Named for the longtime chair of the Connecticut Historical Commission and a founder of Preservation Connecticut, the award honors outstanding contributions to the preservation and revitalization of Connecticut’s historic places. The State Historic Preservation Office and Preservation Connecticut are honored to present the Harlan H. Griswold Award to Kevin McBride.

Kevin McBride has been a key figure in Connecticut archaeology since the 1970s. His early doctoral dissertation set the context for indigenous archaeology that still guides how sites are interpreted and evaluated. In the 1980s he pioneered community archaeology that established a working relationship with Native communities who previously viewed non-Native archaeologists with suspicion. His work in battlefield archaeology has greatly increased our understanding of the Pequot, Revolutionary, and 1812 wars. As a professor and mentor, he has trained successive generations of archaeologists; in the words of one former student, “He made me look at archaeology as more than just things in the ground.”