Thanks to Princeton University, which holds the originals, we now have this awesome high-resolution version of Berthier's 1781 map of North Castle. This is not, actually, the full resolution image - I had to downsize it to get it to upload to Blogger. Here are a couple of closer views:
In the version of the map we had before (which was taken from a book) there seemed to be only one color red used to delineate structures. In this version, there is clearly a distinction between the dark red color used to demarcate permanent structures versus the lighter pink-red used to mark military camp buildings. At least, that's my reading of the map.If my interpretation is correct, then there was a large military structure - larger than the meetinghouse itself - next to St. George's where there is currently a bagel shop (previously it was the Fife and Drum restaurant - a very apt name!). If only we could excavate that area!
Another detail I noticed in this version of the map is the clear boundary marking out the church property, and how the church is positioned right in the center. This actually makes quite a bit of sense given our findings this season. We found the (possible) St. George's foundation wall in the southeast quadrant of the Episcopal cemetery. All of the 18th-century gravestones are located in this quadrant. While we had previously believed the entire eastern half of the Episcopal cemetery to be part of the original land given by Charles Haight, it may be that only the southeast quadrant was in use at this time. To fit in this small space, the church and its gravestones would have had to be packed very tightly together.
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