Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18MO383 J.A. Jones Farm Complex
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
Site 18MO383 is the ruins of the burned out John A. Jones Farm house and extant surrounding farm outbuildings and artifact scatters that were part of the same agricultural complex. The site is located on level to gently rolling terrain east of the Potomac River near the community of Poolesville in Montgomery County, Maryland. The nearest stream to the site is a small tributary of Stony Branch located 303 meters to the north. The main farm house was burned in a fire in 1978. While it is no longer standing, the remaining subsurface features and artifacts associated with it form part of archeological site 18MO383. Soils at the site are grouped under the Penn-Lewisberry soil association.
The site was first identified during a Phase I survey for the planned Montgomery County Site 2 Landfill. This study was conducted in 1991 as part of the county’s transition from a traditional landfill-centered waste disposal system to a waste-to-energy based program. Currently, Montgomery County disposes of their waste by burning it at extremely high temperatures, and then using the heat to generate energy as either electricity or steam. This reduces the volume of the trash by nearly 90% leaving only ash and metals. The metals are then removed via a magnet and recycled reducing waste further. Currently the ash waste is shipped by rail out-of-county for disposal in landfills. However, in 1991, as the county’s extant Oaks landfill built in 1982 was nearing the end of its use-life, plans for the disposal of the ash that would be generated in the new plant led to the purchase of a large tract (including Site 18MO383) for the construction of a new landfill. While this landfill has still not been constructed, the Montgomery County governments purchased the needed property for the landfill’s eventual construction and currently lease it for tenant farming. All archeological research was conducted in anticipation of state permitting and possible Army Corps of Engineers wetlands permitting that will eventually be required whenever the construction project is realized.
Following its initial discovery, the main structural complex at 18MO383 was investigated by non-systematic surface inspection and four non-systematic shovel test pits (STPs) at intervals of about 30 meters. STPs were no less than 30 cm in diameter and were excavated to the depth of natural subsoil by natural/cultural levels. All soils were screened through hardware cloth. Substantial archeological remains were encountered in the vicinity of the main farm complex. The most prominent of these were the remains of destroyed 19th century buildings. Other material observed included a substantial amount of ceramic, glass, and metal artifacts visible on the ground surface. It was deemed likely that refuse deposits and privy pits were also present in the vicinity. Artifacts recovered during the Phase I survey in this area of Site 18MO383 included 1 asbestos shingle fragment, 4 brick fragments, 5 stoneware sherds, 2 terracotta sherds, 1 container glass sherd, and a silver 1946 dime.
In addition to the examination at the main farm complex, an associated artifact scatter to the west of the farm house was investigated by non-systematic surface search with collection of a sample of the artifacts present. The observed density of surface artifacts was about 5 objects per square meter. The scatter covered an area about 15 by 21 meters. This material may be refuse from the J.A. Jones farm, or from a former tenant residence that has been destroyed. Artifacts recovered during the Phase I survey in this portion of 18MO383 included 2 brick fragments, 2 porcelain sherds, 4 whiteware sherds, 5 container glass fragments, and 2 pieces of plastic. Both areas of 18MO383 were deemed potentially historically significant and Phase II testing was recommended.
Researchers returned to the site in 1993 to conduct the Phase II testing. As part of that research project, extensive archival study was conducted to place the site in its proper historical context. Archival research revealed that in 1855 the site was purchased by John Augustus Jones for the sum of $2,000.00 from Henry W. and Sarah Talbott. The Talbotts owned large tracts of land and resided at the property that would come to be known as the Edward J. Chiswell Farm Complex (see synopsis report for 18MO379). A total of 175 7/8 acres was purchased by Jones. John A. Jones was born in 1822 and was 33 years old at the time. The land transaction records that he already owned three tracts of land, the largest and most highly valued of which was a 233 acre parcel of “Eleven Brothers” valued at $4,660.00. The tract he purchased from Talbott (part of “Resurvey on Allison’s Adventure”) was the least valuable of his properties. In the 1860 Census, Jones was listed as the head of a household consisting of him and his sister, Elizabeth. At that time he was the owner of 10 African-American slaves.
An 1863 tax assessment reveals that the value of his “Resurvey on Allison’s Adventure” was essentially the same as it had been in 1855 when he purchased it. Thus, no substantial improvement could have been made. An early 1860’s map of Montgomery County also does not indicate a residence on the parcel or in the vicinity of 18MO383. However, an 1869 assessment records a doubling in the assessed value per acre for the property. Since the Civil War ended in 1865, it is likely that the improvements reflected in the 1869 tax assessment took place between 1865 and 1869. Census records from the period indicate that several African-American farm workers and domestic servants were residing on the property. These were likely the former slaves of John A. Jones. Land and tax assessments in 1876 reflect modest increases in value. It is apparent that during the 1865-1876 time period Jones engaged in a significant amount of development of his property. A bank barn on the property has been dated architecturally to around this time period.
John A. Jones died around 1895 and the property passed to his son, George D. Jones. Tax records indicate that additional buildings were built between 1892 and 1897. As late as the 1900 census, African-American farm laborers (actually 2 farmers and a cook) are still residing on the property. George D. Jones died in 1922 at the age of 56. He willed his real estate property to his son, Lee A. Jones who eventually sold it out of the family in 1943. After the property changed hands several times, it was purchased by the Montgomery County governments in 1995. At the present time the property is leased for farming.
During the Phase II study, Site 18MO383 was examined through a systematic surface inspection and collection survey using transects spaced at 15 meter intervals. Visibility around the old farm building complex was limited because of lawn coverage. Visibility in the vicinity of the western artifact scatter was good because of recent plowing. The systematic surface survey encountered a dense concentration of artifacts at the location of the destroyed Jones House. The surface inspection was followed by STP excavations spaced systematically on a grid at 15 meter intervals. Sixty-four STPs were excavated in this area. Nine STPs were excavated in the western artifact scatter, but they were spaced at an average interval of 2 meters because agricultural plowing enabled the artifact concentration to be pin-pointed to a small area. STPs were no less than 30 cm in diameter and were excavated to the depth of natural subsoil by natural/cultural levels. Both locations were investigated further with 2 X 2 meter excavation units. Two of the excavation units were dug within the buried remains of the Jones House. The other was excavated in the area of greatest artifact concentration in the western artifact scatter. The excavation units were dug by natural/cultural levels. All soils (both STPs and the excavation units) were screened through hardware cloth.
Test Unit 1 was excavated on the outer side of the buried Jones House foundation. It exposed the foundation of the destroyed house, which consisted of cut rock. The foundation rested on bedrock and included intermingled cut native sandstone and dressed non-native granite stones that were bound using cement. The artifacts recovered ranged in date from the late 19th century to recent times. The exposed builder’s trench contained material consistent with a circa 1900 vintage, which corresponded to the time around the death of John A. Jones, when George D. Jones became the proprietor of the farm. Test Unit 2 was excavated within the perimeter of the buried foundation. This unit was distinguished by the presence of burned materials in the fill inside the foundation. Fill soil had been deposited by grading following the house’s destruction. The test unit revealed that the inner face of the masonry foundation was smoothly finished with cement and the interior of the basement had a cement floor with a drainage channel at the joint between the cement floor and the vertical foundation wall. The workmanship and materials appeared to be 20th century in origin and the foundation was interpreted as having been built between 1890 and 1910. No other cultural features were encountered. The artifacts recovered from Test Unit 2 consisted of both material associated with the Jones House at the time of its destruction by fire and intrusive artifacts that had been contained in the fill soil. The materials were primarily from the 20th century (much of it middle to late). Examples of middle 19th century artifact types were found, but are rare. An intrusive prehistoric triangular projectile point was in the fill soil overlying the buried foundation. The archeological remains at this location were considered historically insignificant.
Test Unit 3 was excavated in the vicinity of the western artifact scatter. All of the artifacts encountered in this unit were of 20th century origin. A significant amount of window glass, brick, and other artifact debris, in combination with domestic artifacts suggested the location had probably been occupied as a dwelling. No articulated architectural remains or other intact cultural features were found, however. The findings from Test Unit 3 were interpreted to represent the remains of a small tenant residence that had been occupied circa 1900 to 1930, probably by a farm labor family. The structure is interpreted to have probably been of frame construction supported on piers and including a brick chimney. It does not merit being considered archeologically significant.
Historic artifacts encountered during the Phase II work at 18MO383 included 239 activity items (2 toys, 3 terracotta pot fragments, 66 tool & equipment parts, and 168 pieces of iron wire and strap), 2,393 architectural objects (469 brick fragments, 520 mortar/plaster/cement pieces, 21 cement block fragments, 107 pieces of slate, 429 fragments of window glass, 222 asbestos siding fragments, 186 cut nails, 279 wire nails, 3 tar paper fragments, 91 other architectural hardware pieces, 12 architectural porcelain objects, and 54 tiles), 1 clothing item (a button), 2 personal items (a coin and a piece of mirror glass), 629 kitchen-related artifacts (17 porcelain sherds, 1 semi-porcelain sherd, 10 whiteware sherds, 13 redware sherds, 4 yelloware sherds, 8 gray stoneware sherds, 4 pre-1870 glass bottle fragments, 496 post-1870 glass bottle fragments, 65 table glass shards, 10 pieces of bone, and 1 shell fragment), 1 arms object (an ammo cartridge), and 547 miscellaneous objects (21 plastic objects, 1 rubber item, 32 non-ferrous metal fragments, 135 pieces of coal, 344 burnt fragments, and 14 other objects). A total of 6 prehistoric artifacts were recovered during the Phase II work. One was a quartz Madison type triangular point. The rest were 4fragments of shattered quartz and a piece of rhyolite debitage. The prehistoric materials associated with 18MO383 are not of archeological significance.
The major archeological deposits at site 18MO383 contain evidence of residential occupation dating from around 1900 to recent time. The material encountered was found not to be archeologically significant.
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