Unearthing Answers to Battle of Ridgefield Mysteries

On Thursday, April 24, 2025 from 6:30 to 7:30pm Dr. David Naumec, an archaeologist and historian with Heritage Consultants, will give an illustrated presentation about the Ridgefield Historical Society’s Battle of Ridgefield Archaeology Project at St. Stephen’s Church North Hall at 353 Main Street in Ridgefield, CT.

Admission is free, thanks to an American Battlefield Protection Program Grant, but seating is limited, and registration is required. The presentation will also be livestreamed, with the link provided upon registration. Please register online here.

In 2021, with the support of a generous National Park Service (NPS) American Battlefield Protection Program Grant, the Ridgefield Historical Society enlisted Heritage Consultants to research the boundaries of the Battle of Ridgefield, and to recommend goals for future archaeological work. Building on that survey, another NPS grant has been secured by the Ridgefield Historical Society to solve the mysteries highlighted by the first investigation. Over the next two years, hi-tech archaeological methods will be applied throughout Ridgefield to unearth answers to the questions that still puzzle local historians. This lively presentation will describe key findings and unveil the goals of the upcoming second survey. It will also explain the fascinating technology that Heritage Consultants will be using – and how you can participate in this unique effort to reveal our history! Ridgefield property owners interested in participating in this exciting archaeological study are encouraged to attend this presentation to meet Dr. Naumec, learn more about the process, and sign up to participate.

Dr. David Naumec is a Historian, Archaeologist, and Museum Consultant. He is an Archaeology Field Director for Heritage Consultants and is Historic New England’s Revolution 250 Research Scholar, studying New England’s indigenous and African American Revolutionary War veterans. Dr. Naumec is a graduate of UConn, holds a Master’s Degree in History & Museum Studies from Tufts University, and a PhD in Race & Ethnicity in Early America through the Civil War from Clark University. His interests include Native American history, colonial North America, the history of Connecticut, and Battlefield Archaeology. Dr. Naumec was a member of the Heritage Consultants team that studied the Battle of Ridgefield from 2021-2022, and was a consultant for historian Keith Marshall Jones’s latest book “The Battle of Ridgefield: Benedict Arnold, the Patriot Militia and the Surprising 1777 Battle that Galvanized Revolutionary Connecticut.”

For more information contact the Ridgefield Historical Society at: info@ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org or 203-438-5821, or view ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org.

BATTLE OF RIDGEFIELD WALKING TOURS - Sat. April 26, 2025. Read more and purchase walking tour tickets here.