Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18BA283 Treuth Residence
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Treuth Residence Site (18BA283) represents a mid-19th century homestead. The site consists of an extant mid-19th century dwelling and the remains of a late 18th century possible residence later reused as a barn or garage. There is also a small prehistoric component to the site. It is located in Oella in Baltimore County, Maryland. The site is situated on a ridge top and is bounded on the east by a local road and to the west/northwest by hardwood forest. It is located in the south-central portion of the Benjamin Banneker Homestead site (MIHP #BA-1141) within the boundaries of the B. Banneker Historical Park. Freshwater streams and stream-fed springs are located in the vicinity of the site. Soils in the site area are predominately Glenelg loam (3-15% slope). These are deep, well-drained soils suitable for farming.
Archeological site files at the Maryland Historical Trust indicated that there were 3 prehistoric sites within a 3.2 km radius of the site (all in Howard County). In addition, a small lithic scatter was encountered in a plowzone context during archeological testing in the northern section of the park (no site number was assigned). Intensive occupation of the area really began in the mid-18th century when the Banneker family moved to the locale. Benjamin Banneker was born a free black in 1731 to Mary (a freed half black/half white slave) and Robert (a freed black slave) Banneky. Robert adopted his wife’s surname upon their marriage and the name was eventually fixed as Banneker. Benjamin, who had 4 sisters, was taught to read and write and attended school for a short time. The Banneky’s were tobacco farmers and by 1737 Robert had accumulated enough capital to purchase part of a tract of land in the Upper Patapsco Hundred known as “Stout”. Robert Banneky built a log cabin on the 100-acre tract and started his farm. When Robert died in 1759, Benjamin inherited the property. By the early 1770s, Benjamin had become a successful farmer. In addition to his tobacco crops, he reportedly kept a vegetable garden, had an assortment of fruit trees, and kept bees. He also had two horses and several cows. When the Ellicott brothers moved into the area in 1771 to start their flour mill, they made a deal with Banneker to supply the mill workmen with food and other provisions. When the Ellicotts established a store where local residence could purchase staples and manufactures goods, Benjamin and his then aged mother were among the first clients.
Benjamin Banneker became acquainted with George Ellicott who shared many of his interests including machinery, mathematics, and astronomy and who lent Banneker books and equipment. By the age of 22 Benjamin had already built his first wooden striking clock. It has been postulated that Banneker stopped cultivating tobacco as a cash crop sometime before 1790 in order to devote more time to his scientific endeavors. As early as 1785, Banneker began selling parcels of his family land to relatives and neighbors. He sold 20 acres to his nephew in 1785 and 10 acres to his neighbor John Barton in 1792. Several smaller parcels were sold in the 1790s. Around 1790, he arranged to sell the remainder of his farm to the Ellicotts, with terms that provided him with an annuity of 12 pounds sterling or its equivalent in goods from the Ellicott store, and life tenancy on the then 72-acre farm. In 1791, Banneker was commissioned by Maj. A. Ellicott to assist in calculating the astronomical projections necessary to survey the Federal Territory. Banneker created a table of the positions of the heavenly bodies which he incorporated into an almanac published in 1792. He produced almanacs in succeeding years, with the last one published in 1797. Little is known about the last years of Banneker’s life leading up to his death in 1806. Few of his possessions survive, the majority thought to have been destroyed in the fire that consumed his cabin on the day of his funeral.
Benjamin Banneker was buried in an unmarked grave in his family’s cemetery. The cemetery was described as being located a few yards to the southeast of the house. A description of the house was provided in a volume of manuscripts compiled in 1836 by the daughter of Susanna Mason who had visited Banneker’s home in 1796. She described Banneker sitting under a large pear tree next to the dwelling which was a very modest one-story log building surrounded by an orchard. When Mason’s daughter tried to revisit the spot in 1836, she learned that the house had burned down and all that remained was the pear tree and orchard. A later account indicated that the cabin was one room with a loft, in the corner of which was hung Banneker’s wooden striking clock. When Banneker’s grave site was visited in 1845, it was reported that the nearby house was marked only by a shallow cavity, at the southeastern end of which stood a tall Poplar tree that was said have overshadowed the gable end of his house. After the 1845 visit, there was no longer any documentation of the location of Banneker’s home. It was not until 1976 that, through exhaustive research, the boundaries of the Banneky/Banneker parcel were determined. The locations of a few parcels of land that Banneker sold from his 100-acre tract after 1785 were also identified.
Site 18BA283 is on part of the 10-acre tract that John Barton purchased from Benjamin Banneker in 1792. Joshua Hynes, the Sheriff of Baltimore County from 1848-1853, purchased the tract from George Ellicott in 1850 at which time Hynes is believed to have built the extant stone house. The stone house was depicted on an 1850 map of Baltimore County as belonging to J. Hynes. An 1877 atlas showed that the property consisted of the stone house, two outbuildings, and a driveway leading from the house to what is now Oella Avenue. The 1898 atlas showed the main house as a T-shaped structure with a rear stable accessed by a private drive. The property remained in the Hynes family until 1910. Between 1910 and 1969 there were at least 4 owners. A 1915 atlas showed for the first time the stone house as cruciform. A small front porch had also been added to the southeast façade of the house. Tax records indicated that a tenant dwelling was added to the property between 1910 and 1915. The original orientation of the driveway was also changed. In 1969, J. William and Betty Lee Treuth purchased the property. Records indicated that the parcel contained the house, a garage, and a corn house. In 1972, the Treuth family purchased the adjoining property (see Site 18BA241). The location of Benjamin Banneker’s house site (18BA282) was between sites 18BA283 and 18BA241. Betty Lee Treuth sold the combined 42.8-acre parcel to Baltimore County in 1985 with the stipulation that the property be utilized for outdoor recreation or open space purposes.
In 1979, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Historical Trust got a group of largely amateur archeologists interested in locating the Banneker home site. During that survey, the most likely location for the site was determined to be on a ridge that paralleled Oella Avenue near its intersection with Old Frederick Road. A 2.4 m² (8 ft) test unit was excavated not far from what was probably a 19th century farm complex (possibly 18BA283). Unfortunately, the search was abandoned in early 1980 for personal reasons. No record of the results of the test unit excavation was available.
Archeologists from the Maryland Historical Trust received a request from the Baltimore County Recreation and Parks Department to locate and define the limits of the Benjamin Banneker house site known to be somewhere within the boundaries of his former 72-acre farm. Accordingly, a Phase I survey was conducted in the summer of 1983. Areas excluded from testing included low-lying soils adjacent to streams and drainages that may have been subject to periodic flooding. For purposes of field testing, the study area was divided into 4 zones (Survey Areas 1-4) based on natural topographic features. Survey Areas 1 and 2 (SA 1 and SA 2) were then subdivided into smaller survey areas (SA 1, SA 1 A, SA 1B, SA 2, SA 2A, SA 2B). This resulted in seven study areas. Field methods included minimal surface reconnaissance and the excavation of shovel test pits (STPs) at 15.24 m (50 ft) intervals. Additional 3.048 m (10 ft) interval testing was done in areas where high artifact densities were observed in order to define site boundaries. Surface reconnaissance involved measuring and plotting surface scatters and collecting a representative sample of datable artifacts from those scatters. All excavated soils were screened through 0.635 cm (¼”) mesh and all artifacts were recorded but only datable materials were retained.
Site 18BA283 was identified in SA 1B through the excavation of 53 positive STPs dug in the lawn area and the adjacent wooded area. The lawn to the southwest of the house contained a small orchard and former garden plot. Two piles of rubble were noted on the northwest side of the yard fence. One pile contained stones and drain pipe fragments and the other pile contained stones and fragments of concrete. The origin of the piles could not be determined but they were located near STPs that contained domestic refuse. Two light artifact scatters were identified, one each corresponding to the two orientations of the driveway. The artifact types observed in these locations were datable from the mid-19th to the 20th century. Another artifact scatter was detected to the southeast of the house, in the approximate location of the larger outbuilding portrayed on the 1877 atlas. Few domestic artifacts were found and the architectural material consisted of brick fragments, window glass, and machine cut nails. It was suggested that the building was used as a barn or stable. Testing in the vicinity of the ruins revealed artifacts dating from the mid-19th to the 20th century.
During the 1983 site investigation, a total of 161 historic artifacts were found in the course of the STP excavations. All artifacts were recorded in the field but none were retained. All of the artifacts were listed in the data table above. In all, 79 architectural items were noted (26 brick fragments, 28 pieces of window glass, 5 cut nails, and 20 unidentified nails). A total of 82 kitchen-related artifacts were observed (31 bottle glass fragments, 44 ceramic sherds (19 plain whiteware, 13 decorated whiteware, 4 porcelain, 3 yellowware, 4 glazed redware, 1 gray salt-glazed stoneware), 4 animal bone fragments, and 3 oyster shells).
At the time of the 1983 survey, the site was on privately owned land and was not threatened by the then present use of the land. During the 1983 archeological investigations, Site 18BA241 (the Treuth/Lee Farmstead) and Site 18BA282 (Benjamin Banneker’s Home site) were also located south of 18BA283 within the project area. As a result of the identification of the Banneker house site, Baltimore County Department of Parks and Recreation purchased the 42.8 acre property owned by the Treuth family to create the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park. Further archeological investigations were required ahead of proposed development at the park. Site development plans included construction of a caretaker’s residence and nearby maintenance area, a visitor’s center and picnic and parking areas, and improvements to the Treuth Residence Site. Other plans included the reconstruction of a home lot with associated dwellings, outbuildings, and fields, and the stabilization of the Treuth/Lee Farmstead ruins (18BA241).
A Phase I investigation in 1991 in the area immediately southwest of the Treuth Residence Site revealed an artifact concentration interpreted to be field refuse disposal dating from the late 19th and 20th centuries. The materials likely derived from occupation of the Treuth House but were not cataloged as being directly associated with that site (See MHT #BA 82).
In late 1991, Phase I testing was conducted along a proposed utility corridor associated with the new caretaker’s residence at the site. Goals of the testing were to determine if archeological sites were present within the survey corridor, to determine whether or not any discovered resources were significant, and if significant, to determine if those resources were eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Field methods included the excavation of 104 STPs dug at 6.096 m intervals along the entire 213 m (700 ft) long and 12.19 m (40 ft) wide utility corridor. The alignment ran approximately 12 m behind the Treuth dwelling and about 3.048 m (10 ft) to the side of a brick garage, and finally ended at the new caretaker’s house. Five 1.524x1.524 m test units were placed along the corridor in areas where high artifact numbers were observed during the shovel testing. Six additional STPs were excavated in order to define the boundaries of the feature identified during the shovel testing.
The project corridor was divided into 3 areas (from east-west) for purposes of the discussion. Area 1 was located at the bottom of a slope near Oella Avenue and downslope of the ridge top where the Treuth house is located. The area contained late 19th and 20th century historic artifacts and undiagnostic prehistoric artifacts. As was the case elsewhere across the site, a single soil stratum was found sitting above the subsoil. All of the materials were recovered from that disturbed layer. Although it was at first hoped that a prehistoric camp may be identified in the area, the excavator realized that most of the prehistoric artifacts were probably washed downslope from the ridge. No features or in situ deposits were located in Area 1.
Area 2 was situated on the slope leading up to the ridge top near the Treuth house. In Area 2, a stone wall was encountered near the ground surface during the excavation of STP 89 and excavation units 3 and 4. The feature was located behind the Treuth house and measured approximately 6.096x7.62 m (20x25 ft). The stones were set in 3 courses with sand and lime mortar and sat on top of subsoil. Associated artifacts found on the exterior of the wall dated to the 19th century. Excavation within the foundation walls revealed late 18th and 19th century artifacts. A modern debris pit was found just outside the north wall. The identification of late 18th century artifacts indicated the possibility that there was a building on the site prior to the construction of the extant house in ca. 1850 (possibly related to Barton’s occupation at the site?). It was suggested that the structure was later used as a barn or garage; however, no barn or stable items were collected and two-thirds of the artifacts recovered were domestic items indicating a more domestic use of the structure. The extant brick garage was located off the northwest corner of the stone foundation.
Area 3 contained artifacts dated from possibly as early as the late 18th century and the 19th century. Excavations in the area did not uncover any 18th century deposits or cultural features as was hoped. Only a modest 18 artifacts were recovered from the area.
In all, 1,586 historic artifacts were retained from the excavations. Activity items (n=33) included 1 glass marble, 10 lamp chimney fragments, 1 wrench, 1 pulley, 1 conveyor belt link, 1 length of chain, 1 staple, 2 pencil erasers, and 15 pieces of phonograph records collected from Area 1. A total of 345 architectural items were found consisting of 39 brick fragments, 59 window glass shards, 4 glass brick fragments, 165 cut nails, 44 wire nails, 8 unidentified nails, 4 mortar fragments, 1 piece of linoleum, 3 terra cotta sewer pipe sherds, 1 door lock, 2 washers and 2 nuts, 5 spikes, and 8 screws. Clothing items (n=7) included 1 bass button, 3 metal snaps, 1 bone button, and 2 Goodyear buttons (dated to ca. 1855-1870). The only furniture item recorded was a coat hook. There were 975 kitchen-related artifacts including 587 bottle glass fragments, some modern in origin, 13 pieces of milk glass, 1 pinch vial, 343 ceramic sherds (203 whiteware, 22 pearlware, 72 redware, 4 Rockingham, 26 gray stoneware, 2 porcelain, 14 creamware), 1 pull tab and 2 bottle caps, 13 animal bone fragments, and 15 oyster shell fragments. Miscellaneous items (n=195) included 23 unidentified metal objects, 1 metal disk and 1 metal tape of unknown function, 1 lead sprue, 10 pieces of foil, 77 pieces of coal and 48 pieces of coal slag, 5 pieces of slate, 3 fragments of concrete, 13 pieces of plastic, 8 pieces of Styrofoam, and 5 unidentified pieces of rubber. Personal items (n=8) consisted of 2 mirror fragments, a 1917 penny, 1 pocket watch piece, and 4 modern plastic objects (a curler, a comb, and a mirror handle). There were 15 pipe stems in the tobacco group. One of the stems was embossed with “Peter Dorni” which dates it from ca. 1850-1875. Artifacts from the arms-related group (n=7) consisted of 3 decorative pieces of brass with embossed design used as decorations on a gun, 1 cartridge case, 2 shotgun shell casings, and 1 plastic ammunition package.
A total of 74 prehistoric artifacts were recovered during the archeological testing, 72 of which were found in Area 1 near Oella Avenue. There were 71 quartzite flakes, 1 quartzite burin, 1 quartzite scraper tool, and 1 quartzite projectile point base. All of the prehistoric artifacts were recovered from mixed plowzone contexts.
During the 1991 excavations, a large stone foundation was located. Its function and date of construction could not be definitively determined. Based on the results of the 1991 Phase I archeological testing, the utility corridor was moved in order to avoid the stone foundation feature. No further testing was recommended within the utility alignment and clearance was granted for construction of the newly located utility line in December 1991.
In 1992, Phase I/II archeological testing was conducted at the park ahead of further proposed development. The project area encompassed approximately 8.47 acres and consisted of sites 18BA241 and 18BA283, as well as non-site areas where the proposed home lot reconstruction and Visitor’s Center were planned. Goals of the investigations were 1) to identify and document historic and prehistoric resources within the project area; 2) to evaluate the potential significance of those resources applying National Register criteria; and 3) to make management recommendations regarding future treatment and interpretation of those resources. Testing within Site 18BA283 involved the excavation of 69 STPs and ten 1.524 m² (5 ft) test units within an approximately 2.29 acre area at the Treuth residence.
There were 2 Testing Areas: Testing Area 1 (0.34 ac) encompassed the planned maintenance facility located just north of the extant dwelling, and Testing Area 4 was the area immediately adjacent to the Treuth dwelling. These areas essentially comprised the north and south lawns of the house. Results of the STP excavations indicated that domestic artifacts were concentrated in Testing Area 1 and in a sheet scatter immediately surrounding the structure. Test units were placed where artifacts concentrations were high and clusters were observed. Test units 1, 3, 4, 21, and 26 were placed in Testing Area 1 and Test units 2, 5, 6, 9, and 10 were placed in Testing Area 4.
A total of 4,133 historic artifacts were recovered during the STP and test unit excavations. There was no detailed artifact inventory provided in the original site report (the Appendices were missing from the report). The counts in the table above and described here were found in the body of the text and in tables within the text. Not all artifact types were quantified and not all modern materials were retained. All artifact types were grouped here according to the excavator’s categorization. In all, 187 artifacts were recorded as being activity-related and included toys. There were a total of 975 architectural materials including 5+ brick fragments, 63 window glass shards, 1 rosehead nail, 10+ cut nails, 10+ wire nails, 17+ unidentifiable nails, 1 spike, 1 screw, 1 hinge, 1 staple, 1 section of brass pipe, and other miscellaneous hardware items. Twelve clothing items were reported including 4 buttons. A total of 104 furniture items were retained including fragments of lamp glass and 1 flower pot fragment. The majority of artifacts belonged to the kitchen-related group of materials (n=2,611) and included 1,016 machine-made and 460 other bottle and container glass fragments, 125 table glass pieces, 866 ceramic sherds (423 whiteware, 204 ironstone , 1 Early porcelain, 59 Late porcelain, 54 yellowware, 45 redware, 25 pearlware, 28 stoneware, 6 slipware, 2 creamware, 2 refined earthenware, 1 brown stoneware, 1 Jackfield, 15 unidentified), 22 lid liner fragments, at least 1 of which was milk glass, 1 metal spoon, 5+ animal bone fragments, and 1 clam shell. Only 19 personal items were recorded which included a minimum estimate of 4 white clay pipe bowls (recorded as tobacco-items in the table above), and 3 coins dated 1890, 1956, and 1966. Miscellaneous items (n=217) recorded included unidentified metal objects. There were 8 arms-related items.
In addition to the historic materials, 19 prehistoric items were also retained. This included 8 quartz flakes. The property caretaker reportedly collected 2 quartz bifaces and a quartz notched point from a garden plot near the house. The finds possibly indicated that the hilltop by the Treuth Residence was utilized, at least to a limited extent, in the prehistoric past. However, it should be noted that the soils were atypical in the unit dug to test the garden plot where the caretaker found the prehistoric materials. It appeared that the A horizon had been stripped and replaced with a layer of coarse gravel fill.
In general, excavation of the test units in Testing Area 1 reflected late 19th and early 20th century refuse disposal extending downslope from the immediate house area. The high percentage of kitchen-related materials suggested that the scatter represented the periphery of an activity area associated with domestic activities at the site. The heaviest concentration of artifacts was located in TU 26 about 53 m (175 ft) northwest of the dwelling, on the northern edge of an artifact cluster first identified during shovel testing. Of the 1,529 items collected from the unit, over 90% were recovered from the upper stratum (Level 1). The mean ceramic date for the level was 1903 and other artifacts in the assemblage supported a 20th century date for the deposit. The mean ceramic date for the lower level (Level 2) was 1895; a turn of the century date was corroborated by other artifacts in the Level 2 assemblage. No cultural features were identified during subsurface testing in Testing Area 1.
In Testing Area 4, excavations in TU 2, which was placed about 6.096 m (20 ft) northwest of the house, revealed Feature 1. The feature was described as a circle of fieldstones similar to those used in the construction of the dwelling, with fragments of brick and concrete. No associated artifacts or distinguishing soils were recovered from the feature area. Artifacts recovered from the test unit represented a range of materials dated from the mid-19th century to the present. No other cultural features were encountered in Testing Area 4.
Activities represented by the 19th and 20th century sheet midden produced at the Treuth Residence Site probably included the construction of the house around 1850 and its subsequent occupation. Excavations in the adjacent non-site areas recovered late 19th to 20th century artifacts. No significant deposits or cultural features were identified in those areas.
A thin scatter of domestic material was recorded in the area adjacent to the Treuth dwelling. Most artifacts were either modern or dated from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. No significant concentrations of materials or cultural features were identified at the site. It was determined that the proposed construction would not impede on any significant cultural remains. However, isolated significant deposits may yet be located in untested portions of the site. Therefore, it was recommended that an archeological monitor should be present during clearing and grading activities in the area.
The Treuth Residence Site (18BA283) consists of an extant mid-19th century stone house and the remains of a possible late 18th century residence that may have been later reused as a barn or garage. The prehistoric site component was temporally undiagnostic. The possible 18th century structure was represented by the remains of a stone wall that was located northwest of the Treuth house. The only other feature present at the site was a circle of fieldstones similar to those used in the construction of the dwelling, located just off the northwest side of the Treuth house. Although there were a few concentrations of artifacts in areas adjacent to the dwelling and outbuilding, a large amount of materials were scattered across the site. All artifacts were confined to the topsoil/plowzone and no subsurface features were encountered during the excavations at the site. While the area of 18BA283 has been fairly well-examined through shovel testing and test unit excavations, the origin and nature of the possible 18th century stone wall remains has not been clearly ascertained. It is recommended that any further earth-moving activities in that area are preceded by at least additional minimal testing. The proposed construction at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park has since been completed and it is open to the public.
|
