Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18HA242 Quiet Lodge
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
Quiet Lodge (18HA242) is the site of an 18th to 20th century standing house and associated artifact scatter and a prehistoric artifact scatter very tentatively assigned to the Archaic Period. The historic archaeological site is a contributing element of the National Register listed house Quiet Lodge (HA-15). The prehistoric component is not a contributing element. The site is located at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) in Harford County. APG is a U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (TECOM) installation in the U.S. Army Material Command. Site 18HA242 is situated on a low, gently sloping terrace northeast of the Gunpowder River and south of one of the tributary branches of Canal Creek. The site is near Quiet Lodge (Building E-4630), an 18th century residence historically known as Presbury House. The soils at Edgewood are defined mainly by a sequence of unconsolidated clay, silt, sand, and gravel deposits; however, due to the restricted access to portions of APG, soils for the site area have not been mapped by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service. A typical soil profile at the site, as identified during the Phase III testing, consists of 0-32 cmbs very dark grayish-brown (10YR3/2) silty loam above yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loamy clay to 43 cmbs.
Several early prehistoric sites, including two Paleo-Indian sites are present within APG, which are all located along shorelines. Native American occupation continues from the early period through the Late Woodland and Contact periods until the first European settlement at Spesutie Island in 1652 where Nathaniel Utie established a trading post. A 1652 treaty with the Susquehannocks encouraged the expansion of settlement in the area and the first land grants were patented in 1658. By the early 1700s, the Susquehannocks had left the region. Quiet Lodge was built on the Gunpowder Neck tract, land that was originally deeded to John Collett, Jr. ca. 1663. Collett left the land to his cousin, Matthew Gouldsmith, who in turn left the land to his nephew, George Gouldsmith, Jr., who in turn left it to his daughter, Martha Gouldsmith Presbury. In all probability, it was the son of Martha and her husband James who built Quiet Lodge ca. 1740. The original building was a rectangular, two-story brick structure that measured 6.3x12.34 m (20’8” x 40’6”). Quiet Lodge, under the Presbury family, served as an early Methodist meeting house prior to the construction of Gunpowder Meeting House (Site 18HA253). In 1799, Quiet Lodge was sold to the Raphel family under whose ownership the house was reportedly used for Catholic services. After his parent’s death, Stephen Raphel lived at the house until 1836. He continued ownership of the land until 1854 when General Cadwalader purchased the house and land from Raphel, consolidating it into his 8,000 acre Gunpowder Peninsula farmland. During Cadwalader’s ownership, Quiet Lodge was rented to tenants.
The U.S. military acquired the property in 1917 and established the Edgewood Arsenal (a chemical production facility). Quiet Lodge served as the post headquarters during World War I and in 1924, the property was converted into officers’ housing. A frame addition and a porch were added to the house at that time. Aberdeen Proving Ground and the Edgewood Arsenal were joined administratively in 1971forming the modern APG installation. In 1974, Quiet Lodge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. By 1992, about 2,000 buildings covering over 321 acres of floor space and over 16,000 personnel were located at the installation. The installation continues to grow under the Base Closure and Realignment Act as other activities are relocated to APG. Not surprisingly, over the last 90 years environmental impacts have greatly affected the archeological potential of the installation’s land holding. Extant structures remain at APG, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, World Wars I and II, and up to 1950 (the historical building cut-off date).
Federal cultural resources mandates led the installation commander at APG to assign the Directorate of Safety, Health and Environment (DSHE) the task of preparing a cultural resources management plan (CRMP) to define the process for managing cultural resources located on the property. The goals of the installation preservation program were to 1) identify, evaluate, nominate, manage, and update the inventory of historic properties, 2) comply with NHPA, NEPA, all Federal laws, and Army regulations in managing those historic properties, 3) integrate cultural resources management with other installation environment, property, and natural resource planning, and 4) preserve and protect cultural resources within the APG’s mission.
In order to facilitate the CRMP, archeological testing was conducted in two stages at the installation between 1992 and 1993. One of the main objectives of the archeological investigations initiated in 1992 was to develop an archeological sensitivity model for APG that would be designed to 1) identify and document areas that posses a high probability for containing prehistoric and historic sites, and 2) identify areas that have a low probability for containing cultural resources and areas that have been previously disturbed. This first stage of field testing of the model involved the Phase I survey of 8 testing areas: Sites 1-4 were located in the Edgewood Area and Sites 5-8 were located in the Aberdeen Area. Stage two archeological and architectural evaluations were conducted at several terrestrial sites at APG, and an underwater survey was done in a high probability area of the Bush River. As a result of the two stages of fieldwork, approximately 295 terrestrial acres were tested, 240 underwater acres were subjected to a remote sensing survey, and 1,069 buildings constructed prior to 1951 were identified and all but 393 were evaluated for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (175 possessed significance for listing and 501 did not posses significance). The results of the archeological survey and field investigations are contained in Volume II of the Aberdeen Proving Ground Cultural Resource Management Plan series (Volumes I-IV) and the results of the architectural evaluations are contained in Volume III.
The first archeological testing at the Quiet Lodge site was a combination Phase I/II investigation conducted in 1993 during the second stage of the investigations at APG. Work was conducted as part of the field testing of the sensitivity model presented in the CRMP. The goals of the investigations were to determine the presence or absence of a sub-surface component related to the 18th century structure, to determine if the archeological component possessed research potential and integrity, and to gain a better understanding of the evolution of activities associated with the building since its construction, thereby contributing to the significance of the National Register structure. Prior to sub-surface testing, a magnetometer sweep was conducted in the area to determine if ordnance was present. No ordnance was located but the sweep picked up several metal readings throughout the site area. These readings were the result of the presence of nails and other architectural debris that was scattered over the area. During the Phase I/II testing, 80 shovel test pits (STPs) were dug at 5 m intervals along east-west transects. The shovel tests revealed that concentrations of historic material were found mostly in the area east/southeast of the building with a small cluster to the southwest of the structure. One test unit (TU 1) measuring 1x2 m and 5 test units (TUs 2-6) measuring 1x1 m were excavated in areas where STPs indicated high artifact concentrations. All excavated soils were screened and all materials were retained.
Test Unit 1 was placed in the most southeasterly section of the site. Just over 3,000 artifacts were recovered from TU 1, over 77% of which were classified as kitchen-related, comprising 31% of the total Phase I/II assemblage from the site. Kitchen-related materials recovered from the unit included over 59% of the animal bone fragments collected from the entire site. Feature 101 was uncovered in TU 1 at a depth of 38-51 cmbs and extended the full length of the unit from the northwest to the southeast corner. The feature was identified as a natural swale or drainage filled by an artifact concentration. It appeared that the feature was open for a relatively long period of time, until sometime in the mid-19th century. Test Unit 2, placed about 7 m off the southwest corner of the building, revealed disturbance at all levels and a mixing of datable artifacts. The disturbance most likely resulted from the trenching and placement of an iron conduit cable located along the north wall of the unit. The cable apparently ran from the house to the garage. Adjacent TUs 3 and 4, placed about 12 m off the southeastern corner of the house, contained 2 features. Feature 301, encountered at a depth of 22 cmbs, was interpreted as a refuse dump of construction related activity between 1898 and 1917. The dump was placed along the fence line that was identified by posthole Feature 401. The posthole was uncovered at a depth of 47 cmbs and measured 14 cm wide. Small brick and mortar fragments were collected from the fill. No cultural features were observed in TUs 5 and 6 but both units revealed layers disturbed by root activity. The mixture of material observed in the upper stratum of the site was a consequence of activities related to domestic occupation at the site (such as gardening) along with modern landscaping. It was noted that below 22-25 cmbs, the deposits appeared to generally be intact.
A total of 9,345 artifacts were recorded in the Artifact Inventory, Appendix I, of the original report. It is unclear if this included the non-botanical remains collected during the flotation processing of soil samples. In all, 190 activity items were collected (1 wooden game piece, 2 marbles (1 clay, 1 glass), 3 ceramic doll parts, 92 pieces of lamp glass, 1 bicycle bell, 1 slate pencil, 6 lengths of non-electrical wire, 5 metal tool parts (shovel, file, 2 plow, saw), 5 pieces of car reflectors, 22 metal strap pieces, 1 miscellaneous machine part, 5 saddle parts, 43 ceramic flower pot sherds, 1 possible gate hinge, and 1 horseshoe). There were 2,688 architectural items (289 brick fragments, 622 pieces of window glass, 34 rosehead nails (30 from TU 1), 94 cut/wrought nails, 527 machine cut nails, 523 wire nails, 454 unidentified nails, 29 fragments of mortar, 24 spikes, 2 screws, 8 bolt and/or brackets, 1 nut, 3 insulator fragments, 3 hinges, 38 ceramic drain pipe sherds, 3 architectural tacks, 5 fragments of plaster, 13 pieces of tar paper, 1 piece of cinder block, 1 piece of concrete, 1 metal plumbing pipe, 5 washers, and 8 miscellaneous hardware items). A total of 21 clothing items were found including 6 buttons (1 glass, 1 plastic, 2 metal, 1 porcelain, 1 Bakelite), 1 overalls buckle, 2 pieces of a clothing buckle, 2 straight pins, and 10 eyelet/rivets. Six furniture items were recorded (1 glass drawer pull, 2 brass tacks, 1 porcelain door knob, 1 decorative metal plaque, presumably off a piece of furniture, and 1 stone figure, possibly a decorative furniture carving).
The kitchen-related items comprised the majority of the historic assemblage with 5,668 items. There were 2,180 bottle glass fragments (including 252 blown in mold, 16 bottom mold, and 39 with pontils), 173 pieces of table glass, and 13 fragments of milk glass, 6 metal jar lids, 3 milk glass lid liner fragments, 3 metal cup fragments, 20 can fragments, 5 crown caps, 378 pieces of metal containers and/or buckets, 2 utensil parts, 1 cast iron pot fragment, 3 metal bottle seals, 1 glass stopper, 1 cooking pot part, 751 animal bone fragments (3 butchered, several burnt), 446 oyster shell fragments, 2 horn/antlers, 27 fish scales, 36 turtle shell pieces, and 1 clam shell. There were 1,616 ceramic sherds (1 Rhenish, 6 tin-enameled earthenware, 6 Delft, 1 North Devon Gravel tempered, 12 Westerwald, 11 Early porcelain, 13 Late porcelain, 1 Staffordshire slipware, 1 Nottingham, 4 British Brown, 4 white salt-glazed stoneware, 100 creamware, 116 pearlware, 240 redware, 13 domestic brown and 165 domestic gray stoneware, 31 slip dipped stoneware, 203 ironstone, 534 whiteware, 6 Rockingham/Bennington, 32 yellowware, 1 Jackfield, 1 coarse earthenware, 18 imported brown and 8 imported gray stoneware, 49 buff-bodied earthenware, 9 industrial stoneware, 3 refined red stoneware, 3 Rosse Antico stoneware, 1 slipware, 23 unidentified). There were 663 miscellaneous items, the majority of which were 487 unidentifiable metal fragments, along with 125 unidentified and melted glass pieces, 16 pieces of sheet metal, 3 unidentified stones, 6 synthetic objects, 13 pieces of coal, 6 pieces of cinder and 7 pieces of slag. A total of 24 personal artifacts were identified (2 mirror shards, 1 glass disk, presumably decorative, 3 chamber pot fragments, 7 coins, 1 glass bead, 6 fragments of figurines, 2 perfume bottles, and 2 vase sherds). The tobacco-related items (n=54) consisted of 47 white clay pipe stem and 6 bowl fragments and 1 Bakelite pipe stem fragment. A total of 31 arms-related objects were recorded; there were 5 French gunflint and flakes, 3 English gunflint flakes, 1 rimfire cartridge, 11 shotgun shells and parts, and 11 pieces of lead shot.
The prehistoric component of the site consisted of 26 artifacts. There were 20 pieces of debitage (12 quartz, 2 chert, 4 quartzite, 2 schist) and 1 quartz core. The 4 tools were 3 quartz and 1 chert unidentified point fragments. The chert fragment was the basal segment of a side-notched point. Based on this single find, a date for the deposit in the Archaic Period was suggested. One piece of fire-cracked rock was collected. The only possible concentration of material was identified in TU 1. No diagnostic artifacts were recovered. It was suggested that the prehistoric component represented the remnants of a site located on the terrace now occupied by Quiet Lodge and other officers’ quarters. This would have been an attractive area for local inhabitants as it afforded a good view of Gunpowder River, was a good spot for dry campsites, and provided easy access to riverine resources.
The Phase I/II archeological investigation at Site 18HA242 validated the CRMP sensitivity model. The site was determined to be a contributing factor under Criterion D as the archeological component provided new information regarding domestic use of the land immediately surrounding Quiet Lodge. The results of the Phase I/II evaluations indicated that 1) mitigation would be required before any earth moving activities were undertaken within the Quiet Lodge National Register boundaries, and 2) drainage needed to be improved at the site. Therefore, when plans were proposed in the late 1990s for the installation of a drainage pipe that was to extend from the north side of Quiet Lodge, Phase III archeological investigations were required. The proposed drainage trench was to impact an area of approximately 0.9x25 m of the site, which was characterized by a moderate density scatter of 18th to 20th century materials and possible cultural features. Phase III testing was initiated at the site in the fall of 1998. The mitigation focused on questions relating to land use and refuse disposal patterns and how they changed over time. Specific goals were to determine the nature of the domestic landscape within the Area of Potential Effect (APE), assess how landscape use changed over time, investigate refuse disposal patterns within the APE, and discern activity areas if possible.
During the Phase III testing, 6 test units measuring 1 m² were excavated along the proposed drainage alignment (TUs 7-12) and one test unit measuring 1x0.25 m (TU 13A) was placed immediately outside the APE in order to further investigate Feature 11-01 (described below). TUs 7-11 were placed 3 m apart, starting with TU 7 which was placed 7 m southwest of the chimney of Quiet Lodge. TU 12 was placed 1 m west of the chimney, parallel to the structure. All excavated soils were screened through ¼” hardware cloth. Two-liter soil samples were collected from Level 2 of Features 7-02 and 9-01 for flotation and botanical analysis.
Five historic cultural features were identified at the site. Feature 7-02 was identified in TU 7 as a refuse pit utilized from the late 18th-early 19th century. The pit had straight-sided walls and was 40 cm deep. The majority of the artifacts from this feature (72 of 113 or 63.7%) were recovered from Level 2 of the feature fill. Some of the later, 19th century material was retrieved from the third level of the feature, within a rodent disturbance. The presence of kiln bisque, charcoal, and coal slag may have suggested the possibility of low-level industrial activity in the immediate area. Feature 7-02 was determined to be relatively contemporaneous with Feature 101, a natural swale used for refuse disposal identified during the Phase II evaluation. Feature 9-01 was identified in TU 9 as a posthole. The posthole measured 9x11x11 cm; no postmold was visible. The Feature 9-01 posthole may have been part of the fence first identified by Feature 401 during the Phase II study. The fence would have ran east-west approximately 12 m south of the house. Feature 7-01 was encountered in TU 7 and identified as a modern utility trench. It was determined to be a portion of the same northwest-southeast trending trench first identified in TU 2 during the Phase II study. Feature 10-01 was a pit of unknown function exposed at ca. 25 cmbs in the northern section of TU 10. The feature was 20 cm deep with a relatively flat base and it cut into the subsoil on its southern edge. The artifacts recovered from the feature fill generally reflected the plowzone material in the test unit. It was postulated that Feature 10-01 was a landscape feature, possibly a terrace cut or garden edge that had been filled with topsoil. Feature 11-01 was exposed at about 17 cmbs in TU 11and TU 13A. It was interpreted to be a garden/terrace brick delineation wall. The feature was composed of a line of 10 brick fragments set on their sides and was oriented northwest-southeast. The bricks formed an un-mortared retaining wall with a shallow landscaping fill deposit present on their eastern side. The wall was situated on the lawn south and slightly west of the house at a point where the topography begins to significantly slope towards Gunpowder River. One possibility is that the wall was constructed during the early 19th century, ca. 1820/1830 (as evidenced by the artifact assemblage) to help control erosion where the original front yard of Quiet Lodge sloped towards the river. Over 60% of the artifacts recovered from TU 11 derived from within the context of the retaining wall and the accompanying fill deposit.
A total of 1,062 historic artifacts were recovered during the Phase III investigations at Site 18HA242, including the non-botanical material recovered from flotation processing. In all, 10 activity items were collected (2 glass marbles, 1 piece of chain, 5 pieces of lamp glass, and 2 fragments of kiln bisque). One of the pieces of kiln bisque was possibly a flower pot sherd. There were 571 architectural items (61 brick fragments, 277 pieces of window glass, 2 rosehead nails, 45 cut/wrought nails, 9 machine cut nails, 109 wire nails, 62 unidentified nails, 4 fragments of mortar, 1 insulator fragment, 1 ceramic tile). A total of 2 clothing items were found including 1 brass button and 1 eyelet/rivet. The 398 kitchen-related items included 116 bottle glass fragments, 2 pieces of table glass, 5 pieces of milk glass, 1 milk glass lid liner fragment, 1 piece of Styrofoam, 43 animal bone fragments, 14 oyster shell fragments, 2 fish scales/bone, 12 unidentified shell fragments, and 14 nut/seed/pits. There were 188 ceramic sherds (2 Delft and 2 other tin-enameled earthenware, 2 Early porcelain, 4 Late porcelain, 1 white salt-glazed stoneware, 34 creamware, 60 pearlware, 15 redware, 3 domestic brown and 11 domestic gray stoneware, 8 ironstone, 2 Astbury, 17 whiteware, 6 yellowware, 8 British brown, 1 Burslem (British brown) and 2 Westerwald gray stoneware, 10 unidentified). There were 79 miscellaneous items (2 unidentifiable metal fragment, 40 unidentified and melted glass pieces, 1 piece of sheet metal, 1 piece of plastic, 1 piece of coal, 24 pieces of charcoal, and 10 pieces of coal slag). A single personal artifact was identified (a silver horse brooch). The 1 tobacco-related item was a clay pipe stem fragment.
The prehistoric component of the site consisted of 8 pieces of quartz debitage.
Phase III archeological testing at the site revealed that the relatively homogenous assemblage represented discard from continuous habitation at Quiet Lodge from the mid-18th century into the 20th century. The data recovered from the Phase I/II and the Phase III testing were combined to show that the artifact distribution reflected changes in activity areas at the site through time. A thin, but consistently deep sheet midden was identified across the entire site, from which architecturally-related materials were predominant. These materials likely reflect the continuous maintenance of the structure by the original owners and successive occupants. Two of the pit features excavated at the site contained mainly architectural material and the other two pit features contained primarily domestic/kitchen refuse. A probable fence line at Site 18HA242, as marked by postholes found in TUs 4 and 9, ran east-west approximately 12 m south of the house. This created inner yard and outer yard spaces. The southeastern deposit (Feature 101) that was located within the natural swale appeared to have been utilized throughout the early to mid-19th century and prior to the construction of the fence. Also, once the fence was built, pit feature 7-02 which was located off the southwestern corner of the house appeared to have gone out of use. Instead, refuse was disposed of in the western portion of the swale that was still open in the outer yard. Post-1880s architectural debris was deposited along the inner fence line in an erosional swale. This may have indicated that by the late 19th century the inner yard was bare of vegetation and suffered from increased erosion. It was suggested that the retaining wall feature (11-01), which was probably built in the early 19th century, represented the original conceptual divide between the inner and outer yard and that the later fence delineated a smaller inner yard space.
Two botanical analyses were undertaken on samples collected from the site during the Phase I/II archeological testing. The first analysis was done on a carbonized wood fiber sample retrieved from Shovel Test 9 that measured 1.35x2.95x3.45 cm. Seven growth rings were visible in transverse section. The wood was identified as a Southern or yellow species of pine, which are indigenous to the area. Historically, species of this group were preferred building materials because of their high resin content and durable nature. Botanical analysis was also done on two soil samples collected from Feature 101 in TU 1. Carbonized remains recovered from the heavy fraction (>2 mm) were examined microscopically, sorted into general categories of material (such as wood, seed, amorphous charcoal, etc.), counted, and weighed. Light fraction material (<2 mm) was examined under low magnification and the remains of seeds and cultivated plants were removed for identification. Identifications were made on the first 20 randomly selected wood charcoal fragments from each light fraction sample. Flotation yielded a total of 309 wood fragments weighing 1.58 grams. Of those, a sub-sample of 40 was selected randomly for identification. The overall assemblage revealed a predominance of hardwood taxa. Ten samples were classified as hickory, 7 were oak, 6 were mulberry, 4 were either maple or birch, sassafras and ash were represented by 3 samples each, 1 sample was American chestnut, and 6 were unidentifiable to species. It was postulated that the collection of woods from Feature 101 reflected their burial after use as fuel. The lack of edible plant parts recovered from the site prevented dietary reconstruction of the occupants. Further testing was, therefore, suggested if the diet of the 18th and 19th century occupants was to be determined.
Further ethnobotanical analysis was conducted on material collected during the Phase III data recovery. The soil samples collected from Level 2 of Features 7-02 and 9-01 (2 liters each) were processed, resulting in both heavy and light fraction material. All carbonized plant remains recovered through flotation were sieved yielding fractions >2 mm and <2 mm. Carbonized remains recovered from the heavy fraction were examined microscopically, sorted into general categories of material, counted, and weighed. Light fraction material was examined under low magnification and identifications were attempted on all seed and cultivated plant remains. Identifications were made on the first 20 randomly selected wood charcoal fragments from each light fraction sample.
Few carbonized remains and a moderate quantity and diversity of non-carbonized weed seeds were identified in the assemblage. Flotation processing of the 4 liters of soil resulted in the recovery of 0.73g of charcoal. Of that, 0.50 g or 32 fragments were carbonized wood: 5 fragments of unspecified oak, 4 fragments of white oak, 3 fragments of black locust, 2 fragments each of eastern red cedar and American chestnut, and 1 fragment each of red oak and dogwood. One wood fragment was classified as ring porous, 6 fragments were identified to the level of deciduous taxa, and 7 fragments were unidentifiable. A single thick-walled hickory nutshell fragment was identified which could represent the remains of food, animal fodder, dyestuff, or fuel. A total of 60 non-carbonized seeds were also encountered in the assemblage. The recovery of non-carbonized seed remains from Features 7-02 and 9-01 most likely resulted from isolated post-depositional disturbances such as rodent burrowing or root action. While non-carbonized remains have been identified in rare contexts such as consistently dry or wet environments, such conditions do not characterize the Quiet Lodge area. Both native and non-native herbaceous and woody plant non-carbonized seeds were recovered including rattlebox, spurge, carpetweed, oxalis, pokeweed, raspberry or blackberry, elderberry, clover, and members of the grass, pigweed and pink families. No carbonized seed remains were recovered from the flotation material. Eight fragments of amorphous carbon constituted the miscellaneous plant-related materials group.
The wood assemblage recovered from Quiet Lodge was consistent with the paleoethnobotanical assemblage for the historic period and the geographic region. All of the identified wood species recovered from the flotation samples represented locally available and common species useful for a variety of tasks. The non-carbonized seeds recovered from the Quiet Lodge flotation samples were indicative of disturbed, open environments, and field and forest edges. It is unlikely that those specimens date to the period of occupation and they are probably recent introductions into the archeological record. In particular, the non-carbonized remains from pit Feature 7-02 were suggested to be the result of food-stashing by burrowing residents. The small size of the botanical assemblage prohibited a rigorous interpretation of plant utilization, site and regional environment, and dietary reconstruction of the inhabitants of Quiet Lodge in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Quiet Lodge (18HA242) is located at the site of a standing structure built ca. 1740. The archeological component of the site is represented by the associated 18th to 20th century occupational artifact assemblage and cultural features. A small prehistoric artifact scatter very tentatively assigned to the Archaic Period was also identified. Ethnobotanical analysis failed to provide definitive data on plant utilization, the site and regional environment, and the subsistence strategies of the inhabitants of Quiet Lodge; however, all of the identified wood species represented locally available and common types that would have been useful for a variety of tasks. Based on the Phase III investigations at the site, no further work was recommended in the area of impact related to the construction of a drainage trench. However, the findings of the Phase I/II evaluations recommended that any earth moving activities at the site and within the boundaries of National Register property be preceded by mitigative archeological testing.
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