The Nobles Pond site is a registered Ohio Historical Site (reg.# 33ST357). The "Remarkable Ohio" website, which lists all the historical markers in Ohio, includes a page for Nobles Pond (external link).
The Nobles Pond Project is a non-profit endeavor whose purpose is the recovery, analysis, and documentation of ancient artifacts from the Nobles Pond site.
Origins
Garry L. Summers discovered the Nobles Pond site in 1972 when he and his brother Leo, a botany student, were doing a walking survey of the plants in the area. Following this discovery, Summers spent several years gathering evidence about the site and convincing others of its importance.
In 1986, Summers founded the Nobles Pond Project with the assistance of Dr. Richard Michael Gramly and Don Simons (of the Gainey and Butler sites, Michigan). Limited excavations began in 1986, with full-scale excavations starting in 1988 and continuing until 1996. In 1988, Dr. Mark F. Seeman of Kent State University joined the project to provide professional oversight and official liaison with the university.
Funding and Support
The Nobles Pond Project has been funded in part by grants from the National Science Foundation (88-14809 and 0948235), the Timken Foundation, the Goldsmith Foundation, and the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation. The project has also received many smaller donations from private individuals and groups.
Excavation and artifact recovery were made possible by the generous cooperation of the previous landowners (the Timken family) and the current landowners (Robert DeHoff and Ted Boyd). Kent State University, Stark county campus, provided laboratory space and equipment for artifact analysis.
Staff and Volunteers
The current staff consists of the following personnel:
- Dr. Mark F. Seeman - Project co-leader
- Garry L. Summers - Project founder/co-leader
- Nils E. Nilsson - Refit leader
- Paul J. Barans - Database and website
The Nobles Pond FORCE (First Ohioan Research Consortium Excavation) includes all the volunteers past and present who have contributed to artifact recovery and analysis. Over 1600 adult volunteers and more than 3000 school children have participated in the Nobles Pond Project. Without these volunteers, the project would have been impossible.
Volunteer list (PDF). A list of individuals and groups who helped dig one or more meters at Nobles Pond, along with their assigned volunteer numbers. The individual volunteers are listed at the beginning. Groups are listed on the last four pages.
Special Thanks
In addition to the current staff and the Nobles Pond FORCE, the following individuals made essential contributions to the project:
- Elaine Dowd (deceased)
- Larry and Nancy Morris
- Rick Willaman
- Phil Cossentino (deceased)
- Bob and Doris Hershey
- Mary Ream (deceased)
- Dave Lehberger (deceased)
- Carl Szafranski
- Jim and Alice Shoop
- Cheryl Mattevi (Birkhimer)
- Mike Murphy
- James Walker, Robert Rohrbaugh, and the 7th and 8th grade students of Jackson Memorial Middle School
