Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18HO149 Heritage Heights
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Heritage Heights Site (18HO149) is a 19th to 20th century homestead, possibly associated with the locally prominent Warfield family. It is located near the town of Clarksville in Howard County, Maryland. A small tributary stream of the Middle Patuxent River flows just to the north of the site. The site occupies a heavily vegetated hilltop and is situated on Manor and Glenelg series soils.
The site was initially encountered by the Maryland Geological Survey – Division of Archeology (now the Maryland Historical Trust) during a Phase I survey in 1987 relating to the improvement of Maryland Route 32. At that time, several historic features were identified at the site including a structure (Feature 1), an associated brick concentration (Feature 2), and an historic trash midden (Feature 3). A shallow ditch of unknown origin was identified to the north and west of Feature 1. In addition, a prehistoric artifact scatter consisting of three quartz flakes was recovered. The Phase I survey of the site included: (1) a sketch map of site features; (2) the excavation of a total of seven shovel test pits in the northern half of the site; and (3) the surface collection of Feature 3. Historic artifacts recovered from the site include 1 architectural object (a piece of window glass), 2 clothing items (a porcelain button and a metal broach with colored glass ornamentation), and 22 kitchen-related artifacts (7 whiteware sherds, 4 Chinese export porcelain sherds, 1 other porcelain sherd, 2 yelloware sherds, 6 machine-made glass bottle fragments, and 2 other glass shards). Based on the Phase I fieldwork, it appeared that the historic occupation of the site dated from the 19th century through the first half of the 20th century. Additional research was recommended by MGS in order to evaluate the significance of the site in terms of National Register eligibility criteria. This recommendation for further fieldwork was based largely on the potential of the site to yield intact nineteenth-century cultural deposits.
As part of the Phase II project, extensive archival research was conducted. It was possible to determine that the Heritage Heights Site represented the mid-twentieth century merger of two historic landholdings: a portion of “White Wine and Claret” and a Warfield family farm. Although an 1878 map appears to associate this site with the James N. Miller residence, analysis of other maps and land records does not support this claim. The land transaction records, particularly the deed descriptions, are not sufficiently detailed to pinpoint the exact location of the Heritage Heights Site. A survey of all of the deeds demonstrates that there were only two residences recorded in the area through time. One, the Ridgeley residence was situated just north of Clarksville. The Hopkins Atlas of 1878 clearly indicates that the Oliver Ridgley residence is situated to the north of the Heritage Heights Site. In fact, according to a local informant, this residence may still be occupied. Therefore, it seems more likely that the Heritage Heights Site is associated with a branch of the Warfield family (the other residence reportedly in the area). Unfortunately, the Hopkins Atlas does not depict a Warfield in this area (though land records seem to indicate they were there) and no additional historic maps that would have positively linked the site with one of the successive owners that are better documented could be located.
The Warfields were one of the founding families of Maryland. Dr. Joshua Warfield purchased the mill and the area around Simpsonville in 1754 (see synopsis report on 18HO80), and was a direct relation to the earliest Warfields to settle the area. It is not clear, however, as to their relationship to Henry and Julia Warfield (who were living at or in the near vicinity of the site in the mid 19th century). Nevertheless, tax records and other historic documentation indicate that these potential, early occupants of the Heritage Heights Site were in the upper economic stratum of Howard County during the mid-nineteenth century.
Phase II field testing at 18HO149 was undertaken in 1989 and 1990. The initial fieldwork began with the creation of a systematic site grid encompassing and oriented to Feature 1 (the historic foundation). The site datum was staked approximately 35 meters southwest of this feature and all subsequent shovel test pits and test units were recorded (in meters) from this datum. Transects for use in shovel testing extended northward from the east-west baseline at ten meter intervals. Individual shovel test pits were spaced five meters apart along these transects. Eight transects were investigated during initial Phase II fieldwork. A total of 74 shovel test pits were excavated across the site during these initial investigations, one of which was placed judgmentally within Feature 1. Three 1 X 1 meter test units were excavated as part of the initial Phase II archeological study. These units were placed adjacent to Feature 1 (Test Units 2 & 3) and within Feature 3 (Test Unit 1) in order to gather information on each feature’s chronology and function, as well as to evaluate their integrity. Shovel tests were excavated according to soil texture and Munsell color designations, with each discernable discontinuity/strata. All cultural materials were collected by natural strata. Each shovel test pit measured 50 cm in diameter and minimally 50 cm in depth. All soil was screened through hardware mesh. Test units were excavated by natural stratigraphy; however, if natural strata exceeded 10 cm in depth they were divided into arbitrary levels with a maximum depth of 10 cm. Two walls of each unit were profiled, mapped, and photographed.
Upon completion of preliminary Phase II fieldwork, it was determined that the prehistoric component at the site was potentially more substantial than expected. Thus, supplemental Phase II testing was undertaken in order to evaluate its eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places. This supplemental work focused on extending the systematic shovel testing grid to the south and west to further delineate the prehistoric artifact scatter. An additional 25 shovel test pits were excavated, for a total of 99 shovel test pits excavated across the Heritage Height Site. Three additional 1 X 1 meter test units were also excavated during the supplemental Phase II stage. These units were placed in areas of high prehistoric artifact density, as determined by initial Phase II shovel testing, in order to increase the probability of uncovering undisturbed, stratified prehistoric cultural deposits and features.
Well over 8,000 artifacts were recovered during Phase II fieldwork, all but 53 of which were historic. The historic artifact assemblage included 454 activity items, 2,245 architectural objects, 40 clothing items, 37 furniture items, 4,463 kitchen-related artifacts, 17 personal items, a tobacco-related object, 9 arms artifacts, and 1,192 miscellaneous objects. The activity items were an iron pull toy, 301 lighting objects (1 glass candlestick, 291 pieces of lamp glass, 7 other lamp parts, and 2 light bulb pieces), 45 wire fragments, 1 paperclip, 1 piece of office iron hardware, 64 pieces of hardware (8 staples, 1 hard rubber closure, 10 brackets/fasteners, an iron valve, an iron pin, 5 metal rings, 1 hinge, 27 grommets, 2 springs, 3 washers, and 5 miscellaneous pieces), 1 iron tool ferrule, 1 iron machine part, 1 tin box, a zinc squeeze tube, a piece of redware flowerpot, a flashlight part, an auto fuse, a safety reflector, 3 pieces of windshield glass, a wagon latch, 27 pieces of barbed wire, a carbon rod battery and a carbon rod. The 2,245 architectural objects consisted of 29 pieces of cement, 2 pieces of asphalt, 55 fragments of brick, 21 fragments of plaster, 34 pieces of mortar, 133 tin roofing fragments, 4 ceramic tiles, 1,232 pieces of window glass, 607 nails (221 cut, 230 wire, 156 unidentified), 23 tacks, 5 spikes, 10 screws, 11 nut/bolt pieces, 1 architectural hinge, 3 pieces of electrical wire, 1 iron pipe, and 74 miscellaneous building materials. Clothing artifacts include 18 buttons (2 brass/copper, 3 porcelain, 2 plastic, 8 shell, 3 iron), 11 shoe pieces (3 rubber, 1 iron shoe fastener, 7 pieces of a child’s shoe), 1 garter, 1 snap, 2 buckles, and 7 pieces of leather. The furniture-related artifacts were 34 bedsprings, 1 furniture leg, a brass clock gear, and a gas stove valve. Kitchen-related items include 515 ceramic sherds (1 Jackfield, 64 porcelain, 71 ironstone, 319 whiteware, 7 yelloware, 28 redware, and 25 miscellaneous stoneware), 3,624 glass fragments (58 glass jar lid liners, 79 table glass fragments, 3,457 container glass fragments, 30 machine made bottle pieces), 15 zinc jar lid liners, 20 crown caps, 1 screw cap, 2 spoon fragments, 2 utensil handles, 5 pieces of aluminum foil, 62 tin can fragments, 4 tin can lids, 6 can keys, 1 possible trivet, 120 animal bones, 20 burned bones, 36 calcined bones, 1 cut bone, 1 decorative bone, 2 polished bone handle fragments, 1 piece of oyster shell, 23 eggshell fragments, and 2 pieces of nutshell. Personal items include 3 modern eyeglass lenses, 1 pair of tweezers, a piece of mirror, 3 glass beads, 1 copper jewelry setting, a plastic comb, a razor blade, 1 perfume bottle, 3 pieces of porcelain figurine, 1 earthenware figurine, and an Indian-head nickel. The tobacco-related object was a chewing tobacco can lid. Arms-related objects were four 12 guage shotgun shells, two .22 rimfire cartridges, a .32 caliber cartridge, and 1 flattened bullet casing. And finally, miscellaneous objects included 71 non-cultural quartz fragments, 114 unidentifiable pieces of glass, 918 unidentified pieces of metal, 2 stamped copper objects, 4 chrome pieces, 4 pieces of slate, 1 aluminum seal, 7 pieces of rubber, 8 pieces of plastic, 1 fragment of synthetic material, 45 pieces of charcoal, 14 cinders, a piece of slag, and 2 fragments of lead sprue.
The prehistoric assemblage included 53 artifacts. There was a quartz Piscataway-like biface, a quartzite Holmes stemmed point, a quartz LeCroy point, a quartz biface, a rhyolite biface, 39 quartz flakes, 5 rhyolite flakes, 2 chalcedony flakes, 1 diabase flake, and a piece of chalcedony shatter.
In sum, Phase II archeological excavations conducted at the Heritage Heights Site (18HO149) verified the location of a probable farmhouse structure (Feature 1) initially identified during Phase I fieldwork. Excavations placed in proximity to the structure confirmed the presence of a mortared, stone foundation consisting of dressed quartzite and micaceous schist. All of the artifacts recovered in association with the structure date to the 20th century, and appear to be related to its dismantling and/or abandonment. No builder’s trenches were identified in association with Feature 1. In addition, closer inspection of Feature 2 revealed that it probably represents the results of a chimney fall indicating that the fireplace/chimney was situated to the east side of the structure. Moreover, the recovery of sections of corrugated tin within the structure demonstrate the use of a tin roof during the 20th century.
Shovel testing resulted in the recovery of extensive historic sheet refuse deposits, the majority of which contained architectural debris and small finds (e.g., miscellaneous metal). These artifacts, which clustered around the foundation, were predominantly recovered from the upper levels of the excavations and date from the late 19th through the first half of the 20th century. Testing of Feature 3 resulted in the recovery of a large assemblage of artifacts, most of which include bottle glass and architectural debris. A dating analysis of the feature indicates that it was deposited during the first half of the 20th century and was not culturally stratified. Feature 3 crosscuts several occupations at the site including the tenures of several Warfields and subsequent owners and/or occupants not related to the Warfield family.
The Heritage Heights prehistoric component, which exclusively contains lithics, was identified in a northeast to southwest scatter situated to the west of Feature 1. This site component was the focus of both initial and supplemental Phase II fieldwork. A total of 48 flakes/shatter and five bifaces were collected during these investigations. The recovery of three diagnostic bifaces indicate that the prehistoric occupation of the site dates roughly from the Early to Middle Archaic Period (9,500-6,000 BP). Based on the environmental setting of the site, in conjunction with the recovered lithics, Heritage Heights probably served as a small, limited activity procurement campsite.
The mixing of prehistoric and historic artifacts often observed at the site indicates its lack of cultural integrity. Only one of the five tools and seven of the 48 flakes were recovered from an undisturbed context. Owing to the disturbed nature of the sediments and the fact that the majority of the excavations were placed within the densest portion of the artifact concentration, it appears that the probability of recovery of intact, prehistoric deposits is low. Thus, neither the historic nor the prehistoric deposits are considered to have any additional research potential.
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