Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18AN498 Hawkins Road I
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
Hawkins Road I (18AN498), or the Boehm Site, is an 18th century domestic site near Crownsville, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The site is situated on a ridge between two first order tributaries of Bacon Ridge Branch, a tributary of the South River. A nearly flat ridge top in the center of the site is flanked by slopes to the north, west, and south. At the time of the site’s discovery, it was situated in a standing cornfield. The soil in the area is a Collington fine sandy loam.
The site was first identified in 1979, during a supplemental Phase I survey conducted in the potential corridors of what would eventually become I-97. A 1977 report had summarized the results of preliminary investigations of the approximately 32 miles of alternative corridors then under consideration. A slightly different western corridor was selected for the highway than was previously surveyed, thus necessitating additional survey work. The work was carried out under an agreement that had been reached between the Maryland Geological Survey and the Maryland State Highway Administration for the consideration of archeological resources in road construction/expansion projects.
The site was located within the cornfield by a elongated scatter (50 m north-south X 30 m east-west) of brick fragments, window pane, oyster shell and other materials. The elongate shape of the scatter coincides with, and is probably the result of, the direction of cultivation. Only a representative fraction of the observed material was collected. Collected materials included a piece of red brick, a North Devon gravel-tempered sherd, 5 misc. earthenware sherds, 1 Westerwald sherd, a gray salt-glazed stoneware sherd, 6 green bottle glass fragments, a blue bottle glass fragment, 2 hand-blown bottle fragments, a kaolin pipe bowl fragment, and a chert chunk. The assemblage suggested that the site represented a late 18th to early 19th century occupation with a limited amount of later intrusive material. Based on these findings, the site was recommended for Phase II testing.
As part of the Phase II testing, archival research was conducted in an attempt to determine the identities of site inhabitants and place the site in its historical context. The archival research reveals that 18AN498 is located on “Long Venture”, patented in 1673 by a John Simpson. Simpson conveyed the land to Richard Rawlings in 1685. In 1714, the parcel was divided with Richard Rawlings’ son, Richard Jr. He conveyed nearly half to his brother John. The other portion, retained by Richard, appears to include 18AN498 and had a dwelling by 1714. In 1738, John Rawlings sold 20 acres of Long Venture to William Hernwood. The parcel is described as “under the tenure and occupancy of John Rawlings” and appears to be the parcel that encompassed 18AN498. Hernwood held the property until 1772 when he sold the land to Francis Rawlings who was reconsolidating the various parcels of Long Venture.
All of the references in the land records indicate that the Rawlingses were “planters”, while William Hernwood is described as a “carpenter”. Further research failed to discover more about the individuals who dwelled at 18AN498. Neither the Rawlingses nor Hernwood appear to have been literate, as they used marks rather than signatures in their land transactions. They are probably representative of what have been called “middling” planters of the 18th century Tidewater region. Middling planters constituted a large segment of the population of Colonial America, but are under-represented in history because they were neither literate nor rich. However, the significance of their contributions should not be overlooked.
Site 18AN498 was occupied throughout the 18th century by individuals of moderate means involved in cash crop agriculture. William Hernwood is described as a carpenter, so he probably supplemented his tobacco income with that specialty. Both Hernwood and the Rawlingses probably represent fairly typical individuals in 18th century Anne Arundel County.
Phase II field research was carried out at 18AN198 in 1982. The two primary field techniques utilized were controlled surface collection and manual test unit excavation. Surface collection began with the plowing, roller harrowing, and rain-washing of the field at 18AN498. A grid was then erected and cultural materials were collected by 3 m sampling units. All cultural material was retained, except ferric sandstone cobbles and fire-cracked rock, which were discarded in the field. The surface collection data was then mapped to identify potential activity areas.
Six 1 X 1 m test units and one 5 m X 50 cm test trench were excavated to examine areas of cultural activity delineated by the surface collection. The purpose of these tests was to identify subsurface features. Initially, plowzone soil was sifted through hardware mesh and all cultural material was retained. Due to the high clay content of the soil, sifting proved quite difficult. After the excavation of two of the 1 X 1 m units, the recovery strategy was changed and plowed soils were not sifted, as the surface collection provided an adequate sample of the plowed material. Plowed soils were simply shoveled to the side and the top of the subsoil trowelled clean to expose soil features. This allowed for rapid exposure of a greater area. Un-sifted plowed soils were then backfilled into their original location. This preserved the plowzone record of the site, while allowing researchers to examine greater areas for subsurface features. Plan drawings were made of any potential features, and profiles were drawn of relevant wall sections. Field data was recorded on standardized forms.
Two additional subsurface techniques were utilized in assessing 18AN498. A shovel test pit (STP) was excavated, but not sifted, down slope from the collection area to test for accumulation of colluviums. This STP suggested a plowzone of roughly 25 cm over a mixed stratum (45 cm) of sands and silts deposited by erosion. This is indicative of considerable down-slope movement of soils as a result of agriculture and erosion. Additionally, a plug auger was used to delineate features size when a potential feature exceeded the size of a test unit. Only one feature was identified, but the augering data suggested saucer-shaped depression of non-uniform thickness. The data suggested that the feature was the result of a tree fall, rather than a culturally-derived feature. Architectural and domestic debris from a partially burned and dismantled structure appear to have been thrown into this convenient hole at some later date.
A full artifact assemblage is not provided in the site report for the Phase II project at 18AN498, however, there is a description of the diagnostic materials recovered during the excavations. The diagnostic ceramics recovered included 6 Jackfield sherds, 10 Staffordshire slipware sherds, 6 Buckley, 19 North Devon gravel-tempered, 4 tin-glazed earthenware sherds, 35 creamware sherds, 4 pearlware, 5 Chinese porcelain sherds, 1 English porcelain sherd, 4 scratch blue stoneware sherds, 33 other white salt-glazed stoneware sherds, 4 Burslem stoneware sherds, 35 English Brown pieces, 40 Rhenish, and 1 piece of a Westerwald chemberpot (also counted as a personal item). A total of 111 measurable pipe stem fragments were also recovered. When taken as a whole, these diagnostic materials point to a date of occupation from roughly 1700 to 1780. The full site report also mentioned the presence of numerous architectural artifacts (brick, window glass, nails, etc.), but does not provide details of the sub-assemblage. The total amount of architectural material has been conservatively estimated at 50 objects.
The artifact pattern recovered through Phase II excavation at 18AN498 suggests two 18th century loci which may be partially contemporaneous. Occupation appears to have started earlier in the southern portion of the site, which may relate to the Rawlings occupation, while the northern portion of the site may have been associated with William Hernwood. Any structures that were present in the southern portion of the site could have remained after Hernwood’s arrival in 1738. He could have then built to the north but continued to use the older building(s). Within the period of his occupation, the southern portion of the site appears to have ceased in use. The absence of subsurface features makes it impossible to confirm these hypotheses. Furthermore, excavation suggested that the sandy loams at the site had been highly eroded and the site has been severely impacted by plowing and deflation.
In sum, 18AN498 represents a relatively scarce resource (an 18th century middling plantation), but with low integrity and limited research value because of severe impact by nearly two hundred years of erosion and agricultural disturbance. It is unlikely that further research would appreciably refine the pattern of cultural deposition within the site. For these reasons, no additional work was ever carried out at the site and the I-97 project likely demolished what remained.
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