“We were well aware of the subject maps, and came across them subsequent to the issuance of the Phase I report. But its former existence does not change the company’s position that subsequent uses of the site have destroyed any significant evidence of the past.

Terry McKenna, project executive for Keating Consulting – SugarHouse’s general contractor – said the company did not know about the fort when the archaeological survey began. If they are going down to the foundations of the houses, and into the privies, do they need to go further underneath?” “Where the fort was built, houses were (later) built on top. “I think they need to explain that,” said Ken Milano, a local historian who specializes in Kensington and Fishtown. Their first phase report talks about an old residential neighborhood and industries, but does not mention the fort, a barracks or any Revolutionary skirmishes. They have galvanized in an effort to gather facts and maps to persuade the state, casino executives and the public that an extensive search of the dirt is needed to determine where the fort sat exactly, as well as to uncover anything that has been left behind.Īrchaeologists hired by SugarHouse have already been digging – to meet a federal requirement for a needed Clean Water Act permit. Historians and history buffs say the Delaware River site offers a rare chance to learn more about the War of Independence and the Queen’s Rangers who fought to keep Philadelphia under crown control. The British troops who occupied Philadelphia during the Revolution defended a fort that appears to have sat where SugarHouse plans to build its casino.

Revolution sugarhouse casino