Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18BA100 Howard-McHenry Mill
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Howard-McHenry Mill Site (18BA100), also known as the Old Court Road site, is the location of a 19th century mill and tenancy complex. The site is located west of Pikesville and the Gwynns Falls, in Baltimore County, Maryland. It is situated on a gently sloping narrow terrace about above Gwynns Falls. The site was previously in pasture, but is in the process of reverting to a 4th growth forest. The stratigraphy of the site is not natural. It has been altered by scraping. The soil stratigraphy consists of a humic layer that overlies a horizon of undisturbed subsoil and a clayey sterile fill layer. Below the sterile fill is a band of mixed brown loams which overlies sterile subsoil. The stratigraphic sequence suggested there was an excavation into sterile subsoil followed by a slumping of humic, artifact bearing loams which was followed by infilling with sterile clay and subsequent humic developments above the fill.
Archival research revealed that Howard’s Mill, owned by Cornelius Howard (Jr.), stood on a parcel resurveyed for Howard in 1793 from parts of several land tracts including Calf Pasture, Howard’s Inheritance, Water Oak Ridge and others. Howard, in addition to the mill, had numerous slaves, some of whom he rented out, and had a large number of cattle, swine, and sheep. The livestock provided meat for the household and the sheep were used for wool production. During the period of Howard’s ownership two occupants were listed at the mill property (N. Marsh and M. Black). The mill was not listed on the 1794 Griffith’s map of Maryland; however, this may be a result of small-scale operations not being recorded. It was not until 1798 that the mill was mentioned on a tax list. Howard was listed as owning a 2-story stone mill house that measured 18.28 x 7.62 meters (60 x 25 ft). Two distinct dwellings were also described. An 1823 ledger of the ‘Old District 6’listed a gristmill valued at $1,000 and a saw mill valued at $40. In the guidebook ‘View of Baltimore’ by C. Varle, it was noted that the gristmill was used only for the grinding of meal and feed rather than flour. The earliest map to record the mill was a property plat from 1843. The plat clearly shows the mill and the miller’s house located adjacent to Old Court Road (then called “Road to the Arsenal”). The map also depicted the head and tail races and other structures located outside the site area.
Following Howard’s death in 1844, his estate was divided and lots were drawn by his heirs. The mill stood on Lot 2 with what was possibly the miller’s house immediately to the west. The mill site was selected by George H. Elder on behalf of Violetta Barnes. It was later conveyed to James Howard McHenry the great-nephew of Cornelius Howard. The estate then came to be called Sudbrook. Sidney’s 1850 map of Baltimore depicted the Howard-McHenry Mill but with only one structure labeled ‘grist and saw mill’.
In 1856, McHenry tried to sell the mill property. Listed on the inventory were a farm, grist mill, saw mill, a large frame dwelling, a stone barn, other outhouses, and 2 tenant houses. All of the structures were contained within a 41.2 hectare (102 acre) portion of the property. Then in 1857, when McHenry was trying to rent the property, a grist mill and a saw mill, a stone barn, a poultry house, a corn house, and a dwelling (probably the structure adjacent to the mill). These structures were said to be within a 40.5 hectares (100 acre) portion of the property. The 2 aforementioned tenant houses were not noted.
The 1877 Hopkin’s map showed the mill as both an “old mill” and “G.M”. Also shown were the mill race, which appeared much longer than it had on the 1843 plat map, 2 adjacent smaller structures north of Old Court Road, and 1 structure south of Old Court Road. An individual named R.N. Weller was listed as occupant of the house that was adjacent to the mill. Since the mill was described as “old” it can be inferred that it was not in operation by that time. McHenry died in 1888 leaving behind an extensive estate. No clue to the mill was found in either his will or probate inventory and it did not appear on Bromley’s 1898 atlas. A mill ruin photographed in 1908 was identified as “Mill on Gwynns Falls near Pikesville”. This was determined to be the Howard-McHenry site because the only other mill in the area, the Milford Mill, which was also owned by McHenry, was at that time intact. The Howard-McHenry Mill parcel passed through a number of owners before the State of Maryland purchased the parcel in the late 1950s for highway development. During the late 1950s and 1960s, construction for the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) and the relocation of Old Court Road resulted in disturbance to the site. This included the deposit of fill dirt, placement of construction trailers, the deposit of large concrete drainage abutments, and disturbance from heavy equipment.
The site was first identified in 1973 during a reconnaissance survey of the Northwest Transportation Corridor. The Northwest Transportation Corridor project involved construction of a highway from Gwynn Falls where it entered the transportation corridor at Owings Mills until it emerged upon the relatively flat uplands and continued to MD Route 30 at Reisterstown. The purpose of the Phase I/II survey was to locate, record, and evaluate all historic and prehistoric sites within the accessible portions of the direct impact zone. In wooded areas, pasture, or grass-covered fields, exposed surfaces were examined for artifacts. In areas with heavy ground cover and in open areas where surface artifacts were noted, shovel test pits (STPs) were excavated. Where STPs produced artifacts, 0.762 meter (30 inch) test units were excavated in arbitrary 12.7 cm (5 inch) levels. Fieldwork at 18BA100 consisted of uncontrolled surface survey and the collection of all observed artifacts. At the time of the survey, the site was reverting to forest cover but evidence for historic occupation was observed on the surface. Three 0.762 meter test units were excavated along the terrace edge. The observed stratigraphy consisted of a 15 cm deep plowzone above a yellow schist-saturated subsoil. The mill race was observed on the west side of I-695, not on the east side where the site is located.
There was no artifact inventory in the report on the 1973 survey. The only artifacts mentioned were nails, window glass (minimum estimate of 2 per artifact type recorded as architectural in the table above), one plain and one decorated pipe bowl fragment (recorded as 2 tobacco in the table above), and a French square bottle (recorded as 1 glass object in the table above). Prehistoric artifacts retained included 2 quartz chips. At the end of the Phase I survey, the investigator concluded that the archeological value of Site 18BA100 was negligible.
Personnel from the Maryland Office of Planning and Zoning visited the site in December of 1980. It was noted that a refuse/modern trash dump area overlooking I-695 was located on the site. The garbage (and the site) was in the proposed location of a highway exit ramp. The surveyors suggested that because initial archival work indicated the potential for a property to be located on the site that additional archival research needed to be conducted in order to identify the site and to determine its significance.
In 1981, the Maryland State Highway Administration requested that the Maryland Geological Survey, Division of Archeology undertake an intensive Phase II archeological testing at 18BA100. The goals of the investigation were to define site boundaries, assess site integrity, and provide documentation for determination of National Register eligibility. Fieldwork was conducted between October of 1981 and April 1982. Additional archival research was also done of the site. Aerial photographs dating from 1952, 1964, and 1972 were examined for indications of post-occupational impacts to the site. It appeared from the photos that between 1952 and 1964 extensive infilling and grading took place at the site. Also in that time, the course of Gwynn Falls was changed, the Baltimore Beltway was constructed, and Old Court Road was relocated approximately 100 meters southeast of its original site. Only a small portion of the site adjacent to the north side of ‘old’ Old Court Road was undisturbed.
Pedestrian reconnaissance was conducted of the site area. Several cultural features were identified including a large depression located on the terrace edge, a stone-lined well at the western edge, and evidence of the mill race north of the site area. A series of 344 STPs were excavated at 2.5 meter intervals. STPs were excavated east of the terrace edge and north until no additional material was recovered. In all, six 1 m² test units (TUs 1-4, 5, 7, and 8), one 1x2 meter test unit (TU 2), and one 0.5x3 meter test trench (TU 6) were dug. The test units were excavated in order to assess potential features identified during the shovel testing and to clarify the stratigraphy in different areas of the site. Additionally, there was mechanical removal of overburden (Areas I-V) and deep cuts (Trenches A-D) in specific areas of the site. The deep cuts were used to investigate pre- and post-occupational filling sequences. All excavated soils were screened through 0.635 cm (¼”) mesh and all materials were retained. Soil samples were also collected for chemical analyses. They were collected during the second phase of the investigation 3 months after the STPs were dug. The samples were taken from the lower A-horizon which was consistently distributed throughout the study area. Soils were collected from shovel tests dug at 3 meter intervals and screened.
The distributional analysis of the artifacts indicated that creamware, pearlware and whiteware appeared to cluster in the south-central, southwestern and western portions of the site. Tobacco pipes, bottle glass and oyster shell followed a similar pattern but additional concentrations of bottle glass and oyster shell were noted in the northern and central portions of the site. The pattern of the oyster shell was thought to be indicative of walkways between structures. Discrete concentrations of architectural debris were also noted in the southern, southwestern, north-central, and western portions of the site. Generally, the distribution of window glass correlates with the rest of the architectural material except that on the northeast edge of the site a cluster was noted in the area of the depression where there was evidence of post-occupational infilling. The patterning of soil chemical compositions at the site generally agreed with the artifact distribution. Phosphates, which are associated with deposition of organic materials, were concentrated west of the unknown structure.
Cultural features and artifact concentrations were identified in the test units. All of the units were capped with a post-occupational/post-demolition (in the case of structures) A-horizon. Test Unit 1 was placed over a large quantity of rock rubble. It was interpreted to be an unlined cellar hole that was intentionally filled with rocks. The investigators indicated that the cellar was associated with the farm’s dairy building. Mid- to late-19th century artifacts were recovered from the unit. It was suggested that the artifacts represented redeposited yard midden which were then incorporated into the fill. Test Unit 2 was placed in the location of an artifact concentration and rock rubble. The observed sequence was interpreted to be a robbed out stone footing that was backfilled with loose cobbles and yard midden. The recovered artifacts dated to the 19th century and included architectural and domestic debris. Test Units 3 and 4 were placed on the basis of artifact densities identified during the shovel testing. Layer 1 was defined as a post-occupational A horizon, Layer 2 was defined as an occupational A, and Layer 3 was defined simply as A2. No cultural features were identified in the units and both contained 19th century materials. Test Unit 5 was placed in order to evaluate the sequence of the depression that was identified during the pedestrian reconnaissance. The feature measured approximately 15x15 meters and was ca. 1.5 meters deep. The sequence of infilling and soil development included a layer of rock debris (Layer 3) that was possibly related to the destruction and robbing of a structure in this location. Again, 19th century domestic debris was recovered from the unit. Test Unit 6 was dug to determine the limits of rock collapse located by the STPs. No soils were screened nor were artifacts collected. Test Unit 7 was placed where a large quantity of rock rubble had been found during shovel testing. The lowest level excavated in the unit was interpreted to be an old A-horizon that had been covered sometime in the late 19th century by a thick level of disarticulated stone, possibly suggesting a collapsed wall. Material recovered from under the stone dated to the later 19th century. Test Unit 8 was excavated in an area with a dense concentration of window glass on the terrace edge just north of the depression. The complicated stratigraphy of the unit suggested that there was a back fill layer associated with the construction of the mill, and that there was a robber’s trench left after the rocks from the walls were salvaged.
Two rock-filled features were revealed through the excavation of Trench A. They reached a depth of 75 cm below the excavated surface, or about 1 meter below the ground surface. The features and the sequence of deposition indicated that a cellar hole was dug into the natural strata to a depth of approximately 1 meter. The excavated soil was spread out around the outside of the cellar hole and stone foundations were laid in the cellar. An A-horizon developed above the excavated soil deposition followed by the deposition of modern construction debris that capped the entire soil sequence. One feature was identified in Trench B which demonstrated post-occupational modification of the terrace edge. There was an amorphous feature that may have been the extreme southern extent of building material recovery activities in the area. In Trench C, a red clay feature was identified as a possible ramp that may have been associated with a barn for loading livestock and other goods onto wagons. Below the feature, an intact plowzone was encountered.
Mechanical stripping removed nearly 310 m² of overburden. In Area 1, a large stone-lined cellar hole, an unlined cellar hole, and several post holes were uncovered. The lined cellar was composed of mortared fieldstones. It measured 6x5 meters (20x16 ft). At its north end were the remains of a fireplace. The northeastern quarter of the cellar was excavated revealing that the interior of the structure had been originally dug to a depth of about 1.45 meters below original grade and the foundations were laid from the interior. The fireplace appeared to have been walled off during the occupation. The artifacts recovered from the cellar fill indicated that the feature was demolished and infilled in the late 19th century. There was also the suggestion of an improved walkway to the northeast of the structure that was comprised of cobbles in a coal rich soil. The unlined cellar hole, located north and east of the stone foundation feature, measured roughly 3x1.5 meters but is somewhat irregular in shape, probably the result of erosion following demolition of the overlying structure. This feature was interpreted as a cold storage facility. To the north of the cellar holes, a series of 22 shovel-dug fence posts were encountered. The series of postholes was interpreted to be representative of three fence units. Two of the fence lines were parallel to one another and ran in a northeast to southwest orientation. The third fence line ran generally east to west north of the stone foundation. A cluster of three postholes located immediately north of the unlined cellar was interpreted to be the location of a gate. The few remaining posthole features failed to reveal any identifiable pattern. Wood recovered from one of the posts was identified as hard pine. When considered in combination with the cobble walkway feature noted above, then the post pattern suggested a fenced high-traffic pathway. The final feature identified in Area I was a north-south running trench that held an iron pipe which carried water from a well to a structure located on the south side of Old Court Road. It appeared that the trench was dug after the site was abandoned.
In stripped Area II, the amorphous, stone-filled feature that was uncovered initially in Test Unit 2 was further examined. The feature measured roughly 5.4x2.2 meters (16x6.5 ft) and although somewhat irregular in shape, it had clearly defined edges in the surrounding subsoil. Few artifacts were recovered from the feature and those that were dated generally to the 19th century. In profile, the feature was saucer-shaped and intruded 2 cm into subsoil. The artifacts recovered from the surrounding STPs and the test units in this area suggested the presence of a domestic structure. This feature was interpreted as a robbed chimney footing. Its irregular shape was posited to have resulted from the removal of reusable building material followed by redeposition of debris.
Stripped Area III was an expansion of Trench B and was excavated in order to explore the amorphous feature identified within that trench. The feature was revealed to be a linear trench oriented in a northeast-southwest direction. It contained two different fill levels: a yellowish-brown mottled fill with cobbles, and a darker brown silty mottled fill with charcoal flecks and pockets of clay. This feature was determined to be a robbed structural wall with builder’s trench. At some point, the wall material was robbed out and the resulting hole was filled with clay and some discarded building material.
Area IV was comprised of 2 mechanically stripped areas within the area of the depression that was first identified during the pedestrian reconnaissance. The depression was obscured by modern highway-related construction (sterile) fill but preliminary testing suggested that there were buried horizons beneath the fill. In the western end of the area, the stratigraphic sequence suggested that subsoil was excavated into below the level of the depression floor. This subsequently was silted in and was eventually covered with a clayey sterile fill layer. A layer of disarticulated stone sitting on the subsoil extended into the southeast portion of the area. It is likely that the stones were disturbed during efforts to reclaim building materials. Artifacts recovered in association with the stones suggested that the structure that stood there was torn down in the later part of the 19th century. When the features from adjacent Areas III and IV are looked at together, there is ample evidence to suggest that a large structure was once set into the terrace face. The distance from the stone features uncovered in Areas III and IV was slightly less than 20 meters, which corresponds with the dimensions of the mill as described on the 1798 Particulars List of Lands. The structure was probably torn down in the late 1870s or early 1880s and the materials repurposed although usable building material and domestic debris were left scattered in the depression. Soon after the building material was removed from the site, it was capped by a layer of fairly sterile clay fill.
An L-shaped stone rubble filled feature was identified in Area V. In this area, manual overburden removal was utilized rather than mechanical stripping because the rock rubble was located very near to the surface. The red clay ‘ramp’ identified earlier in Trench C was situated on the east side of the rubble. The stone was often discontinuous and the structures shape could not be determined. Brick pilings were located along the northern end of the rubble which suggested a shed or some other addition abutting the ramp. The feature was interpreted to be the remains of a barn or stable.
A minimum estimate of 4,007 historic period artifacts was collected from the Howard-McHenry Site. No artifact inventory was provided in the original site report. The only quantities noted were in the form of artifact distribution maps placed within the body of the report and there was a limited discussion of special artifact types, including some ceramics, a few activity items and personal items, in Appendix II, Artifact Illustration. Therefore, all totals stated in the table above should be considered minimum estimates and not necessarily representative of all artifact types found at the site. There were several activity items collected from the site including a nearly complete red earthenware flower pot, 1 glass ink bottle, 2 pieces of horse hardware (a brass buckle and a harness piece), and 1 riddle (a sieve) which was the only specifically mill-related item collected from the site. Architectural materials that were retained included 1,075 pieces of window glass, 370 (ca. 5,290 grams) brick fragments, 200 (ca. 1,145 grams) oyster shell fragments, 91 wrought nails, 1,066 cut nails, and 234 (ca. 4,026 grams) pieces of mortar. As the oyster collected from the site was interpreted to be indicative of its use for a walkway, then it was recorded with the architectural materials. Kitchen-related artifacts collected from the site consisted of 290 fragments of bottle glass, 3 complete bottles, and 582 ceramic sherds (41 creamware, 103 pearlware, 428 whiteware, 2 white salt-glazed stoneware, 2 tin-glazed earthenware, 2 Rockingham including a broken teapot, 2 gray salt-glazed stoneware including a broken jug, and 2 brown salt-glazed stoneware including a bottle), and the single miscellaneous kitchen item recorded was a glass fruit jar lid. A mean date of 1848 was determined for the ceramic assemblage. The personal items retained from the site were a Vaseline jar and 3 bone brush handles. Tobacco-related items consisted of 89 white clay pipe bowl and stem fragments.
An assessment of the ceramic sherds collected from the 344 STPs indicated that the mill tenants were over a lower-wealth economic status. Internal comparison between the earlier and later ceramic samples further suggested that the mill tenants lost economic ground through time. This change may have reflected economic conditions throughout the milling profession or it may have reflected a shift that occurred when the mill was shut down in the 1870s. The houses that the tenants occupied were likely small, vernacular frame structures. Within the context of 19th century flour milling in the Baltimore area, the Howard-McHenry Mill was a small local enterprise grinding wheat for a fee. It was typical of the small mills that ground flour for local consumption.
The Howard-McHenry Mill Site (18BA100), also known as the Old Court Road site, is the location of a 19th century mill and tenancy complex. Phase II excavations at Site 18BA100 revealed five apparent structures within the site area: a probable house with cellar hole and associated dairy in Area I, a possible domestic structure in Area II, what appears to be the mill in Areas III and IV (the mill would have been located in the depression), and a barn or stable in Area V. The historical significance of the site comes from its representation of the economic conditions of the tenant millers in residence there. Given the limited number of grist mill sites in Baltimore County that have been either identified or systematically studied, Site 18BA100 does represent a relatively scarce resource. No intensive occupation of the site occurred after ca. 1880 when it was abandoned preserving to some extent the integrity of the site. Post-occupational impact has occurred at the site, particularly to the edges of the site. The site’s research potential has, however, been adequately addressed through Phase I and II testing. It was determined that additional work would not contribute to the current understanding of the site. Therefore, no further testing was recommended. Recent aerial photos indicate that the site has been developed.
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