Avery Memorial Association receives grant to protect centuries old artifacts
Groton – The Avery Memorial Association has been awarded a grant to preserve artifacts in the Ebenezer Avery House, which was built around 1750 and used as a makeshift hospital for soldiers wounded during the Battle of Groton Heights on Sept. 6, 1781.
Restoration work was done last summer on the house, which is open to the public from noon until 4 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.
The grant of $2,453, sponsored by the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, will be used to buy shades that block harmful rays of sunlight that can damage items over time.
The shades would be put away when the house is open for tours, then put back to protect the artifacts when the house is closed.
Last July, the Avery Memorial Association hosted an event to clean and restore hundreds of artifacts found at the archaeological site of the burned down Avery house built in 1656 — at what's now the corner of Poquonnock Road and Long Hill Road — which may be put on display at the Ebenezer Avery House.
The digs over eight years unearthed 500 and 1,000 pieces — some shards of glass or stone — but others clearly recognizable, including a copper penny dated 1829, a metal toy pistol, a pocket knife, part of a porcelain doll and a pitchfork. The house belonged to one of the founding families of Groton and was passed down through generations.
James Denison Avery, a Groton town clerk for 20 years in the 1800s, lived there with his wife and two children. The house burned down in 1894.
Twitter: @DStraszheim
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