Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18CR226 Lowry
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Lowry Site (18CR226) is located west of Westminster in Carroll County, Maryland. The site consists of an extant residence (the Elizabeth Lowry House) and associated yards, and is located on a hill top and slope on the east side of Taneytown Pike (MD Route 140). The site is roughly 60 X 60 meters in area and is situated within the Monocacy River drainage. The Elizabeth Lowry House (MIHP# CARR-656) consists of a log house, initially constructed circa 1839-1841, with frame and brick additions on a small house lot. The site was initially owned by Elizabeth Lowry, a free African American woman.
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 18CR226 consisted of a pedestrian survey (mapping and photographing of architectural features) and the excavation of 13 shovel test pits (STPs). The STPs were excavated in four transects extending out from the extant residence.
The Phase Ib survey indicated that archeological deposits were present in the house yard in an area not larger than 76 X 76 m (this would later be further refined to the area indicated above during Phase II work). One shovel test struck a feature that appeared to be a filled-in cellar hole 15.24 meters southeast of the standing house. This STP was excavated to a depth of one meter without reaching subsoil. The fill consisted of wood ash mixed with brown loam and yellowish brown clay, suggesting that the structure was burned. Two pieces of melted glass were also found. Other artifacts from this feature include a piece of a shell-edged whiteware plate, 50 cut nails, 20 fragments of aqua window glass, and an 1883 penny. A total of 265 artifacts were recovered during the entire Phase Ib intensive survey at Lowry. Of these, 186 were architectural fragments (110 pieces of window glass, 64 cut nails, 5 wire nails, 2 hinges, 5 screws), 17 were ceramic sherds (1 pearlware, 6 whiteware, 1 ironstone, 6 coarse redware, 1 porcelain), and 37 were pieces of bottle glass (1 machine-made). An unidentified fragment of cut white marble, several car parts, some recent plastic and metal objects, and other items were also found. Some artifacts were discarded in the field.
Due to the fact that the deposits surrounding this house revealed an intact feature and limited archival work showed the earliest landowner to be a free African American woman; Phase II level excavations and historical research were recommended for the Lowry site to determine the potential for the site to answer research questions relating to the lives of pre-Civil war free black in the Maryland Piedmont. Researchers returned to the site in 1995 to conduct this Phase II work.
The archival research conducted as part of the Phase II study indicates that on March 2nd, 1839, a free black woman named Elizabeth Lowry purchased a portion of a tract called “Resurvey on Lookout” from a large landholder named Henry Cassell. She paid $10 for a small lot containing 3 square roods and 6 perches (.7875 acres). Tax records seem to indicate that a structure was on site by 1841. This is likely the core of the building; a simple log house. A frame addition and later Queen Anne style addition were constructed over the course of the 19th and early 20th century to accommodate growing families. Map sources indicate that a second log dwelling was located on the property, also built by Lowry, constructed circa 1865. This structure is, however, no longer extant. Lowry ownership ended circa 1868 when the property was purchased by J.D. Roop, a local white landholder. The property was likely never lived in by Roop, but was occupied by unknown tenants until the 20th century. The Lowry House and its additions served as a meeting space for the Meadow Branch Church of the Brethren from 1944 to 1954 until the congregation completed an addition to its own building to the east. The house and property appear to have remained in the hands of one member of the Roop family or another until 1976.
Phase II testing at the Lowry site (18CR226) was geared toward defining site boundaries, obtaining information on yard deposits, and locating features. In order to test the site, a 10 m square grid was laid out over the roughly 76 by 76 m area defined during the Phase Ib survey with the aid of a transit, and shovel test pits were exacavted. The locations of all shovel tests were marked by a stake or pin-flags. To more accurately test the yard and define the limits of several features, additional STPs were excavated at 5 m intervals. A total of 63 STPs was excavated and the site area was refined to approximately 60 X 60 meters. In general, yard deposits were similar across the site: a humus layer over a yard deposit of varying thickness and resting directly upon subsoil. No differential stratigraphy representing different temporal occupations was encountered. The strata that represent the yard deposits have been receiving artifacts from the initial occupation through the present. Overall 2,308 artifacts were recovered from the Phase II STPs and are included in the artifact description below.
Four 1 X 1 meter test units were placed against the extant building foundations to assess the development of the structure over time. They established that the extant log core to the Lowry house is the earliest dwelling at the site. Based on the presence of pearlware in the second stratum of one test unit and the evidence for the mid 19th century frame addition, it is believed that the original Lowry cabin has survived as the core of the extant residence. It was determined that all foundations were constructed in excavated cellar holes and thus no builder’s trenches were present. A single planting feature was encountered, but could not be dated. An additional 6 units were placed throughout the yard area to investigate potential features identified during either the Phase Ib or Phase II STP examinations. Several features were identified in these units, including a cellar hole (approximately 8 X 5 m), stone-lined privy, brick and cement foundation for a well-house, an area used in the 20th century for burning automobiles, and a fieldstone path. All but the cellar hole appear to have been in use until the recent past. The cellar hole represents the second cabin built on the site circa 1865 (see above) that subsequently burned around 1900. As such, the filled cellar represents a tightly dated artifact-bearing context that dates, at most, over a 40 year time span when the property was owned by Roop and presumably occupied by tenants. Phase II level historic research was not sufficient to identify the tenants.
Artifacts encountered during all stages of the Phase II fieldwork include 500 activity items, 4,688 architectural objects, 24 clothing artifacts, 4 furniture-related items, 1,160 kitchen-related artifacts, 3 personal objects, 2 tobacco items, 3 arms objects, and 292 miscellaneous artifacts. The activity items are 2 plastic toys, a musical instrument, 42 lighting objects (4 light bulb fragments, 7 pieces of lamp glass, 2 metal lamp parts), 416 pieces of hardware (29 non-electrical wire fragments, 4 staples, 41 spring fragments, 2 metal hooks, 20 washers, 4 wing nuts, 163 screws, 44 bolts, 8 nuts, a cotter pin, a piece of chain and 99 other pieces of hardware), 4 storage container fragments, 42 garage-related objects (17 pieces of auto light lens, 2 windshield wiper fragments, a fanbelt, a Pontiac car ornament, 20 car mat fragments, and 1 miscellaneous auto part), 3 stable-related objects (2 harness buckles and a horseshoe), 6 pieces of barbed wire, 8 terra cotta flower pot sherds, 3 slate pencil fragments, a 1939 newspaper section, and part of the 1919 Carroll County schools register. Architectural artifacts include 141 roofing materials (102 asphalt shingles, 3 pieces of tar paper, 5 fragments of tar roofing material, 24 possible tin roofing fragments, and 7 roof slate pieces), 87 brick pieces, 15 fragments of mortar, 11 pieces of concrete, 14 pieces of plaster, a mosaic tile, 1 lumber fragment, 3 pieces of architectural stone, a door hook, 3,320 window glass fragments, 1,020 nails (5 handwrought, 649 cut, 154 wire, and 212 unidentified), 52 pieces of architectural metal, 2 pieces of architectural hardware, a window shade bracket, 2 ceramic plumbing pieces, 1 plumbing flange, 2 toilet fragments, a gutter support, 6 pieces of electrical wire, and 7 miscellaneous electrical parts. Clothing objects include 13 buttons (5 metal, 5 glass, 1 plastic, 2 porcelain), a brass suspender clip, 6 cloth strips that possibly came from the same belt, a piece of mesh, 2 thimbles, and a buckle. The four furniture objects were 2 castors, a towel rack support, and a curtain rod. Ceramic sherds from the kitchen assemblage were 4 buff-bodied earthenware, 19 coarse earthenware, 8 pearlware, 7 ironstone, 16 domestic brown stoneware, 1 imported brown stoneware, 10 domestic gray stoneware, 62 white graniteware, 1 twentieth century refined earthenware, 3 hard-paste porcelain, 225 whiteware, 7 yelloware, 182 redware, and 17 unidentified ceramic sherds. Other objects in the kitchen-related assemblage were 21 fragments from glass tableware, 6 glass lid pieces, 15 embossed container glass fragments, 12 blown-in-mold bottle shards, 102 machine-made bottle glass fragments, 392 other pieces of container glass, a crimped bottle cap, a small cooking pot, a large spoon handle, and 47 faunal objects (39 animal bones and 8 pieces of oyster shell). Personal artifacts were a 1957 cent, a toiletry bottle top, and a grooming object. The tobacco-related artifacts are both pipe stems and the 3 arms objects were center-fire rifle cartridges. Miscellaneous objects are 39 unidentified glass fragments, 150 metal objects, 13 pieces of lead, an unidentified porcelain object, a piece of Bakelite, 3 pieces of rubber, 55 plastic fragments, 7 pieces of wood, 7 pieces of coal, 2 charcoal fragments, 12 pieces of slag, a snail shell, and soil. The artifact assemblage dates from the 1840s to the recent past, but the infilled cellar feature contains a discrete deposit dating from the 1880s.
At 18CR226, further excavation of the cellar deposits and possibly the privy was deemed a significant opportunity that could contribute important information on the history of tenancy and small houselot occupation during the second half of the 19th century. Although the names and race of the tenants represented by the cellar deposits are not currently known, the site includes the standing dwelling clearly associated with African Americans. This structure and its small yard is typical of what researchers call ‘house and garden’ lots. Small dwellings of this type were constructed throughout the Middle Atlantic to house agricultural laborers (often tenants, freed slaves, and especially single women or widows), especially during the period 1820-1860. These dwellings were on small lots in agriculturally marginal areas near road or field edges. The archeological remains present are data sources that can provide a perspective on the daily lives of the Lowry Site tenants who generally fit this description (a free black woman and later, tenants). Phase III data recovery was recommended, should the site be impacted by further development or transportation-related improvements and the site was recommended as eligible to contribute to an existing National Register Historic District.
In August of 2007, researchers did return to the Lowry site to conduct data recovery work. At that time, the Maryland SHA was preparing to dispose of excess property in Carroll County, a portion of which included 18CR226. The work was carried out in compliance with the provisions of federal and state laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended), the Maryland Historical Trust Act of 1985 (as amended), and the State Financial Procurement Article (§§5A-325 and 5A-326) of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
The 2007 data recovery work included a Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey, mechanical stripping of ca. 320 square meters (3,443 ft2 or .08 acres), and hand excavations in test units. Several features were identified and excavated in the yard and test units and features were excavated in the previously identified cellar hole of a log cabin that burned ca. 1900 (see above).
For this project, the GPR survey collected geophysical data to provide information to identify landscape features based on the interpretation of detected anomalies in the data. The GPR system used for this survey was Sensors & Software, Inc., NOGGIN 250plus and Smart CartTM, with a digital video logger (DVL). The NOGGIN 250plus has a 250 MHz antenna with a Nominal 6dB bandwidth of 250 MHz and is registered by Sensors and Software, Inc., with the FCC under CFR 47, Part 15. The maximum depth window for the system is 15 m. A shallower depth window of 3 m was set for this survey to assure the collection of data below the anticipated depth of the cellar hole and any other potential landscape features. An assumed signal velocity of 0.1 m/ns was used during the data collection and the post processing of the geophysical data. GPR data were later post-processed to produce maps of the results using various software packages.
The project area was an open grassy lawn with sparsely positioned trees. Initial GPR tests from areas outside the specific parcel obtained a background signal of the natural (undisturbed) ground for comparison. Twenty geophysical grids, ranging in size from 20 m by 20 m to 4 m by 5 m, encompassed the site area. Each geophysical grid had a 1 m spacing between time sections (transects). The 1 m spacing was chosen because it was a spacing that would result in detection of any potential landscape features. The collection of the sections in the field was carried out in a forward/reverse (zig-zag) pattern to facilitate the rapid collection of data. The adjustment of the forward/reverse pattern of data collection was done during the post-processing of the data.
After completion of the GPR survey and the identification of the approximate location of the cellar, three 1.524 X 1.524 m (5 X 5 ft) test units were excavated from the ground surface through to the base of the cellar deposits to recover additional information of the stratigraphic sequence. These test units combined with the two Phase II 1 X 1 m units provided an appropriate sample of the yard surface above the fill deposits in the cellar. After the excavation of these units was complete, the yard surface over the cellar was stripped with a backhoe. Next, three 1.524 X 1.524 m test units, one 91 X 152 cm test unit, and one irregular, roughly 1.524 X 1.83 m (5 X 6 ft) test unit were excavated within the cellar to examine the cellar floor and the fill that was associated with the destruction and demolition of the structure. Ten liter flotation samples were collected from each stratigraphic unit within the test units. After these units were completed, the remaining fill from the cellar was mechanically removed.
After completion of the GPR survey of the yard, targeted areas were stripped with a backhoe to ground truth the anomalies identified. Features were fully exposed, mapped, recorded, and excavated. Targeted areas also included the location of a stone-lined privy/shaft feature that was exposed and recorded, and then bisected by the backhoe. During bisection, the modern fill within the privy/shaft feature was mechanically removed to approximately 1.89 m (6.2 ft) below ground surface. Excavation was continued by hand within the bisected portion of the feature. A 10 liter flotation sample was collected from all features identified.
The GPR survey resulted in the identification of 8 features and 3 clusters of anomalies, as well as the approximate demarcation of the privy/shaft feature and the filled cellar hole. The features and anomaly clusters identified by the GPR survey were interpreted as outbuildings and/or pit features. Mechanical stripping at the locations of GPR Features 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 and Anomaly Cluster 3 did not reveal cultural features, but large auto parts or other debris that were misinterpreted as foundations or subsurface pits.
Several features were identified and excavated in the yard around the house, including two pits (Features 2 and 10), two mica-schist foundations (Features 4 and 5), a rectangular pit (Feature 6) and a shaft feature interpreted as a cistern converted to a privy. The two mica-schist features and the rectangular pit appeared to have supported small outbuildings of undetermined function. The pits were filled with trash that showed evidence of burning, probably associated with refuse disposal. The shaft feature fill included destruction debris, and auto parts. The lower fill stratum included fecal matter, as well as ceramics and architectural artifacts from the mid 20th century.
Several test units and three features were excavated in the cellar hole of the aforementioned log cabin (the one that burned ca. 1900). A stratum of destruction debris was excavated in three of the test units. The lower deposits were associated with the burning of the cabin. The cellar floor below this deposit was thermally altered. Two other units were excavated to expose the mica-schist entrance to the cellar, located at the northeast corner of the hole. Under the demolition deposits in these units were occupation deposits resting on the cellar floor. These deposits were not exposed to the heat of the fire that destroyed the building. This stratigraphic sequence was noted elsewhere. In addition, two square postholes (Features 7 and 8) were identified in the cellar. These features probably represent structural members of the cabin. A pit feature (Feature 9) may have served as a storage pit.
During excavation of the Lowry Site, 21,058 artifacts were collected. Approximately 94% (19,804 artifacts) were recovered from the cellar of the cabin, and about 5.95% came from the yard features and the privy. Many artifacts were not identifiable, as they were burned or melted beyond recognition during the fire that destroyed the cabin. These 5,129 items are counted in tallies below and in the table above as miscellaneous finds.
The Phase III assemblage consisted of 825 activity items, 10,817 architectural artifacts, 251 clothing artifacts, 25 furniture items, 3,439 kitchen artifacts, 50 personal items, 2 tobacco-related artifacts (kaolin pipe fragments), 5 arms objects (1 center-fire and 4 rim-fire cartrdiges), and 5,129 miscellaneous (burned or melted) objects. The kitchen assemblage included 1,457 ceramic sherds (31 pearlware, 58 hard paste porcelain, 41 ironstone, 380 whiteware, 172 redware, 18 yelloware, 453 domestic stoneware, 8 industrial stoneware, and 296 unidentified sherds), at least 48 bottle glass pieces, table glass (not enumerated, so counted as miscellaneous kitchen items), at least 3 utensils, cast-iron cooking vessel fragments, pieces of tin can, 329 animal bones and 7 oyster/mussel shells.
Functional analysis of the assemblage demonstrated that the largest part of the cellar assemblage consisted of architectural materials (72%) associated with the cabin’s destruction by fire. Kitchen artifacts were the second most frequent group (20%). When the architecture group is removed from the analysis (as most of these materials represent the destruction of the building, not domestic functions), the kitchen group represents 75% of the assemblage, and other functional groups represent a larger portion of the assemblage: activities at 16.8%, clothing at 6.1%, and personal, furniture, arms, and tobacco under 1% each.
Artifact collections from several types of households in the Mid-Atlantic region were compared with the Lowry site collection. The kitchen and architecture groups together accounted for 90% of the collections. The architecture group accounted for 19% or 20% of the urban collections, but 42% to 73% for the rural collections. The kitchen group percentages were high for the urban collections (73% to 80%), but low for the rural collections (21 to 52%). When architecture is removed, the kitchen group dominates.
Analysis focused on the kitchen ceramics of the Lowry cabin demonstrate that domestic stoneware was the most common ware (31%). Whiteware was second at 26%, and redware was third at 12%. Minimum vessel count analysis identified 116 vessels. Whiteware vessels accounted for 42%, while domestic stoneware was 17% and redware was 11% of the assemblage. Ironstone, porcelain, and pearlware vessels each accounted for less than 7% of the collection. Most of the vessels were from cellar contexts.
When the vessels from the Lowry site are compared to domestic sites in Washington, DC, one finds that the Lowry site collections included many more food preparation and storage vessels, while the urban sites had more tablewares. These differences probably reflect the differences in acquiring food from a local urban market, as opposed to growing and storing garden produce in the country. Comparison of ceramic index values for the Lowry site with other rural and urban sites in the Mid-Atlantic demonstrated that the Lowry site and rural tenant sites had the lowest index values, while middle and working-class tenant urban households had the highest values.
Plant remains recovered from feature and units contexts and in flotation samples revealed the presence of 241.94 grams of wood charcoal, 2,726 uncharred seeds, and 175 charred seeds. Aside from the charcoal, the plant remains included 8 pepper seeds, 563 fruit seeds (apple, blackberry/raspberry, cherry, elderberry, grape, huckleberry, peach, plum, and strawberry), 14 vegetable seeds (squash, tomato, & wheat), 16 nut remains (hickory shell and charred nut meat), 1,880 edible herb seeds (bedstraw, dock, false pennyroyal, goosefoot, ground cherry, knotweed, mallow, pigweed, plantain, pokeweed, purselane, vervain, and wood sorrel), 3 pine remains, and 373 various weed and grass seeds.
Detailed analyses and interpretation of the subsistence remains revealed interesting differences between the archeological contexts of the Lowry site. Plant remains from the exterior yard features yielded higher proportions of edible herbs and lower percentages of economically important plants, such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Higher densities of wood charcoal and carbonized seeds were identified in the cellar contexts. The wood charcoal indicates that the cabin was built of oak and pine. The frequency of naturally occurring edible herbs and fruits suggests that the occupants of the Lowry site exploited these plants, a practice documented in other sites occupied by African-Americans.
Analysis of the small faunal collection recovered from the Lowry site (264 specimens from excavation and 150 from flotation) identified domestic and wild animals. Pig, cow, chicken, rabbit, squirrel, rat, and mouse were identified. Pork and beef bones show evidence of butchering. Fragments of snails, oyster/mussel, and fish bone were also identified. About half of the collection showed evidence of burning. A total of 329 animal bones and 7 oyster/mussel shells are included as kitchen remains above.
Analysis of the landscape of the Lowry site focused on the relationships among the archeological features (buildings, fences, pits, and privy/cistern) and artifact distributions to understand the landscape ensemble of the site. This house-and-garden property was occupied for a significant period by African-Americans. Archival and archeological evidence demonstrates that the log house built by Elizabeth Lowry was the first dwelling on the property, probably about 1830. The house faced the main road and the work yard was to the north and east of the house and cistern. No evidence of fences was found. At the northeast of the yard was a group of small outbuildings with stone foundations (Features 4 and 5). Around the middle of the 19th century, a frame addition was built on the northwest side of the log house and a second log building (the cabin) was built to the southeast of the original house. The distribution of ceramics north and east of the log cabin suggests a work yard, similar to that around the original house.
The property was sold to the Roop family in 1868, and the dwellings were occupied by tenants. Artifact distributions in the yard show similar patterns to those of the Lowry occupation. The log cabin burned in the early 20th century, and a large frame addition was built on the southeast end of the original house. The house was probably used for meetings of the Brethren Church during the early 20th century. The cistern was apparently converted to a privy at this time and a well house was constructed at the east end of the house. A garage was built in the 1930s or 1940s. The property was used for an auto-repair business in the late 1950s. The small outbuildings were probably removed during the 2nd half of the 20th century, and a circular driveway was added along the southeast property line.
The site has proven to be a valuable archeological resource capable of answering significant research questions related to Maryland’s history and the history of African-Americans in the state. The site appears to still be well preserved and likely retains some research potential. It should still be considered a significant archeological resource.
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