At some time during the 17th century the settlement at Ferryland began to spread beyond the original four-acre town site. One such house, located east of the original settlement on the Ferryland Downs, was excavated during the mid-1990s.
A Ferryland legend of long standing held that a well existed somewhere in the vicinity of our excavations. The story relates how the well had stood abandoned long after its use as a water source, and that a child had fallen into the well and drowned.
Archaeologists, who thought that the 'prettie streete' would be little more than a dirt track meandering through the settlement, were surprised in 1994 to find the first traces of a cobblestone pavement near the western edge of the original settlement.
Extract from a letter to John Winthrop, Jr. from Rev. Richard Blinman, dated August 22, 1659, and dealing with religion, the Puritan Church, cod, fisheries, ships, and servants.