Town Meeting member wants Saugus to better utilize historical background

SAUGUS – Town Meeting member Timothy Hawkes thinks the town is missing a big opportunity and possibly some history and would like to do something about it.Hawkes asked the Board of Selectmen last week to support his bid and a recommendation from the state’s Historical Commission to implement a town-wide archaeological reconnaissance survey.Hawkes said he believes given the town’s geological terrain, it has a high potential for discovery of both prehistoric and historic archaeological finds. And he believes these finds could lure economic growth by way of tourist.The request is at least in part a reaction to an incident that took place when Vinegar Hill was first being developed. Hawkes contends an historic site containing ancient cultural resources “was deliberately destroyed by the developer of Vinegar Hill.”Back in the late 90’s state officials discovered four archeological sites on the Vinegar Hill property, where Kevin and Joseph Procopio planned to build 58 cluster-zoned homes. Two sites, Swamp Hollow and Treehouse Terrace were singled out. Interest grew in the sites when it was determined there was a link made to quarrying by Saugus historic Native Americans and tool making.Hawkes argues that Procopio could have been stopped from developing the site at all and an archeological recovery program mitigated but it wasn’t.In a letter to the board Hawkes wrote, “although the destruction of the site may have been the result of ignorance, arrogance and greed the town and the Conservation Commission, whom had jurisdiction over this property and are partly responsible for its loss.” And a simple bylaw could have prevented it.Hawkes may have a vested interest in saving the town’s history because some of it is his own. A descendant of Saugus’s founding family, Hawkes cited another incident at the site of the cabin of the town’s first settler, Adam Hawkes, was also deliberately destroyed by a developer.Selectman Michael Kelleher took issue with Hawkes’ descriptions of Procopio but said his largest concern was how the town would fund such a survey.”I would ask Town Meeting for $10,000,” he said, adding it would cost nearly $25,000 for the survey but they might be eligible for a matching grant.Once he had his say Hawkes agreed that the past incidents were no longer important.”What’s important is discovering what we do have out there and what do we do with it,” he said. “The town is not doing anything to protect its archeological aspects.”And those aspects, he suggested could translate to dollars for the community.”Salem has witches,” he said, “but Saugus has pirates.”Hawkes said building a tourist site around the town’s pirate history and any other prehistoric and Native American culture could prove profitable.While the board did not disagree out right with Hawkes’ plan it did not take a vote to support it either.