SAUGUS — The town dedicated the newly completed Round Hill Historic Site in a ceremony celebrating the town’s Native American history.
“We are here to celebrate the end of a beginning of a project to preserve the history of the town,” said Stephen Carlson, chairman of the Saugus Historical Commission.
Carlson said additional projects are planned, including the installation of plants, lighting, and access to the top of the hill “so Saugonians of today can experience what our forebeings did.”
The site sits at the base of Round Hill and showcases the area’s history, culture, and natural resources. It was chosen by local historian Alonzo Lewis to be the focal point of the town seal in 1870.
The hill is cone-shaped and rises 125 to 150 feet high on a 600-square-foot parcel. The Saugus Public Safety Building sits on one side. The remainder of the wooded property was unused and overgrown with weeds until the Historical Commission began the project five years ago.
The area that encompasses Round Hill, Vinegar Hill, and properties along the Saugus River is known to have rich Native American heritage, said Marilyn Carlson, vice-chairman of the Saugus Historical Commission.
During Tuesday morning’s ceremony, Debra Panetta, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, talked about early Saugus settlers and how they used the Saugus river and surrounding area as a resource for hunting, fishing, and quarrying to make stone tools.
Rev. Martha Leahy of the First Congregational Church led the gathered crowd in a Native American prayer, using a drum made from moose hyde by a member of the Micmac tribe during her visit to the Passamaquoddy Reservation in Maine. She also visited the Lakota Reservation at Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, she said.
“I learned about Native American spirituality, history, and from the tribes I’ve studied, there is one common theme — respect for the earth,” she said.
Ricky Simarantana, a member of the Wampanoag tribe, gave a blessing and purified the space by burning sage. Fourth graders from the Veterans Memorial Elementary School sang “The Earth is Our Mother,” led by music teacher Christine Jankowiak.
The ceremony was moved to Town Hall because of rain, but the change in location was not detrimental to the turnout. The auditorium was packed with hundreds of residents and officials, ready to celebrate Saugus’ culture.
The site, which has now been officially dedicated, has a paved area with two granite benches, an obelisk, and a wayside sign outlining the site’s history, surrounded by a cast iron fence.
