Urban Archeologist: Connecticut's Elite Join Putnam Phalanx

Our resident Urban Archeologist is always finding the neatest things. He's a treasure hunter of sorts, zipping around estate sales and always looking for what he calls "a dig."

What's a dig?

You know those attics or rooms that are filled to the brim with stuff? That's a dig. The Urban Archeologist's real name is Greg Van Antwerp and I had the pleasure of seeing him in action, at a Bethlehem estate sale. And he did dig, literally.

With the permission of the estate sale company, Antiques on the Green, Greg rifled through boxes and looked through desks doing what he does best — digging.

"For most diggers it is the specter of great riches, for me the answer is, 'Because, I found it'!" Greg writes in his most recent blog post,Phalanx for the Memories, General Putnam! "I admit that most weekends I go looking not for things that were lost, but that were forgotten. When I do, it feels like a found item."

He writes about discovering an 1889 railway ticket book excursion to Niagara Falls and its Connecticut connection.

"When I first saw the leather bound ticket book, it was a true mystery, the gold leaf lettering on the curled and dried out cover was strong but the title unfamiliar," Greg wrote. "Inside, the tickets were essentially undisturbed and as detailed as currency. Tracing the stops printed on each custom ticket described a journey from Springfield, Massachusetts to Niagara Falls, New York and back."

Interesting in learning more about Putnam Phalanx? Continue reading the rest of the story here.