwelling that accords with historical records. Other features may represent a collapsed outbuilding, potentially a blacksmith's shop, and another, much smaller, outbuilding, potentially a privy or outhouse.
