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Thursday, July 5, 2001
Scouts dig for treasure, merit badge
By Ellen Mahle | News-Journal Staff Writer
NEW SMYRNA BEACH — The paint is peeling and the wood is buckled. Windows are broken and there is a decided tilt to the floors. Swarms of termites fill the empty rooms.
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Scouting for archaeology |
The South Riverside Drive house may appear worthless but there is treasure buried on the property here -- and the Boy Scouts are working to find it.
Twelve members of Troop 72 spent hours Tuesday excavating colonial ruins on the site as part of the requirement to earn an Archaeology Merit Badge.
The New Smyrna Beach troop dug, swept and sifted the dirt surrounding what is suspected to be a Turnbull-era outdoor oven under the guidance of archaeologist Roger Grange. Local historian and amateur archaeologist Dot Moore also supervised the project.
D.J. White, 11, who lives next door, said he enjoyed the work.
"It's pretty fun doing it," he said. "And it gives me an excuse to get dirty."
Troy Knopp, also 11, grew up in the now dilapidated house with his parents, Don and Shirley Knopp.
"I was always wondering what was down here," he said. "It is so old."
Shirley Knopp said her son learned to walk on the old stone pile that now is believed to be the colonial oven.
"He took his first steps there," she said. "And we must've stubbed our toes on it half a million times."
The Knopps sold the house and land to their neighbors, Doug and Vicki White, in January.
The families were all on scene Tuesday to watch the process and talk about the history of the property.
According to records, the home is one of the oldest in the city and was built in or before 1888. It served as the residence and office of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Fox, a prominent physician in New Smyr na Beach in the early 1900s.
After a brief stint as a boarding house, Don Knopp's grandfather, Homer, bought the property in 1936 for $2,500.
Knopp, now 48, was the third generation in his family to call it home.
About five years ago, the Knopps looked into restoring the property but discovered that the costs were prohibitive.
It was estimated to be more than $300,000 to fix the termite damage and bring the house back to its original glory.
"We couldn't do it," he said.
His wife said it was a tough choice for the family to make.
"We struggled with it," Shirley Knopp said. "When the toilet fell through the floor, we fixed it. We fixed what we could but we couldn't afford to do the whole house."
They put it on the market thinking someone would come along with the necessary funds and make it into a bed and breakfast.
But years passed and there were no takers, so the Whites decided to buy it for the land and tear the house down.
Vicki White said she was heartbroken that they could not save the historical house but it was not affordable.
So the families decided to welcome Grange and Moore to excavate the property for any remains from earlier residents -- the Native Americans and Turnbull colonists.
The Knopps said they had found several artifacts on site when they were living there, including a cocked but corroded .32-caliber gun, a lady's cameo, musket balls and old bottles.
Don Knopp's mother, Ann, who moved into the house when she was 5 years old, said she remembered a wooden storage shed, a cistern to hold water and a horse and carriage barn on the property.
She said the Boy Scouts' involvement in excavating the property was terrific and an important undertaking. Shirley Knopp agreed. "There's buried treasure on this property -- we've always known it."
Moore said the Boy Scouts will be back for another day of excavation.
The archaeologists' work will continue throughout the summer. They hoped to have a chance to look under the foundation of the house after it is removed.
The Whites have set a tentative date in late August for the demolition. The family plans to use the property as an extension of their own yard.
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