Ancient Walls in North America? – Part II

Continued from the previous post regarding additional comments made by theorists regarding their interpretation of the information regarding claims that North America is the location of Lehi’s Land of Promise)

For the Second point about the hill in Manchester being the Hill Cumorah of the Book of Mormon, take the story of John Sheldon Fisher, who created the first New York State Historic Site devoted to Native American Culture established in Victor, New York. The town is about 8 miles southwest of Palmyra, New York, and about 10 miles due west of the Manchester hill Cumorah.

Valentown Hall, now a museum in Victor, New York, is a landmark building and a rare example of 19^th century architecture now on the National Historic Register, has remained almost unaltered since its original construction

 

In 1879, Levi and Alanson Valentine constructed the 4-story shopping plaza and community center (complete with underground parking) on a busy crossroads homestead owned by their grandfather, Ichabod Town, hoping the property would be a stop on the Pittsburgh, Shawmut, and Northern Railroad. However, the railroad went bankrupt and the center failed. In 1940 it was purchased by Langdon and Lillian Sheldon, who established the Historical Museum to house his diverse collection, which includes Iroquoian, Military, Scientific, Folklore, Genealogical interests of the man known as Hiawasees, a name given to him by the Seneca Indians in 1964 at the time of his adoption by the Heron Clan—a name meaning "the eagle who gathers news and history" and it is an appropriate handle for the man who has spent most of his life gathering, chronicling and preserving the history of Western New York.

Professionally, he has helped build the renowned archaeological collection of the Rochester Museum and Science Center and became the first county historian in Ontario County. Always active as a volunteer in community organizations, and shortly before his 80th birthday, in the summer of 1987, he was honored as the primary influence in the 42-year campaign that led to the dedication of Ganondagan, New York (Lewis F. Fisher, Victor Historical Society & Historic Valentown, 2002, Victor New York; J. Sheldon Fisher, The Fish Horn Alarm, Heart of the Lakes, 1994). s

In 1993, then 86-years old, Sheldon Fisher made the statement regarding the hill Cumorah in New York, that he “had a standing agreement with all of the bulldozer and backhoe guys. They would be doing jobs in the general area. “Many times I would beat them to the job, but, of all these years I have never found any kind of artifact around the hill [Cumorah] area. I’ve read the Book of Mormon trying to figure it out and spent several hours talking about the area's history. But I have never found any artifacts there—there just aren't any artifacts of the kind spoken of in that book around that hill.”

Arrowheads have been found in western New York, just not around the hill in Manchester

 

While theorists have often talked about the basketful of arrowheads and artifacts of the Nephite era found by early searchers in the Cumorah area, we see from a non-member living all his life in the area, and spending his life identifying and collecting arrowheads and ancient artifacts in western New York, and specifically around the Cumorah site, found none at all.

On the other hand, there have been Arrowheads found in Genesee County, New York, between Rochester and Buffalo, about 360 miles west of the hill Cumorah—another huge site is around Lake George, north of Sarasota Springs in northeastern New York, and 220 miles east of Cumorah. But none are on record as being found in the area of Cumorah

Another artifact hunter, Langdon G. Smith of New Haven, Vermont, a member of the Church who, upon his retirement, did archaeological investigations around the Hill Cumorah area in upstate New York. He had a great interest in archaeology, especially Native American artifacts, and was a popular speaker for students and community groups on artifact hunting in upstate New York, where he was given the name “Chief–Wanna-Talk-A-Lot”—a very apt description.

As he stated: “Working with the state archaeologists I get to see things the average person does not see. A while ago I saw the state site map for the state of New York. With my interest in history and pre-historic times, I looked around Palmyra. South of Syracuse on the east below this area there are several campsite areas as well as below Rochester to the west, but up around the Palmyra area it is several miles to the closest listed sites.”

Recently plowed fields are one of the best areas to find arrowheads and artefacts 

 

He certainly never found arrowheads at Cumorah, let along “baskets full of arrowheads,” as some theorists claim. Langdon Smith went on to say that “Wherever there are early American sites, collectors will find them. Plowed fields are the best places to look and there are plowed fields in the Palmyra area. On my own or as I work with professionals I find early sites. At this time I have found 298 new early American campsites. I have reported
these and obtained site numbers from the state historic preservation office, so I do have experience in searching out and finding sites.

Langdon Smith’s experience of finding nothing while artifact hunting in the fields surrounding the Hill Cumorah near Palmyra has often been quoted. Though he has found numerous ancient Indian sites in eastern New York, the closest one to the Palmyra area is 60 miles away—not at the hill Cumorah. There simply are no artifacts, arrowheads, nor broken flints that would have been left over from the making of arrowheads.

I have read the stories written by Mr. Bean and also Mrs. Samson as they lived in the Hill Cumorah area. Stories which state how they, when plowing in the area, would pick up arrowheads by the basketful and then sell them to the tourists. Having this interest in artifacts, I drove out to the Cumorah area [and] searched the field on the east, then went to the farm north of the Hill and asked to look through their fields. They stated that I was the first one that they knew of to go out looking for arrowheads
there. I did not find one single piece of evidence of any kind. There were not any arrowheads, nor were there any pieces of broken flints that would have been left over from the making [of arrowheads]. Chips are always left. Why pick them up? They are
waste. There are about 75–85% waste in making these arrowhead artifacts [and] any area where such a battle would have taken place would have been filled with such flakes, slabs, and chips in the various work areas that would have existed in a battle about six hundred thousand warriors (230,000 Nephites against an overwhelming Lamanite army)—there are none at the New York hill Cumorah site or around it.

No authenticated arrowheads were found within 60 miles of the hill in Manchester

 

“In archaeological report after report of New York, thousands upon thousands of arrowheads have been found from Lake George in northeastern New York state all through the state, even in the western upstate area, according to Christina Rieth, the state’s head archaeologist. Untold thousands of such arrowheads, pieces of stone tools and other artifacts dating way back into BC times, but nothing as recent as 400 AD that matches anything in the Book of Mormon (Joseph Lovell Allen and Blake Joseph Allen Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, 2^nd ed., Brigham Distributing, Brigham City, Utah, 2008, pp702–703).

(See the next post, “Ancient Walls in North America? – Part III,” for more of the comments made by theorists regarding their interpretation of the meaning) for the rest of the information regarding theorist claims that North America is the location of Lehi’s Land of Promise)