Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18CV83 King's Reach
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
King’s Reach (18CV83) is the site of a late 17th century plantation in Calvert County, Maryland. The site is located on the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum (JPPM) property near St. Leonard in rural Calvert County, Maryland. The site is situated along the top and slope of a terrace overlooking a small marshy stream near the center of the JPPM property. The stream flows into the Patuxent River, not far from its confluence with St. Leonard’s Creek. Soils at the site are Woodstown sandy loams.
The site was first identified during the course of a Phase I archeological survey in April of 1981. The survey was undertaken when the property was still under private ownership. However, the property owner had recently begun to recognize the historic significance of numerous archeological sites and historic resources located on the farm (at that time known as “Point Farm”). Not only had several prehistoric deposits been noted in the fields on the property (by local collectors), but the area played a prominent role during the War of 1812 and archival resources revealed that historic occupations relating to the 17th through 19th centuries should be present.
The April 1981 fieldwork entailed a variety of survey techniques employed based on the form of vegetation present in each area of the property and the visibility afforded by that vegetation. Site 18CV83 happened to be located in a freshly plowed field, which had been well rain-washed. The controlled surface collection method initially employed in this field consisted of spacing archeologists either 5 or 10 meters apart at one end of the field. The archeologists maintained this distance as they paced across the field. Every 30 meters, the artifacts observed by each investigator were recorded. Site 18CV83 was first identified as a brick and artifact scatter. In order to gain a larger and more interpretive sample of data, the entire area of the site (as outlined by the scatter) was divided into 15 m squares. All artifacts resting in each square were then collected and bagged separately.
The controlled surface collections at 18CV83 in 1981 recovered an excellent sample of artifacts. No artifact catalog is provided in the full Phase I report, but materials mentioned include white and polychrome delftware, English brown salt-glazed stoneware, North Devon earthenware, lead-glazed earthenwares, grey salt-glazed stonewares, Surrey-Hampshire ware, wine bottle glass, at least 61 kaolin pipe stems and bowls,a blue glass bead, rosehead nails, window glass,a wrought axe, animal bones and teeth, and lots of red brick. The site was interpreted as the probable location of a former post-in-ground structure, perhaps with a brick fireplace. Of great interest, was the discovery of a large feature at the base of the slope adjacent to a farm road. Deep plowing had exposed oyster shells, a diverse collection of 17th century artifacts, and 92 fragments of bone. Diagnostic artifacts suggested that it was an early Colonial site.
Documentary evidence suggests that 18CV83 may have been the homestead of Richard Smith Jr. from the late 17th century until 1711. Richard Smith, Jr. was the son of the first Attorney General of Maryland, Richard Smith, Sr. The elder Richard Smith acquired the 750 acre “St. Leonards” tract (on which the site is located) from Governor William Stone in 1663. Richard Smith Sr. is believed to have established his household at nearby site 18CV92 sometime shortly after acquiring the land. Richard Smith, Jr. may have established his own household to the north of his father’s home, and lived there until he was able to build a more substantial structure. He is thought to have built the manor house at 18CV91 in 1711, shortly before his death in 1715.
Following acquisition of the “Point Farm” by the State of Maryland in 1983, a considerable amount of development work began being undertaken to create what is today known as Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum (JPPM). King’s Reach was selected as the first site to be excavated by JPPM staff archeologists in 1984. A systematic surface collection across an area measuring 50 X 60 meters was undertaken to allow for better definition of site boundaries and artifact concentrations. Subsurface investigation then began in June of 1984 and lasted for two summers, with additional limited excavations in 1987. One hundred and sixteen 2 X 2 meter units were excavated in the site core, while 28 were systematically distributed in the outlying area. All plow zone soil was screened through .95 cm (3/8 in) hardware mesh. An extensive complex of subsurface features was exposed in the plantation core. All features were recorded, and selected ones were excavated. Soils from the excavated features were screened through .64 cm (1/4 in) hardware mesh, with some portions water screened through 16mm ( 1/16-inch mesh). In addition, soil chemical samples were systematically taken from the plow zone across the site, and tests were run on phosphates, calcium, and potassium.
The excavations in the 1980s at 18CV83 revealed a detailed plan of the plantation core. Other sites such as 18CV84 and 18CV85 reveal details about outbuildings on the plantation periphery. The site plan of 18CV83 consists of two earthfast buildings with a connecting foreyard. The one-story main dwelling measured 9.14 X 6.1 m (30 X 20 ft), divided into a parlor and kitchen with a sleeping loft above. The building’s source of heat was a wood-framed, mud-lined hood and chimney set on a brick hearth in the kitchen. A 3.05 m (10 ft) wide trench-set wooden shed extended along the rear of the structure, while a 1.52 X 2.13 m (5 X 7 ft) post-supported shed was attached to the north gable. An unusual feature of the main house was the presence of at least six cellars below the wooden floor of the structure. Two cellars appear to have had specialized functions: a possible root cellar in front of the hearth and a dairy cooling pit in the small shed. The remaining four cellars appear to represent successive generations of general storage pits which were replaced when walls collapsed. One doorway led from the kitchen to the foreyard, while a second led outside from the rear-set shed.
The second structure in the core, measuring 6.1 X 3.05 m (20 X 10 ft), was possibly a quarter for servants or slaves. A chimneyless hearth on the west side of the building appears to have heated the structure, and a single .74 square meter (8 square foot) cellar served as general storage. One doorway led into the foreyard toward the main house, and a second was placed on the east gable. Two generations of ditch-set fences joined this building and the main dwelling to form the foreyard.
Mapped patterns of artifact distributions indicate that 3 areas were used to dispose of food refuse (animal bones, oyster shell, etc.): the south yard, in the abandoned cellar holes beneath the house, and in the enclosed yard between the main house and quarter. A comparison of food remains recovered from the main house, compared to those recovered from the quarter suggests that occupants of the former had a diet with better quality and more meat in it.
Potassium proved to be the most telling element in the Mapping analysis of the aforementioned soil samples. Potassium is a good indicator of the presence of wood ash in the soil. At 18CV83, significant concentrations of potassium appear to be most prevalent just outside the foreyard fence and at similar distances from the main house in the back and side yard areas. This suggests that the site occupants were actively cleaning hearth areas and dumping the ash just outside the “core” activity areas. The one exception is the hearth in the servant’s quarters. This hearth was evidently not cleaned with as much regularity and significant levels of potassium built up in the soil here.
Despite the fairly modest size and layout of the main house, it appears to have been inhabited by fairly wealthy individuals. The household apparently invested a notable portion of its wealth in portable goods, as indicated by the numerous costly artifacts recovered. Such items include highly refined pottery, fine table glass, pewter objects, decorative book clasps, etc.
The diagnostic materials recovered at King’s Reach suggest that it was occupied from about 1690 to 1715. A full site report and catalog for 18CV83 has never been produced, however an analysis of the site assemblage was conducted in 2007 as part of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant awarded to JPPM to analyze samples from their collections and create online capsule summaries of representative sites from the State of Maryland. Site 18CV83 was one of the sites selected and tallies for certain artifact classes are available and were used for the collection description provided here and in the table above.
A total of 66,371 artifacts were recovered during the investigations at 18CV83. These included architectural, kitchen, and furniture objects, personal items, tools, arms, horse furniture, and food remains. One hundred and fifty-three ceramic vessels were identified from the site. The majority of these vessels were tin-glazed earthenwares (26 sherds), Border wares, Staffordshire-type slipwares, black-glazed earthenwares (80 sherds), Buckley-type earthenwares, Red Sandy earthenwares, Rhenish blue and gray stoneware, and English brown stoneware. Numerous tin-glazed earthenware sherds exhibited blue or polychrome hand-painted motifs, possibly representing sets of matching ceramics. Border wares had both clear and green lead glazes on interior surfaces. Red Border ware was also recovered at the site. Precise quantities for the other types of sherds are not provided in the 2007 collection analysis document. Therefore these are minimally estimated at 2 sherds apiece in the tables above. Other kitchen-related artifacts included 39 knife blade fragments, 4 pewter spoons, 2 copper alloy pestles, and 3 copper alloy spoons.
A total of 4,322 glass artifacts were found at King’s Reach. While this assemblage consisted mostly of wine and case bottle fragments, 144 table glass fragments, 64 mirror fragments (counted as personal), 19 beads (counted as personal), 14 medicine bottle fragments, 13 window glass fragments, one unidentified bottle seal, and one black glass button with a white and yellow hand-painted flower were also found (counted as clothing).
A number of iron farm implements were recovered, including 2 hoe fragments, 2 axe head fragments, 2 chain link fragments, a collar stud, a pintle, a scythe, and a number of unidentified tools (estimated at 5 objects). Horse furniture included 4 unidentified harness parts, 3 buckles, 3 bridle bit fragments, 2 bosses, and 2 stirrups. Other activity items include 7 lead bale seals, 3 possible lead weights. Forty small lead shot, 9 musket balls, 1 gun barrel, and 29 casting waste fragments, were among the arms artifacts found at King’s Reach. Four padlock fragments, 3 other lock fragments, and 1 latch are counted as furniture-related objects in the tally above, as they were likely used on wooden chests and similar storage furniture items. Two curtain rings and a copper alloy screen were also counted as furniture items. Aside from the aforementioned button, other clothing-related artifacts included 3 copper alloy decorative buckles, 215 straight pins, 8 scissors fragments, and 2 thimble fragments.
Personal artifacts included 3 copper half-pennies and a silver farthing (all minted in the 1690s), 5 key fragments, 3 copper alloy book hinges, 1 copper alloy finger ring, a set of copper alloy cuff links, and a whistle fabricated from a white clay tobacco pipe stem fragment. A total of 3,671 pipe fragments (terra cotta and white clay) and 2 iron smoker’s companions represent the tobacco-related artifacts recovered from the site.
Very little information is available concerning the prehistoric component at 18CV83, however it has been described as a possible ‘base camp’. According to MHT site files at least 1 Kirk corner-notched point, 1 Levanna point, 1 unidentified side-notched point, 5 Accokeek cord-marked sherds, 2 Rappahannock fabric-impressed sherds, 1 Townsend Corded Horizontal sherd, 1 Potomac Creek cord-impressed sherd, and 1 Potomac Creek plain sherd have been recovered at some stage during the investigations at 18CV83. The blue glass bead, Potomac Creek pottery, and 2 terra cotta pipe fragments (in the historic assemblage) could be evidence of contact between Native Americans and the Smiths.
The King’s Reach dwelling appears to have been abandoned around 1711, when Richard Smith Jr.’s family moved to a new residence on the property (18CV91). This new dwelling was of at least partial brick construction and a more substantial ‘manor house’ for the plantation. King’s Reach was, thus, occupied at an important point in the history of Maryland, when the colony’s tobacco economy was in a severe and prolonged depression and the transition to a predominantly slave labor force was well underway. Although Smith was fairly well-to-do, he apparently lived in an impermanent earthfast dwelling. The King’s Reach collection, which is striking in its size and variety, suggests that Smith invested his wealth in portable household goods. In 1711, as the tobacco economy was beginning to strengthen, Smith abandoned King’s Reach for a larger house, more representative of his status as a wealthy planter. The King’s Reach assemblage has the potential to shed light on the material conditions of life in this transitional period.
The King’s Reach site complex is representative of the mid-size tobacco plantations that dominated the Chesapeake region during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, a period when the tobacco economy was in prolonged depression. The assemblage from the main house, 18CV83, can be used to address issues ranging from standards of living during the tobacco economy depression to the organization of plantation homelots at the end of the 17th century. The collection can also provide evidence of material conditions for servants and slaves as the transformation to a slave economy was underway. Plow zone materials reveal the use of domestic space on the plantation, while the relatively large collection of Border wares provides useful data for investigating this ware type in Maryland. Thus, 18CV83 is a highly significant site, capable of addressing ongoing research questions related to Maryland history.
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