Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18AN398 Kelly Pool
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Kelly Pool Site (aka N-X-2 Site #1/#2) or 18AN398 is primarily a late 18th to mid 19th century domestic site (with a small prehistoric component as well) on the Fort George G. Meade property near Odenton in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The site is situated on a hilltop surrounded by recreation facilities (volleyball courts, softball fields, playground, bathroom facilities, etc.) and access roads. The Franklin Branch of the Patuxent River is situated just to the west of the site. Much of the surrounding landscape is already heavily developed. Soils at the site are primarily of the Muirkirk-Urban land complex.
The site was first identified in the mid 1970s by a local collector, Ray Korman, who reported it to the Maryland Historical Trust in 1976. At that time, the locale was being used as a picnic area by Ft. Meade personnel and artifacts were noted in some exposed sandy spots. The collector reported recovering a quartz stemmed point with a ground base, 6 quartz flakes, and 4 rhyolite flakes.
No investigations of 18AN398 between the time of its discovery in 1976 and the first widespread archeological survey of the Fort Meade property in 1993. At that time a Phase I survey was made of the Fort Meade property, conducted as part of an official “Cultural Resources Management Plan” (CRMP) for the base. The CRMP for Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, was prepared to comply with Army Regulation 420-40 and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The work was prepared on behalf of the Baltimore District of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Phase I work in the vicinity of 18AN398 initially entailed the excavation of 95 shovel test pits (STPs) in 18 transects at 20 m intervals. STPs measured approximately 35 cm in diameter and were excavated to a minimum depth of 40 cm below surface, or 10 cm into sterile subsoil (unless ground conditions prevented). Soils were removed by natural strata and screened through hardware cloth. Appropriate data were recorded on standardized forms in the field.
Cultural materials were recovered from 28 of the 95 initial shovel tests. Fifteen shovel tests produced only modern machine-made bottle glass, asphalt, coal, wire nails, ceramic tile, and tiny brick fragments that were discarded in the field. Thirteen tests yielded historic materials that were retained (three of which also contained discarded modern artifacts. Two concentrations of concentrations of historic artifacts were noted in the vicinity of 18AN398. Retesting at 10 m intervals included an additional 21 shovel tests, 9 of which produced further artifacts, all within the southernmost locus. This southern locus produced both prehistoric an historic artifacts and was thought to correspond to the location of previously identified site 18AN398. The prehistoric component consisted of 2 quartz flakes, 30 meters apart and recovered from the C1 horizon. The prehistoric component may retain some integrity, but the small quantity of material suggested that the prehistoric component contained only limited potential to answer significant research questions.
The historic component in the southern-most locus yielded a mix of modern materials such as machine-made bottle glass, coal, slag, and wire nails, and eighteenth to early 19th century artifacts, including handwrought rosehead nails , possible pearlware, whiteware, dark glazed redware, and a brass belt buckle. The two sets of historic materials could be separated stratigraphically. The more modern artifacts were recovered almost exclusively from topsoil or fill atop a buried A or Ap horizon, while the earlier materials came from the buried A or Ap layer. This stratigraphic differentiation indicates that the two sets of artifacts reflect discontinuous cultural behavior. The early architectural, clothing, and kitchen-related materials probably stem from a domestic site of eighteenth to early nineteenth century date, while the later materials probably reflect 20th century rubbish disposal and filling activities. This suggests that intact features might be preserved at the interface of the subsoil and buried A/Ap horizon.
The northern-most artifact locus contained primarily a single historic component. Most of the material consisted of brick fragments, window glass, coal, machine-made bottle glass, and wire nails from the topsoil, all of which were discarded in the field. However, the upper portion of the subsoil in one STP produced a slate tile fragment and a sherd of Jackfield-type earthenware. Since this recovery was located only 80 m north of the southern locus, and appeared to relate to the same period as the previously identified early historic component, it is was suggested that it may represent the location of an outbuilding associated with the domestic occupation in the southern locus.
The Phase I historic assemblage from 18AN398 consisted of 1 slate tile fragment, 1 piece of window glass, 3 hand-wrought Rosehead nail fragments, 3 cut or wrought nail fragment, 7 possible wire nails, 1 metal hinge fragment, 1 Jackfield sherd, 1 possible pearlware sherd, 2 whiteware sherds, 5 redware sherds, 1 dark green bottle glass shard, 1 piece of machine-made bottle glass, 1 brass buckle, and 5 pieces of slag.
Archival research reveals that in 1726, John Worthington patented 1,368 acres of land, an area comprising the majority of the Fort Meade military installation. This parcel became known as “Worthington’s Beginning”. An undetermined portion of the land was given to his daughter, Ann, as a dowry upon her marriage to John McCannon in 1784. At the end of the eighteenth century, the parcel was further subdivided through a deed transfer, but the actual property grantors and grantees are not clear. However, sometime at the beginning of the 19th century, a Richard Disney acquired 500 acres of “Worthington’s Beginning”. After Richard Disney’s death in 1849, his property was willed to his heirs (John G. and Rachel H. Friedhoffer, Alfred and Mary I. Fairall, and Henrietta Mallonee), who retained the property until 1873. An 1860 map shows a house in the vicinity of 18AN398 belonging to R. Disney’s heirs. In 1873, the family sold a 94.4 acre portion of the 500 acre property, likely including the site 18AN398 area, to James and Louisa Downs. One acre of this parcel was granted for construction of a schoolhouse.
The Downs had begun to situate themselves as a prominent agricultural family by the third quarter of the 19th century. In the 1870 Anne Arundel County Census, James, aged 36, is listed with the occupation of ‘farmer’, and his wife Louisa, aged 35, was listed as “keeping house”. The Downs had four children: Mary (who was 8 years old), Benjamin (aged 6 years), Arthur (who was 3), and William (1 year old). In the 1878 Anne Arundel County, Maryland Directory, which lists businesses, post offices, and farmers within the county, James Downs is listed with his post office location as Odenton. The Downs family is also included in the 1880 Anne Arundel County Census, though interestingly only the males (James, William, and Benjamin) are listed. It is likely that Louisa had died and Mary, now 18, was married. Arthur, who is not listed with the other male family members, may have also died. Thirty years later only James and William are found in the records. By this time William had become a farmer, maintaining two separate tracts of land within the boundaries of what would become Fort Meade.
After the turn of the twentieth century, the US Government began purchasing land for Fort George G. Meade along the Annapolis and Elkridge Railroad. In April of 1919, the US Government purchased the 93.4 acre parcel (excluding the 1 acre school property) from James T. Downs.
In late 2002 and early 2003, a Phase II testing program was carried out at 18AN398. At the request of the US Army’s Environmental Management Office (EMO) at Fort Meade, Phase II archeological evaluations were carried out at six sites (including 18AN398) on the Fort Meade property. These evaluations were intended to provide Fort Meade with the information it needed to protect these potentially significant cultural resources and to aid in the evaluation of potential impacts that planned (either currently or in the future) building or activities at the Garrison might have on these resources. As required under Section 106 of the NHPA of 1966, it is possible that these future actions might constitute an undertaking that is subject to the provisions set forth in 36 CFR Part 800.
At 18AN398 Phase II work included excavation of STPs and formal test units within each of the two loci defined during the Phase I survey. Twenty-four STPs were placed at 15 meter intervals in the southern artifact locus (called Locus A). Because the northern artifact locus (called Locus B) was not expected to yield as much information, the 10 STPs placed in this area were excavated at 20 meter intervals. The purpose of the STP survey was to re-locate the site, identify artifact concentrations, and guide placement of test units. All soils removed during STP excavation were screened through hardware mesh. In Locus A, late 18th and 19th century artifacts were concentrated on the eastern edge of the site. STPs in Locus B mainly contained modern materials. Only three STPs yielded historic artifact in this area, including 1 whiteware sherd, three vessel glass fragments, 1 piece of slag, and 2 pieces of coal. No prehistoric artifacts were recovered during the Phase II STP survey.
Nineteen test units were placed within the historic artifact concentration in Locus A. Test units in this area were excavated in pairs in order to investigate a larger contiguous area, expose longer soil profiles, and increase the chance of identifying cultural features, if present. Six test units were placed within Locus B. Soils in the test units were excavated in 10 cm increments within natural soil strata. All field data was recorded on standard field forms and in general field notes. Photographs of archeological features, soil layers, and general site conditions were taken. All soils were screened through hardware mesh.
The typical soil profile in Locus A consisted of four strata overlaying subsoil: Stratum I) the modern sod layer containing historic and modern materials, II) a fill layer containing a mix of historic and modern materials, III) a buried historic topsoil containing large quantities of coal, IV) a historic plowzone containing artifacts dating to the late 18th and early 19th century with plowscars noted in the bottom, and V) subsoil at a depth of 35 to 45 cm below the surface. Four of the test units in Locus B had similar soil profiles: Stratum I) the modern sod containing both historic and modern artifacts, II) a buried plowzone (again, with plowscars at the base) containing artifacts dating from the early to mid 19th century, and III) subsoil. Sol profiles in the other two test units within Locus B were similar, but with the historic plowzone layer truncated and covered in modern fill related to the construction of a bathroom facility. No cultural features related to the prehistoric or historic occupation of 18AN398 were identified in either locus. The only soil features identified were tree roots and plowscars.
In Locus A, 1,330 artifacts were recovered during the Phase II evaluation. Of these, five are prehistoric , 1,118 are historic (pre 1940) or non-dateable (e.g. coal), and 207 are modern (post 1940). Locus B yielded 354 historic or non-dateable and 8 modern artifacts. No prehistoric artifacts were recovered from Locus B. Modern materials include bottle glass, plastic, rubber toys, concrete, etc. and are not included in the artifact tallies discussed below or in the tables above.
Activity items included 5 pieces of lamp chimney, 4 redware flowerpot fragments, and 4 unidentified household items. The architectural assemblage consisted of 69 brick fragments, 79 pieces of window glass, 157 nails (5 handwrought, 102 cut, 27 wire, 23 unidentifiable), 2 pieces of mortar, a painted plaster fragment, 3 slate roofing tile fragments, a piece of architectural stone, and a piece of ceramic drain pipe. Clothing items were a wooden button, a brass rivet, and a brass suspender clip in the shape of a butterfly. Kitchen-related artifacts included 171 ceramic sherds, a glass stopper, 2 milk glass lid liners, 1 drinking glass fragment, 2 glass bowl fragments, 218 bottle/vessel glass fragments, 2 mammal bones, 3 clam shells, and 70 pieces of oyster shell. Diagnostic ceramics from 18AN398 include 1 tin-glazed earthenware sherd, 6 Jackfield sherds, 11 creamware, 6 pearlware, 22 whiteware, 1 white earthenware with no glaze remaining, 1 slip-decorated redware, 4 brown salt-glazed stoneware, 2 American gray salt-glazed stoneware, and 1 ironstone sherd. In addition, 7 porcelain, 73 redware, 1 lead-glazed stoneware, and 1 buff-bodied coarse earthenware sherd were recovered. Miscellaneous artifacts included 99 pieces of unidentifiable metal or wire, 5 unidentifiable glass fragments, and 569 unidentified objects or pieces of coal and slag. The five prehistoric artifacts recovered from Locus A include 2 quartz flakes, 1 chert flake, a quartz fragment of shatter, and a quartzite fragment of fire-cracked rock.
Site 18AN398 appears to have been primarily an historic domestic site occupied from the late 18th to mid 19th century. In 1784, Ann Worthington was given a portion of land that included site 18AN398 as a dowry upon her marriage to John McCannon. It is possible that they built the house that was located at 18AN398 sometime after 1784. However, based on the ephemeral nature of the structure and diagnostic artifacts, it is more likely that a tenant farmer, probably growing tobacco, built a frame structure on the property at the end of the 18th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, Richard Disney acquired 500 acres, including 18AN398. An 1860 map shows a house in the vicinity of 18AN398 belonging to R. Disney’s heirs. Based on the artifacts, this house was probably not occupied after Richard Disney’s death in 1849. In 1849, the property was willed to his heirs who retained in until 1873.
The small prehistoric component of the site probably represents an ephemeral resource procurement camp. Little evidence remains for the prehistoric occupation of the property. The Phase II evaluation resulted in the recovery of 5 prehistoric artifacts, supplementing the 2 quartz flakes found during Phase I survey of the site. None of the prehistoric artifacts was diagnostic, and all were found in soil layers that also contained historic materials.
18AN398 is confined to the plowzone, and no vertical or horizontal artifact patterning was evident. No historic or prehistoric features were identified. In addition, portions of the property have been disturbed as a result of the construction of recreational facilities in the area. Site 18AN398 is not likely to yield significant information about prehistory or history, and should not be considered a significant archeological resource.
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