Skiff Hill

Black and White photograph of the top of a small boulder sticking out of a marsh. Black and White photograph of the top of a small boulder sticking out of a marsh.

Left image
Original location of the sharpening rock.
Credit: NPS Image

Right image
View from the top of Skiff Hill, current location of the sharpening rock.
Credit: NPS / Katy Perrault

 
Until September 1965, a twenty-ton granitic glacial boulder, used by Native Americans for tool sharpening, was located on the marsh just south of Hemenway Landing. Due to shoreline retreat, the boulder was almost lost in the marsh, so it was moved about 100 feet to the top of Skiff Hill. The original site is now under water. Studies revealed that the stone was probably used for sharpening bone items such as harpoon heads and fishhooks (note the long, moon-shaped grooves) and stone axes (wide, smooth depressions which, in some cases, show “pecking” to make them rough).

Last updated: March 17, 2025

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