Zackary Cernak holds the iron ball he found in woods in Russell, while creating a dirt bike trail. Historians are helping the Cernak family try to establish the ballâs likely history and significance.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CERNAK FAMILY
You can leave an 8.4-pound iron cannonball out in New England weather for two centuries, it turns out. It still will be round, though a little cracked. How it got to a Russell hillside, though, remains fuzzy.
Zackary Cernak came across just such a thing late last month, in woods in Russell while creating a dirt bike trail about a mile from the route of the famous General Henry Knox Trail. Today, that path is all but forgotten. A few historical markers, including one in Russell, offer a reminder: âThrough this place passed Gen. Henry Knox in the winter of 1775-1776 to deliver to Gen. George Washington the train of artillery from Fort Ticonderoga used to force the British Army to evacuate Boston.â