Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18AN497 Benson-Hammond
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Benson-Hammond site (18AN497) is the archeological remains associated with the Benson-Hammond House (AA-118), a standing 19th century house and farmstead on state-owned Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport property near Linthicum in Anne Arundel County. The site is situated in a level upland area which has been considerably modified since historic times due to development associated with the airport (mostly parking facilities). Both Cabin Branch and an intermittent tributary flow through the site area, but both have been modified by channelization at some point in the past. Most of the site itself is grass yard and garden beds. To the north of the house is an ornamental fruit tree orchard. Soils at the site are primarily Rumford loamy sands.
The house itself is a 2½ storey, 6 bay by 2 bay, 19th century brick dwelling, constructed in the Greek Revival style. The main block of the house is brick, laid in common bond, and faces east. A frame, 2 storey shed addition extends from the north end of the rear, west elevation of the main block. A one storey wooden porch with a hip roof covers the central 3 bays of the facade. The earlier section, of the house comprising the southern 3 bays of the house, consists of a 2 storey, central passage plan dwelling constructed ca. 1830. The house was lengthened 3 bays to the north ca. 1855, and the half storey appears to have been added at that time, reminiscent of the Greek Revival style. The extant frame wing was constructed in 1982, replacing a late-19th century wing of similar dimensions (see below). The house is an unusual example of the Greek Revival style, with the c. 1855 Greek Revival addition being constructed many years after the popularity of that style had faded. The Benson-Hammond farm is significant for its association with truck farming which was the dominant agricultural activity in north Anne Arundel County from the second quarter of the 19th century until after World War II.
The history of the Benson-Hammond House and property begins at the turn of the 19th century. In 1798, part of the present Benson-Hammond property, together with two residences and an outbuilding, was owned by a John Cromwell. Thomas Benson came to Anne Arundel County in the late 18th century, acquiring 7½ acres encompassing the Benson-Hammond property from Cromwell in 1809. Oral history suggests that Benson lived first in a log house located southeast of the present structure.
Thomas Benson erected the oldest part of the Benson-Hammond house around 1820 (according to family tradition) or 1830 (based on a 1975 architectural analysis of the house). The 2½ storey, brick structure is unusual in that it was built in the Greek Revival style, which was not commonly used in the region. Benson expanded his holdings, which eventually became a 152 acre tract called “Cedar Farm”. The early to middle 19th century was characterized by the start of a process of agricultural diversification in response to changing transportation systems. With the construction of railroads in the late 1830s, agricultural products from Anne Arundel County farms could reach the increasingly important urban center of Baltimore. By the late 19th century, the focus of local agriculture had shifted towards “truck farming” for urban markets, a process that undoubtedly shaped the economic structure of the Benson household. Truck farming relied heavily on seasonal laborers. This is reflected by reports that a series of tenant houses were once present on the property. These structures would have sheltered these itinerant agricultural workers imported from Baltimore for the harvest. Around 1870 the house was expanded by an addition (again in the Greek Revival style), and in 1887 it was sold to Rezin Hammond.
The culmination of the economic shift from Maryland’s rural, agricultural heritage to an industrial, commercial, and manufacturing-based economy occurred during the period from 1870-1930. Cities expanded their domination of social, economic, and cultural life, and were the focus of the newly arrived European immigrants. Truck farming declined in importance in northern Anne Arundel County as the supply of cheap fertilizer diminished during the early 20th century, when mechanization began to replace animal power. Since the 1930s, both the outward growth of the Washington and Baltimore suburbs and the construction of the Friendship/BWI Airport facilities have changed the character of the local landscape both indirectly, through economic change, and directly, through land condemnation and purchase. Many residential structures acquired by the airport were razed. Purchased in 1947, the Benson-Hammond House survived, although any associated tenant houses, barns, and other outbuildings were demolished.
The first documented archeological work ever conducted at 18AN497 occurred in the summer of 1979. The work was performed under a contract with the Ann Arrundell County Historical Society, which, at the time, was leasing the structure with the intent of restoring it for use as their headquarters and as a museum. The Society had engaged a restoration architect to consult on the building’s architectural history and on appropriate restoration measures. The architect advised the Society to have an archeological investigation designed to define buried architectural features in areas adjacent to the house as part of the restoration efforts.
The 1979 archeological project was designed primarily to investigate 1) the former location of the front porch prior to its reconstruction, 2) the former location of an ell addition extending from the west wall of the house, 3) the entrance to the cellar of the house, and 4) the proposed alignment of a utility trench running from the northwest corner of the house to the intersection of two nearby roads. Excavation methods are not described in detail in the full site report, but appear to have involved mechanical stripping of roughly 61-91 cm (2-3 ft) of overburden from subject locations 1-3 (see above), with manual/hand excavation of any identified features or artifact concentrations. A 1.22 m (4 ft) excavation grid was used within the stripped areas.
The investigation of the utility trench alignment involved systematic sampling through probing and test unit excavation. The size of the “test units” is not described in the full site report and these may, actually have been shovel test pits. Probing along the utility trench alignment was conducted at 61 cm (2 ft) intervals for the first 15.24 m (50 ft) of the alignment (as measured from the house to the intersection). Probing was implemented at 1.22 m (4 ft) intervals for the next 30.5 m (100 ft), at 1.83 m (6 ft) intervals for the next 30.5 m, and at 2.44 m (8 ft) intervals for the remaining distance to the intersection. The “test units” along the utility trench alignment followed a similar pattern, with units at 3.05 m (10 ft) intervals for the first 15.24 meters, at 6.1 m (20 ft) intervals for the next 30.5 meters, at 9.14 m (30 ft) intervals for the next 30.5 meters, and at 12.2 m (40 ft) intervals for the remaining distance to the intersection.
Excavation in the former location of the front porch uncovered the remains of two previous porches and a brick walk which was probably associated with the smaller and earlier of the two porches. Unfortunately, a lack of temporally diagnostic artifacts prevented firm dating of either the porch or the ell. Excavations in the former location of the wing addition uncovered the remains of two additions. The smaller of the two additions appears to have replaced the larger one sometime in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Excavation in the entrance to the cellar confirmed that the bulkhead had been filled in the recent past. Inspection of the bricks in the bulkhead revealed that the entrance was probably constructed at a different date than the house. Test excavations and probes along the proposed utility line did not uncover buried deposits or structural remains, only 20th century artifacts were recovered.
The artifact assemblage recovered during the 1979 excavations consisted of 5 activity items (a slate scribe, a piece of lamp glass, 2 plastic toy soldiers, and a rubber horseshoe toy), 17 architectural artifacts (12 cut nails, 2 unidentified nails, 2 iron hinges, and an iron cleat), 2 clothing items (buttons), 150 kitchen-related artifacts (6 pearlware sherds, 12 porcelain sherds, 1 bisque sherd, 6 annularware sherds, a hard-paste earthenware sherd, 2 redware sherds, 34 other earthenware sherds, 49 miscellaneous stoneware sherds, 13 unidentified sherds, 15 bottle glass fragments, a spoon, four large mammal bones, and 6 pieces of oyster shell), 1 personal item (a jaw harp), 1 arms object (a bullet), and 6 miscellaneous objects (rodent bones).
The next field project at 18AN497 came in 1987 on behalf of the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA). At that time, SHA requested that Maryland Geological Survey (MGS) archeologists perform a Phase I archeological survey evaluating a project to reconstruct Poplar Avenue between existing MD 170 and MD 162. The project involved widening Poplar Avenue along its south side, reconfiguring the intersections with Maryland Routes 162 and 170, geometric improvements, construction of a center median, installation of curb and gutter, and associated drainage improvements. Project plans indicated that the effects of construction would be concentrated within a 20 to 40 m wide corridor along the south side of the existing road. The following year, MGS also monitored driveway and parking lot construction work at the Benson-Hammond house at the request of SHA and the Maryland Historical Trust. The Benson-Hammond house was within the proposed project area. Construction was undertaken with federal assistance and, thus, Section 106 compliance (along with state laws) drove the need for the survey and archeological monitoring activities.
Inspection of the project corridor showed that the terrain in the central part of the project had been substantially altered by grading, which would likely have obliterated any archeological remains once present. No subsurface testing was conducted in that part of the project area. The western end of the project area is also extensively disturbed by grading, although two small areas without visible indications of disturbance were tested.
During the 1987 survey, undisturbed parts of the road construction project area were tested by establishment of a single transect of 40 cm diameter shovel test pits (STPs) excavated at 30 m intervals within the proposed construction area. Soil was screened through mesh hardware cloth, but units were not stratigraphically excavated. A staggered pattern of shovel test was used to investigate the area north of the Benson-Hammond House, and a supplemental 1 X 2 m excavation unit (actually sub-divided into two 1 X 1 m squares) was dug to examine historic archeological remains discovered in one of the STPs there. A total of thirty-one STPs were excavated.
Ultimately, no intact buried deposits or structural foundations were located in the survey area. Testing produced primarily mid-nineteenth century artifacts which were probably associated with the occupation of the Benson Hammond site. Artifacts recovered during 1987 included 7 activity items, 275 architectural artifacts (228 brick, 38 window glass fragments, and 9 nails), 1 furniture item (a possible porcelain pull), 361 kitchen-related items, 3 tobacco-related artifacts (1 pipe stem and 2 pipe bowls), 1 arms object (a shotgun shell), 20 prehistoric artifacts (16 quartz flakes, 2 quartz chunks, a chert pebble, and a quartzite tested pebble), and 1,106 miscellaneous objects. The activity items were 3 pieces of lamp glass, a piece of non-electrical wire, a slate pencil tip, an iron hook, and a bronze machine part. The kitchen-related artifacts were 160 ceramic sherds (20 miscellaneous earthenware, 1 creamware, 7 pearlware, 7 ironstone, 16 porcelain, 12 miscellaneous stoneware, 75 whiteware, 8 yelloware, 2 Rockingham, 5 redware, and 7 miscellaneous ceramics), 183 glass fragments (16 table glass, 2 dark green bottle glass, 8 blown bottle glass, 7 milk glass, and 150 other bottle/container glass), a piece of plastic wrap, 2 animal bones, an oyster shell fragment, a clam shell fragment, 12 other shells, and a charred seed. The miscellaneous objects were 85 unidentified glass fragments, 4 unidentified pieces of tin, 18 unidentified iron objects, 2 unidentified lead objects, an unidentified metal object, a piece of slate, a piece of plastic, a piece of rubber, a paper fragment, 14 cinders, 32 pieces of charcoal, 574 charcoal fragments, and 372 pieces of slag.
The archeological monitoring by MGS of the new driveway and parking lot for the Benson-Hammond house in 1988 involved visual monitoring of excavation work with a Gradall. The Gradall removed soil in 1.5 to 5 cm levels to a depth of 30 cm in the planned parking area. Gravel and sand fill were then added. In the vicinity of the driveway, a surface gravel layer covering the northern portion of the driveway was first removed, and an area 3 m wide was excavated 15 cm below grade. The artifacts encountered during monitoring were a mix of 19th and 20th century artifacts from disturbed soil strata, and were not considered potentially significant. The project had no adverse effect on significant archeological resources, and construction was allowed to proceed. Artifacts recovered during the 1988 monitoring project included 11 activity items (a hammer head, an iron rod, an unidentified hardware object, a metal plow part, a piece of barbed wire, 6 engine belt parts), 25 architectural artifacts (10 pieces of brick, 10 window glass fragments, 3 cut nails, an unidentified nail, and a hardware nut), 31 kitchen-related artifacts (1 earthenware sherd, 2 porcelain sherds, 3 stoneware sherds, 3 whiteware sherds, 21 bottle/container fragments, and a metal pull tab), and 8 miscellaneous objects (a piece of glass, an unidentified metal object, 2 pieces of plastic, a piece of fiberglass, and 3 fragments of coal).
Another project was carried out in the summer of 1988 in the cellar of the Benson-Hammond House itself. The purpose of the study was to determine both the archaeological record, if any, and the damage to that record that excavation and installation of a cement floor would have in the cellar situated under the southern end of the house. The Ann Arrundell Historical Society, which was renovating the structure for use as their headquarters and as a museum, wanted to use the cellar space for storage. The cellar could be reached by a masonry entryway on the west side of the southern wall of the house.
Three 91 X 91 cm (3 X 3 ft) square units were dug in the cellar to determine its archeological content. Units 1 and 2 were located along the north and west walls respectively, while Unit 3 was put in the center of the cellar floor between two rafter supports. The use of three 91 cm square units was favored over two larger units to provide more complete coverage of the area to be tested. The locations along the wall were chosen in order to examine the foundation and any possible artifacts associated with the early construction period. The unit in the center of the floor space was intended to shed light on the general use of the cellar. All three were located towards the northern end of the cellar in order to avoid a large mound of dirt, cleared from the entryway during the 1979 investigations.
The units were excavated according to natural strata. Soil was screened through mesh hardware cloth. All artifacts retrieved from each stratum were bagged together and labeled, and the units, features, and the site were further documented photographically. Profiles and plan views were also made of the units and features, and a site plan was drawn.
Units 1 and 2 each contained the remains of a dry-laid brick platform which supports oral history that a furnace and a water heater were once located in the cellar in roughly the same areas. The foundations of both the north and west walls were exposed and their depths recorded, along with the remnants of their corresponding builder’s trenches (each disturbed). Even, dry-set, parallel bricks, in a north-south orientation were encountered at the same depth in each of the three units, strongly suggested a former floor. The floor remnants were not continuous, but the similar design and depth would support the notion of continuity at one time, with a subsequent partial removal. In Unit 2, the brick was directly under the wall. At first this was thought to be a footing for the wall, but upon closer inspection, it appeared to be part of the floor encountered in the other units. Since the load-bearing west wall has no footing and is deeper, and the north wall does not tie in with either the west or the east wall, a later date of construction for the north wall is likely.
The artifact content of each of the units was roughly similar and lends itself to a mid to late 19th century date, contemporaneous with the brick additions to the north of the house. Soil strata, with varying amounts of disturbance, were also roughly similar in each of the units. The same order of content and depth of fill was encountered, with silty sand leading to coarse yellow sand, overlying mottled hard clay. The depth of fill overlying the brick floor is curious, but is possibly explained by the house’s neglect and subsequent use for equipment storage.
The artifact assemblage recovered during the 1988 excavations in the Benson-Hammond House cellar consisted of 7 activity items (4 iron washers, 1 brass washer, an iron bolt, and an iron bracket/nail), 96 architectural artifacts (1 brick, 3 plaster, 5 lead-glazed drain pipes, a sewer pipe, 65 pieces of window glass, 9 unidentified nails, 5 machine-cut nails, a hand-wrought nail, 5 wire nails, and a brass valve fragment), 1 possible furniture item (a tack), 1 clothing item (a 4-holed bone button), 206 kitchen-related artifacts (11 miscellaneous earthenware sherds, 9 pearlware sherds, 14 ironstone sherds, 3 porcelain sherds, 37 whiteware sherds, 6 yelloware sherds, 1 redware sherd, 31 miscellaneous stoneware sherds, and 94 bottle/container glass fragments), a personal item (a coin or token), a tobacco-related artifact (a kaolin pipe stem), 1 prehistoric artifact (chert flake), and 9 miscellaneous objects (1 molten glass object, 4 unidentifiable iron/ferric objects, 2 unidentifiable lead objects, an unidentifiable molten object, and a piece of ash).
Also in 1988, an initial Phase I survey was conducted within the (then) proposed alignment for a hiker-biker trail along Maryland Route 162. The survey did not pass through the site, but looked at an area roughly 90 m to the east of the site. During this survey, shovel test pits were excavated within the alignment. Although numerous historic artifacts were recovered, no intact sites were recognized. It is probable that some of these artifacts were associated with the site occupation of “Cedar Farm”.
All of the above data, as well as extensive architectural survey was utilized to successfully nominate the Benson-Hammond House to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
Additional survey work was carried out by SHA near, but not within the documented boundaries of 18AN497 in 1992. The previous planned hiker-biker alignment (see above) was altered in such a way that it would pass much closer to the site. The survey also considered the impacts of proposed modifications to an intersection to the south of the site. Although this survey recovered numerous historic artifacts in the survey area, none of them appeared to have been associated with intact deposits and were instead regarded as field scatter.
The most recent archeological investigation carried out at the Benson-Hammond Site was an intensive Phase I and limited Phase II testing program. The investigation was conducted for several reasons. First, to satisfy Phase I archeological survey requirements by the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) prior to the construction of support piers for historic buildings moved onto the property as interpretive outbuilding features. MHT holds a perpetual historic preservation easement on the property. In addition, MHT issued a Maryland Antiquities Permit for these investigations as the property is state-owned. The second reason for testing was to determine if repair activities in the cellar of the house would adversely affect any archeological remains which might be located there. Finally, testing was conducted in order to intensively survey the property so that areas of high artifact concentration could be identified, and to identify and define any features which might be present. The data were used to construct a cultural resource management plan for the property.
The 1993 project entailed the excavation of 69 shovel test pits and ten 1.514 X 1.524 m (5 X 5 ft) formal test units. The initial series of shovel test pits were situated wherever support jacks were to be placed for the historic outbuildings that were being moved to the property to help re-create the historic landscape of the farm. The newly installed building would be a Summer Kitchen, Corn Crib, and Tack House. Moving these three buildings from their original locations (where they are threatened) to the site required construction of support piers for each building. A single shovel test pit was excavated in the location for each pier, for a total of 20 STPs. In addition, one shovel test pit was placed in the cellar of the house next to a collapsing support jack. This STP was placed in order to determine if repair activities in the basement would adversely affect any archeological remains which might be located there. These STPs were roughly 46 cm (18 in) in diameter. All STPs were excavated in natural stratigraphic levels and all soils were screened through hardware cloth.
Ten STPs were placed in the vicinity of the new Summer Kitchen structure. Six of these were placed in one location, before the layout for the building was slightly altered and an additional four had to be located in the footprint for the new (and final) location. The basic profile for the Summer Kitchen area was a humus/root mat layer overlying a remnant plowzone or Ap Horizon. Beneath this Ap Horizon was a B Horizon which overlays a C Horizon. In four of the STPs, however, this pattern was interrupted by a hard-packed gravel feature. A total of 834 artifacts were recovered from the Summer Kitchen location, mostly from the humus and Ap layers. Artifacts recovered from these STPs included 37 activity items (a lamp glass, a battery cable terminal, a rubber ignition wire boot, and 34 flower pot fragments), 474 architectural artifacts (90 pieces of brick, 15 fragments of tar paper, a piece of Portland cement, 249 pieces of window glass, a window shade bracket, 2 pieces of electrical wire, a piece of threaded pipe, 1 cut nail, 16 wire nails, 97 unidentified nails, and an agate door knob), 2 clothing items (glass buttons), 2 furniture items (tacks), 86 kitchen-related artifacts (1 pearlware, 1 whiteware, 5 redware, 6 unidentifiable sherds, 4 pieces of table glass, 61 bottle glass fragments, and 8 pieces of oyster shell), 1 arms object (a .22 rimfire cartridge), and 232 miscellaneous objects (2 melted glass fragments, 38 unidentifiable pieces of iron/steel, a piece of plastic, a piece of paper, 187 coal and slag fragments, a piece of fossil shell, and 2 unidentifiable items).
Six STPs were excavated in the location for a corn crib, all exhibiting similar profiles. The upper layer consisted of roughly 25 cm thick layer of humus and ash from a 1950s era barn fire. This bottomed out on a deflated plowzone (or Ap Horizon), which was atop a B Horizon. A total of 281 artifacts were recovered at this location, most from the humus and ash layer. Artifacts recovered from the corn crib area include 1 activity item (a metal sprocket), 240 architectural artifacts (37 pieces of brick, 1 mortar fragment, 188 pieces of window glass, 2 cut nails, and 12 unidentified nails), 28 kitchen-related artifacts (1 pearlware sherd, 3 whiteware sherds, 1 yelloware sherd, 1 refined earthenware sherd, a miscellaneous stoneware sherd, and 21 bottle glass fragments), and 12 miscellaneous objects (3 pieces of metal, 7 pieces of slag, and 2 unidentified objects).
Four STPs were excavated in the proposed location for a tack house. All four STPs exhibited a similar profile: a roughly 25 cm thick plowzone atop a 7-17 cm (3-7 in) thick B Horizon, over a sandy C Horizon. A plow scar was identified in one of the STPs. A total of 220 artifacts was recovered, 143 of which came from the Ap Horizon, and 48 of which came from the plow scar. The assemblage from the tack house area included 44 architectural artifacts (18 pieces of brick, a piece of slate, 15 fragments of window glass, and 10 unidentified nails), 8 kitchen items (2 whiteware sherds, a fragment of table glass, an unidentified piece of vessel glass, and 4 glass bottle fragments), and 168 miscellaneous artifacts (a piece of melted glass, an unidentified metal fragment, 38 unidentified steel/iron objects, 127 pieces of coal, and a piece of slag).
The Shovel test pit excavated in the cellar of the Benson-Hammond House eventually had to be abandoned after extensive damage to the existing support jack was revealed. Artifacts revealed before work was abandoned consisted of 2 bricks, 1 piece of oyster shell mortar, 2 wire nails, 3 unidentified nails, 3 pieces of molded table glass, and 2 pieces of plastic. Repairs were made to the support jack, and then a single 1.524 X 1.524 m (5 X 5 ft) unit was opened up along the south wall at the base of some hearth supports. This location was selected in order to test the possible builder’s trench that had been located in 1988. The unit was excavated in stratigraphic levels using shovels and trowels. All soils from each level were passed through hardware mesh.
The unit was excavated to a maximum depth of 74 cm (29 in) below the surface of the cellar floor. Eleven stratigraphic levels were noted during excavation of the unit, ten fill layers and one natural layer. Two former brick floors and a rodent run were also exposed. The filling sequence in the cellar of the house represents the continuous usage of the basement over at least a 134 year period from ca. 1828 to 1959 by the Benson and Hammond families and some mid 20th century tenants. The 19 year period of abandonment between 1959 and 1978 is also represented in the upper strata of the sequence. In addition to the excavation of the unit, measurements of a hearth support were taken once the unit was complete. An accessible artifact inventory is not provided in the full site report for the materials recovered from the cellar unit (as is provided for the various STPs), thus all 1,659 artifacts recovered from the unit are simply counted in the table above as “miscellaneous” objects.
After testing of the farm outbuilding locations and the basement was completed, 48 additional shovel test pits (of slightly different dimension) were placed at 12.2 m (40 ft) intervals across the yard area of the site. These STPs were 46 X 46 cm (1.5 X 1.5 ft) in size and were excavated in stratigraphic levels using shovels and trowels. All soils were passed through hardware mesh. After discrete areas of artifact clustering were located by the systematic STP excavation, nine larger 1.52 X 1.52 m (5 X 5 ft) units were excavated in each area using shovels and trowels. These units were excavated in order to locate any features which might be buried at these locations and to get a wider view of the stratigraphy than the STPs provided. Each unit was excavated in stratigraphic levels and all soils were screened through hardware mesh.
Several features were identified during excavation of the systematic STPs and formal test units in the yard at 18AN497, including post holes, an ash pit, a basin-shaped pit of unknown function, a brick rubble deposit thought to be associated with a 19th century smokehouse, rubble from a chicken coop, rubble remnants from a destroyed springhouse, the brick foundation of the springhouse, a modern utility trench, a planting hole, a possible tree root, driveway and road remnants, and unidentified features.
Again, no accessible artifact inventory is provided in the full site report for the materials recovered from this second group of STPs or from the resultant test unit. No final tally of artifacts from these STPs and units is provided either. Thus, they are not included at all in the tables above.
Intensive Phase I testing and minimal Phase II excavation at the Benson-Hammond site recovered evidence of multiple landscapes at the site. Four former landscapes were uncovered, the earliest of which is a thin scatter of non-diagnostic prehistoric artifacts found across the southern edge of the site. The second landscape dates to the Benson ownership of the property from 1809-1887, although most of this landscape seems to be concentrated in the period 1840-1887. Architectural resources associated with this period on the farm include the standing brick house, the foundation of the spring house, and rubble which may be associated with another outbuilding (a possible smokehouse). Their alignment suggests that they may have been part of a line of buildings, and may have represented two distinct “activity areas”. The landscape may have been organized along the (presumed) gendered division of labor used on the farmstead, with the smokehouse representing a “male” area and the springhouse representing a “female” area. Additional research at the site could shed light on this possibility.
The third landscape is associated with the Hammond occupation between 1887 and 1949, and may have been created around two activity centers as well. Immediately around the house are the remains of a chicken coop represented by a heavy concentration of brick, window glass, and nails. It is depicted on a sketch map by a local informant (and former resident) as a chicken coop. The chicken coop would (presumably) have been tended by women. Another concentration of debris from this period is situated to the north of the house. It is probably an outbuilding, but its function is unknown. Some of the postholes and other features may represent the remains of greenhouses and cold frames documented on the aforementioned sketch map.
The most recent landscape at the site dates to the period ca. 1949-1978. Between 1950 and 1959 the house was occupied by tenants and was then abandoned until 1978. The activities of that period created the landscape that archeologists observed when arriving at the site in 1993. This included the demolishing of many of the aforementioned outbuildings and burial with refuse of most of the remains. The addition of the rescued and restored historic outbuildings to the grounds created a fifth landscape at the Benson-Hammond site. This landscape will present a restored 19th century truck farm.
Based on the findings of the 1993 Phase I/II survey, the historic landscapes at 18AN497 still offer research opportunities. Additional archival research, oral history (if possible), and archeological survey could help to answer questions about the gendered landscape (or lack thereof) on 19th and 20th century truck farms, as well as early 19th century farmsteads in Anne Arundel County.
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