Hi, Nancy. I imagine the excavation that you recall from the 50’s was probably was probably the dig at the site of Fort Independence, which was the largest of the Kingsbridge fortifications. It sat between today’s Cannon Place and Giles Place.
A detailed archeological report of the Fort Independence excavations was written up and published in 1978 by the New York State Archeological Association. You can read that here: https://nysarchaeology.org/download/nysaa/bulletin/number_073.pdf#page=4
That is the type of report that we would like to have published about another Revolutionary fort in the neighborhood: Fort No. 2 on Spuyten Duyvil Hill. However, the owner of the land where Fort No. 2 once stood is not permitting an archeological team to study the site. You can read about that here in this week’s Riverdale Press: https://riverdalepress.com/stories/historians-hope-to-find-revolutionary-war-artifacts-at-spuyten-duyvil-site,69125. I imagine you do not get the Riverdale Press out in Oregon! After creating this website, it has been amazing to see how many emails and memberships we get from all over the country–from people like you, who once lived in the neighborhood and are still interested in its history.