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Memorial Stone from 1700s Dug up in Williamsport

WILLIAMSPORT — A Williamsport man dug up an artifact that could date back centuries. Experts think the large flat stone found in Williamsport could be fro...
lyc stone

WILLIAMSPORT -- A Williamsport man dug up an artifact that could date back centuries.

Experts think the large flat stone found in Williamsport could be from the 1700s because the date 1763 is etched right into the rock.

The man who found it isn't an archaeologist. He wasn't looking for it. In fact, he says he found it somewhere he never expected: right in his backyard.

Reverend Richard Miller has plenty of privacy in his backyard. The property behind his in undeveloped and drops into a ravine.

A patch of dirt and rocks at the edge of his land is where he's been burying family pets for years.

When his dog Scout died in the winter, he dug a hole three feet deep.

"The last item to come out from where we were digging was this stone,” Miller said.

The rock the family used to mark the dog's grave site was already a marker for someone else: John Sanders. It says on the rock he died back in 1763.

Miller pointed out the markings on the rock.

John Sanders
Killed by Indians
during attack

 Lycoming County 1763

The writing is faint, but experts say it's there and is more than likely real.

Thomas Tank Baird, the president of an archeology society in the Williamsport area, thinks the stone is a memorial marker probably carved several years after Sanders died.

"They agreed it has the look of authenticity, and it's weathered right along. Certainly, you can see that. These letters are as old as the stone seen around them,” Baird said.

"It's an open question as to whether he is buried here or whether this is just a memorial to mark the spot where the incident occurred," Miller said.

Either way, Baird believes if not for a caring dog lover like Miller, this piece of history would have remained buried.

"This is a pretty exciting find," Baird said.

Lycoming County was founded later than 1763. It's the main reason experts believe the rock is probably a memorial instead of a grave site.

As for John Sanders, the hope now is that someone such as a descendant will come forward with more information about him, who can share more information about the family.

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