Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18CR224 Drechsler
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Drechsler Site (18CR224) is located east of Westminster in Carroll County, Maryland. Measuring approximately 50 m by 65 m, the site itself is situated at the base of three steep hills that rise to the north, west, and south. The site is situated within the Patapsco River drainage and a small springhead northeast of the site flows to the east towards the Patapsco. Soils at the site are composed of gravelly Manor loams, composed of moderate to highly eroded loam and subsoil, along with a high degree of broken quartz, schist, and soapstone. A modern house is located at the site along with several obtrusive features. In addition to the house, above-ground features at the site consist of several identifiable structural components: (1) a stone foundation and stone-lined cellar with accompanying stone wall structures (for interior support) as well as a later concrete foundation attached to the original stone foundation and extending to the north; (2) a collapsed wooden shed with a concrete foundation in the northwest corner of the site; (3) a standing wooden shed with stone foundation east of the collapsed shed; and (4) a gable-roofed springhouse with German siding built over the spring in the northeast corner of 18CR224. Much of the site is obscured and obstructed by brush and abandoned/deteriorating farm equipment dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although not part of the archeological site, a cemetery with interments from the Lockard, Holmes, and related families is located approximately 152 meters northwest of the site in a small copse of trees.
In 1993 and 1994, the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) sponsored a Phase Ib survey of proposed alternates for a bypass around the town of Westminster in Carroll County. The purpose of the survey was to determine the presence or absence of archeological sites, define their approximate boundaries, assess the potential integrity of the sites, and provide a preliminary evaluation of their potential eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Phase Ib examination in the vicinity of 18CR224 consisted of a pedestrian survey (mapping and photographing of architectural features) and the excavation of 33 shovel test pits (STPs). The STPs were excavated in 5 roughly parallel lines stretching out from the observed foundations, at 9.144 meter (30 ft) intervals, until negative results were achieved.
The Phase Ib survey identified the foundations and structures noted above, and recovered artifacts dating from circa 1840 to 1920 from shallow (less than 10 cm below surface) unplowed contexts in 10 of the STPs. A possible feature was encountered at a depth of 42 cm and revealed the only artifacts recovered from a depth below 10 cm (a piece of redware and a piece of olive bottle glass). A total of 126 other artifacts were found in the vicinity of the stone cellar hole/concrete foundation. Of these, 66 were architectural fragments, composed of 29 pieces of window glass, 2 brick fragments, 21 cut nails, 16 wire nails, and 2 unidentifiable nails. The 33 pieces of ceramic recovered consisted of 21 pieces of coarse redware, 7 of ironstone, 2 of whiteware, and 3 of Albany slip-glazed stoneware. A fragment of a porcelain fuse (considered architectural), a piece of a machine-made glass bottle glass (considered kitchen-related), and a piece of light-bulb glass (an activity item) provided evidence of 20th century occupation. The manufacturing method of the 14 other pieces of clear bottle glass could not be determined. One arms-related artifact, a honey-colored gunflint, was also recovered. Four pieces of melted glass (considered miscellaneous) and 4 pieces of burned ironstone (kitchen-related) were recovered near the foundation, suggesting that the structure may have burned down.
Interviews with the landowner, Mr. Charles Drechsler, revealed that the structure represented by the foundation and cellar hole did indeed burn down during World War II. Mr. Drechsler, who was 75 years old when he was interviewed, stated that the structure was an “old, old” house that was already abandoned when he was a young boy. Due to the fact that the deposits surrounding this house were unplowed and a probable feature was encountered, researchers concluded the probability of other features at the site was high. Phase II excavations and historical research were recommended for the Drechsler site and researchers returned in 1995 to conduct this work.
The archival research conducted as part of the Phase II study indicates that the Drechsler Site was initially established in 1839 by Joshua Lockard and his wife Julian Lockard. While Joshua and his wife owned the property only briefly (four years), they were responsible for the construction of the first dwelling on the farm. In 1843 the farm passed to William Lockard, Sr., whose family resided there and operated a successful farm for 42 years. In 1885, the property was conveyed to another Lockard, William H., who sold the land in 1900 to Andrew Drechsler. Drechsler owned the land only a short time, returning the deed to the Lockard family once again. Lockards continued to own the site until 1942, when the land was conveyed again to a Drechsler. The Phase II archeological investigations at the Drechsler Site indicate that the primary period of occupation represented by the artifacts recovered dates to the time when William Lockard Sr., and his heirs (1843-1885) operated the farm.
Thirty-six additional STPs and nine 1 X 1 meter test units were excavated at 18CR224 during the Phase II testing. The shovel tests were generally placed at 10 meter intervals in order to examine the site for the presence of subsurface features and to determine artifact densities and distributions. The placement of the STPs, and subsequent 1 X 1 meter test units, however, was hampered by the enormous amount of broken and discarded late 19th and early 20th century farm equipment, stacks of rotted lumber, and brush piles that were scattered across the site. Shovel testing produced remarkably few artifacts. Overall, 171 artifacts were recovered from the STPs. Forty-one architectural objects (11 pieces of window glass, brick, mortar, plaster, architectural hardware, electrical wire, and cut/wire/wrought/unidentified nails) were encountered, along with 123 kitchen-related artifacts (32 container glass fragments, 84 ceramics sherds, 3 faunal remains, and 4 fragments of nuts/seeds/pits), 1 personal item (a piece of metal jewelry), 1 tobacco-related artifact (a pipe stem), and 4 miscellaneous unidentified objects. The largest number of historic artifacts were recovered from the yard to the east, downslope from the dwelling foundation.
The 9 test units excavated during Phase II testing at 18CR224 were placed in high-yield areas identified through the STP survey, or within the abandoned house foundations. Two buried artifact-bearing soil deposits were identified, one to the west and upslope of the house foundation, and one 20 to 30 meters downslope and east of the foundation. These areas contain two strata: mixed deposits with artifacts from the 1840s to mid-twentieth century, and unmixed deposits of domestic artifacts dating to the period that the Lockards owned the site (see above). These buried deposits from the middle of the 19th century may represent in-filled cellars or other structural features. All units situated within or near the foundations exhibited evidence of the conflagration reported by local informants to have destroyed the house circa 1940. Evidence of stages of mounding around the foundation provided some basic evidence regarding construction chronology. In general, the site seems to represent a small, family-owned freeholding in Piedmont Maryland, similar to about one-quarter of the farms in the County. Given the date of the artifact deposits, the site is almost certainly the remains of the farmstead established by the Lockards in 1839.
The Phase II test units contained 93 activity items, 1,875 architectural objects, 2 clothing-related items, 717 kitchen-related artifacts, 13 tobacco-related items, 2 arms objects, and 105 miscellaneous artifacts. The activity items were 46 fragments of lamp/lighting glass, 2 pieces of non-electrical wire, a metal wheel, a staple, 5 washers, 2 metal hooks, 29 pieces of hardware, and 7 ink well fragments. The architectural assemblage contained 95 pieces of brick, 159 fragments of mortar, 5 pieces of architectural stone, 370 pieces of window glass, 7 handwrought L-head nails, 332 cut nails, 776 wire nails, 124 unidentified nail fragments, 2 screws, 1 nut/bolt, a window bracket, a door hinge, and 2 pieces of electrical wire. The two clothing artifacts were both metal buttons. The kitchen-related artifacts were 475 ceramic sherds (2 tin-glazed, 8 coarse earthenware, 6 pearlware, 1 ironstone, 1 domestic brown stoneware, 90 domestic gray stoneware, 11 white graniteware, 1 slipware, 168 whiteware, 1 yelloware, & 186 redware), 167 glass container fragments (5 blown-in-mold, 3 machine-made, & 159 misc.), 71 animal bones, 2 oyster shell pieces, a corn cob, and a piece of walnut shell. Tobacco-related items were ball clay pipe stems (10_ and pieces of pipe bowl (3). The arms objects were a shotgun shell and a centerfire rifle cartridge. And finally, the miscellaneous objects from the Phase II test units were 18 fragments of unidentifiable glass, 37 pieces of metal, a piece of plastic, 45 pieces of charcoal, 2 chunks of coal, and 2 unidentified 20th century items.
While there is some evidence that portions of the site contain undisturbed artifact deposits relating to the mid 19th century, strata in several units could not be tied directly to particular periods during the site’s occupation. Ultimately it was determined that the site as a whole did not possess sufficient integrity to address significant research questions. It was also deemed ineligible for the NRHP.
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