Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18AP80 Gateway Circle
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
Gateway Circle (18AP80) is the archeological remains associated with a series of 19th and 20th century domestic urban rowhomes in what was, at one time, an African-American neighborhood. The site is situated within a heavily developed landscape at the intersection of Spa Road, Taylor Avenue, and West Street (MD 450) within the city limits of Annapolis. The surrounding landscape is defined by mixed commercial and residential development ranging in age from circa 1880 to the present. Mapped soils in the area belong to the Monmouth-Urban land complex, which consists of Monmouth soils and disturbed land that is mainly of Monmouth soil material. Monmouth soils have a sticky, sandy clay loam to clay subsoil and contain large quantities of glauconite, or greensand.
Archival research reveals very little about the site area prior to the Civil War period. Eighteenth and early 19th century maps of the area do not depict any significant development at the site location. The 1846 US Coastal Survey map of Annapolis Harbor shows agricultural fields and orchards at the location. No structures are shown at that time, although commercial and residential development had begun to extend westward along West Street from the old town limits of Annapolis. An 1860 map shows development along West Street close to, but still outside of the general area of the site. Development is even closer on an 1878 map. Sometime between 1878 and 1904 (when a USGS map was produced), several structures had been built within the block where 18AP80 is situated.
In 1878, the property was owned by one George Brewer, who evidently only used it for agricultural purposes. When George died in 1883, his brother, Nicholas Brewer III, became executor of the estate. Nicholas Brewer III died in 1896, at which time, his brother, Julian Brewer, was named trustee of the estate. Julian, an insurance agent and fire marshall, also was involved in real estate. Sometime between 1897 and 1906, Julian conveyed the property to his second cousin, William Brewer Gardiner, a contractor and builder who developed the land. By 1904, several structures had been built along West Street. Several of these structures were sold to non-resident landlords in 1906 and the years following. These rowhouse and duplex structures appear to have been largely renter occupied (again the owners are documented to have lived elsewhere and were simply landlords).
Secondary sources indicate that tenants in this area were mainly working class African-Americans. According to a 1939 Annapolis City Directory, the occupations of residents in the neighborhood were recorded as janitor, driver, auto mechanic, car salesman, and barber. Free Blacks had been living in Annapolis (a border city) since the 1600s and, by 1870, these individuals, as well as a smaller number of former slaves, had developed distinct communities. The city’s west end supported the largest concentration of African-American residents.
By the 1880s, a small cluster of African- American families was living along West Street between Murray and Monticello Avenues. It has been hypothesized that the African-American population gradually spread west along West Street, finally reaching the project area at the intersection of West Street and Spa Road. Population continued to grow throughout the latter part of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century, and by 1932, the county’s African-American high school had opened a few blocks west of the site.
Most African-Americans who lived in the old Fourth ward referred to the vicinity of the intersection of West Street and Spa Road as “Outtown”, a reference to its location on the outskirts of Annapolis. The majority of Outtown residents attended either the Asbury M.E. Church or Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church. Built in 1803 and reconstructed in 1839, the Asbury M.E. Church hosts the oldest Black congregation in Annapolis. Mt. Moriah’s congregation reportedly dates back to 1799. It was incorporated in 1803 and formerly organized in 1816. African-American occupation of the residences located along West Street and Spa Road remained steady until the properties were acquired by the City of Annapolis during the 1990s. Most of the structures on West Street were demolished sometime in the 1980s to make way for a parking lot, while historic rowhouses still exist on Spa Road.
Few details are available for the specific lot on which 18AP80 sits prior to 1942. In that year, a Fannie Friedman listed a duplex at this location among other real estate assets in her will. Fannie’s husband, Benjamin, who died in 1948, was a Russian-born dry goods merchant with an establishment on West Street. When Fannie died in 1958, she left three buildings to her daughter, Rose Friedman (including the 18AP80 lot). The chain-of-title information for the property ceased in 1958 with the death of Fannie Friedman. The Friedmans were non-resident owners until 1948, when Rose and Fannie may have moved in to save money following the death of Fannie’s husband. The dwellings at 18AP80 were occupied by tenants most of the time. The Annapolis City Directory lists a Mrs. Beulah Owens, a widow, as the occupant in 1939. Nothing else is known about other tenants who might have occupied the site until 1948.
The site was first investigated archeologically in 1997 during a combined Phase I and Phase II investigation prior to road improvements by the City of Annapolis. At the time of the study the City was proposing to modify the existing triangular intersection of Spa Road, Taylor Avenue, and West Street by constructing a new traffic circle to be known as “Gateway Circle”. The financial participation of the State Highway Administration in the project requires the consideration of historic properties in consultation with the Maryland Historical Trust pursuant to Article 83B, Sections 5-617 and 5-618 of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
Phase I work entailed intensive shovel test excavations at 10 m intervals throughout the road project area and at 5 m intervals in the backyard areas of the extant rowhouses of West Street. This area was considered to have high probability for containing cultural deposits as the 1908 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for the area depicts small outbuildings in these back yards. The shovel tests measured approximately 35 cm in diameter and were excavated to a depth of 40 cm below surface, or 10 cm into sterile subsoil (whichever occurred first). Excavated soils were removed by natural strata and screened through hardware cloth. Shovel test and soils data were recorded on standardized forms using standard nomenclature. A total of 40 shovel test pits (STPs) were excavated.
In addition to the shovel tests, excavation units were placed in selected locations likely to contain intact cultural deposits or features, to determine the nature of the stratigraphy and the presence/absence of cultural remains. The excavation units were placed in an attempt to locate any remains associated with outbuildings (mostly privies) shown on the 1908 Sanborn Map.
A total of eight units were excavated, ranging in size from 50 X 50 cm to 1 X 2 m. The units were excavated according to cultural and natural levels, 10 cm into sterile subsoil below any fill deposits. The soils were screened hardware cloth, except for fill which was determined to be modern in origin. Such fill soils were sampled. Soil color, texture, and inclusion were recorded along with depth of horizons, stratigraphic relationships, and artifacts recovered. Plans and profiles were drawn to scale and photographs were taken of all units and features.
Phase I investigations revealed intact deposits directly behind and to the east of existing rowhouses on Spa Road. Several intact sub-surface features were encountered in the Phase I units. At the projected location of two historically mapped outbuildings, two wood-lined privies were identified under modern fill related to the destruction of the West Street rowhouses. In the projected location of a third outbuilding, a rectangular wood stain was found. IN the projected location of a fourth outbuilding, an intact surface was encountered at a depth of 34 cm below surface, with several soil stains visible. These stains were not investigated further during Phase I work, but were later identified as part of a fourth privy.
The westernmost privy (Feature 3) was fully excavated. This feature measured 75 X 115 cm, and the cultural deposits extended to a depth of 186 cm below the surface. The privy was wood-lined. Square, vertical posts were present at the four corners, with horizontal planks forming the side walls. The privy hole had been cleaned out and used for deposition of household trash in the early 20th century, and then filled in at some later time in the century when the structure was demolished or moved. Although a small collection of artifacts remained at the bottom of the fill, no substantial primary deposits remained that would have been associated with the outbuilding’s original function. Documentary evidence indicates that the first city sewer system was installed in this area sometime after the turn of the century. These features probably were cleaned out and abandoned at that time. The rapidity of subsequent filling varied, and may have been immediate or gradual. Most of those investigated during the Phase I study appear to have been filled or nearly filled rapidly.
The artifacts recovered from the bottom of the privy shaft generally dated to post-1890, although some of the ceramic types were manufactured as early as 1820 and 1850. The only artifacts that clearly were manufactured prior to 1890 were some two-piece hinged mold glass (1750-1880) and part of a flow blue whiteware teacup (1820-1870). These may represent heirloom pieces. Some ceramics bore maker’s marks with dates and some embossed bottles bore patent dates.
Above this deposit of turn-of-the-century household debris within the privy hole were other fill deposits containing artifacts with a wider range of functions and manufacture dates, indicating their disturbed nature. The lower deposits in the privy represent reuse as a trash pit for household debris. The upper deposits represent deliberate filling-in of the privy hole, probably sometime before 1930. On the 1930 Sanborn Map, a boundary fence and small outbuildings had been moved further to the north, suggesting that the original privy had been filled-in and demolished by then.
The second privy (Feature 5) was excavated to the depth at which two side walls (showing the outline of the wood lining) were discernible, and was then recorded. This privy was also 75 cm wide and was constructed in the same manner as Feature 3, with vertical square post and horizontal planks. Cultural material was noted during excavation but not retained. This included brick, coal, and coal slag, wooden boards, nails, window glass, bottle glass, flower pot fragments, whiteware, and oyster shell. No further work was done on this feature.
The rectangular wood stain to the east (Feature 8) was initially thought to represent another, slightly smaller privy. At the surface, the feature was 51 X 131 cm in size, and appeared to have thin wooden walls. The feature was bisected and half of the feature fill was removed to determine its function. The bisection showed that Feature 8 was not a privy, but rather a long, narrow, and shallow (50 cm) wooden trunk, with metal hardware, which had been buried in a hole just slightly larger than the trunk. The remainder of the feature was excavated during the Phase II investigation.
Following consultation with the Maryland Historical Trust, further work was recommended to evaluate the cultural remains (which at that point were then designated 18AP80). Phase II evaluation consisted of the excavation of backhoe trenches to verify areas of deep disturbance, and the mechanical removal of fill materials to expose intact surfaces within the backyard areas. The backhoe trenches were placed in selected locations to determine the nature of the stratigraphy and the presence/absence of intact cultural remains. These trenches were excavated through fill levels to expose either an intact buried surface or until the subsoil stratum was reached. Each trench was recorded and photographed. Although soils were not screened, they were examined for evidence of material culture, and the side walls and floors of the trenches were cleaned and examined carefully for features.
Two areas were subjected to mechanized stripping. Block A was located directly behind (north of) the existing rowhouses on Spa Road, and measured 9 X 12 m. Two privies were believed to be located in this area, associated with now demolished rowhouses that fronted on West Street. Block B was located along Spa Road, just east of the aforementioned demolished rowhouses, and measured 8.5 X 10.5 m. In these two areas, the upper 30 to 40 cm of post-occupational deposition and fill was removed from the surface using a backhoe to the depth of undisturbed subsoil. The exposed surface was shovel scraped and examined for any evidence of archeological features. Plan views of all exposed features were drawn and photographed. All small features were fully excavated. Larger features were sampled. The soils were screened through hardware cloth and examined for evidence of material culture. Soil color, texture, and inclusions were recorded, along with strata depths, stratigraphic relationships, and the quantity and type of artifacts collected.
The mechanical excavation of Block A revealed extensive disturbance related to the destruction of the West Street rowhouses. A test trench (Trench 3) was excavated through the block to further document the disturbance. Trench 3 was 1 X 34 m, and oriented north/south across the block. The amount of disturbance was clearly exhibited in the trench profile in the form of depressions filled with architectural debris, including wood, concrete, bricks, and other modern household debris, directly above subsoil. There was no evidence of intact surfaces or features.
Trenches 1 and 2 were short test trenches excavated between Block A and West Street to look for evidence of the West Street rowhouses, such as foundations, footer, or cellars. Both trenches measured 1 X 3 m, and were oriented north/south. No features or intact surface were found, suggesting that the houses were constructed without cellars, and that grading activities had occurred during demolition.
The excavation of Block B revealed a number of intact sub-surface features. These features included two additional wood-lined privies, a buried wooden trunk, a brick-lined dry well, a trash pit, the remains of a corrugated sheet metal structure, a brick drain/gutter, a number of postmolds and postholes, and two utility pipe trenches. These features represent the range of activities that occurred in this area between the late 1800s, when it was the backyards for the West Street rowhouses, and the 1980s, when it was the location of a parking lot.
Trenches 4 and 5 were excavated to the east of Block B, to determine the eastern extent of the intact surface present in the block. Trench 4 measured 1 X 7 m, and was oriented east/west. Two sub-surface features were encountered in this trench: a brick footer and a series of three flat stone slabs. Trench 5 measured 1 X 8 m, and was placed parallel to and 2.5 m south of Trench 4. Another brick-lined dry well with several associated features was uncovered in the western end of the trench. Both Trench 4 and Trench 5 exhibited evidence of disturbance at the eastern ends, in the form of depressions filled with compacted modern and structural debris. This disturbance is related to demolition of the structures that stood in this portion of the road reconstruction project area.
Following consultation with the Maryland Historical Trust, further archeological investigations were designed to examine and document features in these backyard areas in Block B and Trenches 4 and 5. These investigations included recordation and sampling of the features uncovered in Block B, and full excavation of one of the privies uncovered. Documentation included 35 mm photography and plan and profile drawings. All identifiable features were either tested, partially excavated, or completely excavated. The extent of excavation depended on the type of feature, landscape features and soil stains were tested. Smaller features including postholes and larger features filled with rubble or debris were partially excavated. Substantial and relatively intact features such as privies were fully excavated.
The features recorded in Block B and Trenches 4 and 5 represent the overlapping domestic occupation and use of the area. They likely are related to the five backyards of former rowhouses on West Street. The earliest features, dating to the very late 19th century, seem two privies, one of which was completely excavated. Two dry wells may have been constructed around the same time as the privies. Feature 48, a dry well in Trench 5, had been capped with concrete and was not excavated. The dry well in Block B, Feature 44, had been filled in with household trash in the first half of the century. Artifacts from the buried wooden trunk (Feature 8 – see above) suggest a later date than the privies. Features 32, 34, 38, 39, and 40 represent a corrugated sheet metal structure represented on the 1930 Sanborn Map. The most recent features were two utility trenches (Features 24 and 36), which cut through a number of earlier features. Other features were impossible to date because they did not clearly relate to any dateable features, or did not contain diagnostic artifacts. Feature 35 was a brick drain or gutter that ran roughly south towards Spa Road, and did not intersect any other features. Several isolated post features did not contain datable artifacts and could not be dated.
No tables are provided in the body of the full site report which provide a tally of artifact types recovered from 18AP80. However, a listing of diagnostics is provided on a Historic Data Form provided to MHT upon completion of the 1997 project. The reported diagnostics include 4 machine cut nails, 58 wire nails, 9 milk glass mason jar lid liners, 15 glass canning jars w/ threaded lips, and 81 decal decorated whiteware sherds. A total of 500 artifacts recovered from the site would be a very minimal estimate for the assemblage.
The archeological investigations at Gateway Circle recorded a number of intact sub-surface features related to the various occupations and uses of the site area over a span of 100 years. The Phase I and II research at 18AP80 revealed soil stains, deposits and features related to the late 19th and early 20th century domestic occupation of dwellings along West Street. These features reflect activities in five of the six adjoining rear yard lots. Occupants of these dwellings during the period between 1900 and 1960 were working class families, and probably were African American. Since these dwellings appear to have been rentals for most of their existence, this interpretation is based on the socio-economic makeup of the surrounding neighborhood during that time frame.
Archeological investigations at Site 18AP80 showed that all of the rear yard areas investigated contained some features or deposits. These features included postholes, sheet middens, backfilled privies, and dry wells. Although some of these features and the materials they contained reflected a variety of household activities, most of the features were the result of the use of outbuildings for storage and parking for automobiles. The exceptions were the abandoned privies, later used as trash pits, and dry wells. These larger features contained some artifacts that related to the later occupation of these dwellings. However, the collection of materials was diverse, and in many cases mixed with later, post-abandonment fill or destruction rubble. A site plan was prepared that recorded the locations and interrelationships of all of these features within the yards.
The majority of material from all of these features was composed of post-occupational destruction debris generated during the demolition of the row houses. Two of the privies were completely excavated as a sample. These contained remnant primary trash deposits that reflect the variety of types and styles of household and domestic goods available to local consumers during the late 19th and early 20th century.
At 18AP80, testing indicated that intact features and deposits were isolated in the center of the road construction project area (i.e. in the Block B area. In other areas, such as Block A, a high degree of sub-surface disturbance was encountered. As a result, beyond the information already gathered during the 1997 investigations, the site does not exhibit the potential to provide useful or valuable information. The 1997 project did provide useful data concerning domestic activity and occupation in this portion of the City of Annapolis from the turn-of-the 20th century to ca. 1950. However, the site’s potential appears to be largely exhausted.
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