Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18MO409 Edwin Waters House
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Edwin Waters House (18MO409) is the archeological remains of a 19th century farmstead near Clarksburg in Montgomery County. The site is situated on a hillslope surrounded by agricultural fields. An unnamed tributary of Little Seneca Creek flows along the eastern margin of the site. The local landscape is characterized by upland ridges covered with a mix of mature hardwood and coniferous forest, as well as fallow agricultural fields. Soils at the site are primarily Brinklow-Blocktown channery silt loams.
Site 18MO409 is situated on two early Montgomery County land grants: the 320 acre “Resurvey on What You Will” tract patented by William Waters in 1755, and the 20 acre “Chance” tract patented by Waters in 1785. According to William Waters’ patent certificate for “Chance”, there was an abundance of unclaimed acreage (approximately 100 acres) around his two properties that he incorporated into his own holdings after the 1785 purchase. By 1820, William Waters died leaving his property in the Clarksburg District (Election District 2), as well as properties in other districts throughout Montgomery County to his two sons, Horace and Nathaniel Waters. In 1820, Horace transferred his interest in the 541 acre “Waters Farm” to his brother Nathaniel.
Nathanial Waters owned the property now known as Site 18MO409 from 1820 to 1870. While he owned the property for a 50 years period, it appears that he remained on the property for only a portion of that time. According to the 1840 United States Census, Nathaniel Waters owned two farms in Montgomery County. His primary residence was in the Cracklin District (Election District 1). There he lived with his wife and six children along with 32 enslaved men and women where he operated an extensive farm. His second property was located in Clarksburg and was maintained by his son Edwin. The Clarksburg Farm (Site 18MO409) was much smaller in scale, being operated by Edwin, his family, and six slaves.
Edwin continued to operate the farm in Clarksburg for his father until Nathaniel’s death in 1870. By the 1850 US Census, Nathaniel Waters was no longer listed as residing in Clarksburg and by the 1860 Census, he was no longer listed in Montgomery County. Additionally, an 1865 map of Montgomery County lists Edwin as living at the Clarksburg farm property. Edwin Waters received a 290 acre portion of the Water Farm in 1870. It is unclear how long he lived at the property after his father’s death. An 1878 Atlas of Montgomery County, Maryland identified the 64-year-old Edwin as the owner of the farm.
The next listed owner of the Waters Farm was J. Russell King and his wife, Dorothy. The Kings were awarded a 149 acre portion of the property in 1952 by John E. Oxley, trustee. They remained at the property for 10 years at which point they sold the house and property to Clarence W. and John G. Gosnell. Trustees for the Gosnells sold the land to the Old Clarksville Limited Partnership in 1985. The house and outbuildings extant at 18MO409 (see below) likely date to the mid 19th century Waters occupation and was modified and continuously occupied into the mid to late 20th century.
The site was first examined archeologically in 1994 during the course of a Phase I survey of what was, by then, called the “Clarksburg Triangle” property. The survey was conducted at the request of the Maryland Historical Trust in order to determine whether cultural resources would be potentially impacted by the planned development of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) campus by the federal government’s General Services Administration (GSA). At the time, GSA was considering purchase of the property.
Subsurface testing was conducted in portions of the property that had moderate to high potential for containing prehistoric and historic cultural resources. Phase I walkover reconnaissance documented the presence of an abandoned 19th century farmhouse and other agricultural structures. A bank barn, shown in photographs taken during a 1974 historic structure survey, was found to have been razed, but a foundation and piles of siding were still extant. A second agricultural building, also seen in the 1974 photographs, was no longer standing. An area of tall weeds was tested with the excavation of 20 shovel test pits (STPs) at 20 m intervals. STPs were 35-40 cm diameter and were excavated 25-52 cm deep. Ten of the 20 shovel tests contained historic and/or modern artifacts, including ceramics, glass, architectural remains, and personal items. Other than obviously modern objects, whiteware ceramics (2 sherds) were the only temporal diagnostic. In general, the artifacts recovered (minimally estimated at 10 objects) were non-diagnostic beyond a broad mid-19th to 20th century temporal range.
Ultimately, the GSA did not purchase the property containing 18MO409 and it would not be until 2005 that archeologists would return to the site. In 2005, Phase II testing would be carried out at the site prior to construction of a (then) planned residential development. The archeological evaluation of the site was connected with the application for a wetlands permit through the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Maryland Department of Environment. Thus, this evaluation study was required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended). Site 18MO409 was determined to be threatened by the proposed development of the property.
Phase II work entailed the excavation of additional shovel test pits as well as five 91 X 91 cm (3 X 3 ft) test units at the site. A grid composed of 85 STP locations, spaced at 15.24, 7.62, and 3.8 m (50, 25, and 12.5 ft) intervals was placed over the approximate location of 18MO409 as recorded during the Phase I study. Of that total, 65 produced positive artifact recoveries. The site dimension was estimated to be 107 m (350 ft) east to west by 138 m (450 feet) north to south. Based on the nature and density of the artifact recovered, the locations for the five test units were chosen. Four were excavated to the west of the abandoned Edwin Waters house. The other was excavated southeast of the house.
All shovel test locations were excavated manually, using spade shovels and trowels. The shovel tests were also excavated stratigraphically in order to maintain vertical control over the artifacts recovered. The soils removed from each excavated shovel test were dry-screened in the field using hardware cloth. Cultural materials recovered during the screening process were retained for analysis and bagged according to provenience, i.e., by site number, STP coordinate, and stratigraphic or feature designation. The resulting material recovery was plotted on a field map in order to display the distribution of artifacts. A soil profile was prepared for each STP which documented soil characteristics and artifacts recovered per stratum. Soils were described by texture and color using standardized methods and nomenclature.
Test units were excavated manually, using flat shovels and trowels. The formal test units were also excavated stratigraphically in order to maintain control over the vertical provenience of artifacts recovered. Selected strata in excess of 7.62 cm (3 in) were further excavated by arbitrary levels, which generally ranged in thickness from 5-10 cm (2-4 in). All excavated, non-feature soils were dry-screened in the field using hardware cloth. The artifacts recovered during the screening process were bagged according to provenience. In the case of deeply excavated test units, exploratory windows were initiated in validating the presence of subsoil due to time and safety constraints. A standard report form was completed for each excavated stratum or arbitrary level within a stratum. As with shovel testing, soil characteristics, stratum depths, and recovered cultural materials were documented on these forms. Included on these forms was a hand-drawn soil profile of the unit wall with the clearest and most representative stratigraphy. The wall selected for profiling in each unit was also documented using black and white photography. When possible cultural features were encountered, an attempt was made to expose as much of the feature’s aerial extent as possible prior to bisection. The excavation of the potential feature was thoroughly documented with hand-drawn sketches followed by photographs.
A total of 3,479 artifacts were recovered and two intact cultural features were identified during the Phase II excavations at 18MO409. The two features were a modern trash dump and a possible wooden fence post. No sealed artifact deposits were discovered during excavation. According to the nature of the material recovery, the site was thought to have been occupied from the mid 19th century until the early 20th century. The temporal assessment was supported by the recovery of whiteware, ironstone, Albany Slip stoneware, and American porcelain. The artifacts suggest the occupants were farmers of moderate economic means. However, little else could be said about the site. Continuous habitation of the general area has dramatically impacted the yard connected with this early residence, with the soils exhibiting extensive evidence of disturbance by modern materials and artifacts.
The Phase II assemblage from 18MO409 consisted of 27 activity items (hardware), 406 architectural artifacts (including brick, concrete, plaster, floor tiles, 206 pieces of window glass, 41 cut nails, 85 wire nails, and 27 other nails), 2,050 kitchen-related artifacts (including 455 ceramic sherds, 457 bottle glass fragments, 988 other pieces of container glass, 103 oyster and clam shell fragments, and 43 animal bones), 11 personal items, 1 arms object (a .22 rimfire cartridge), 416 miscellaneous objects (including 92 coal pieces, 22 clinkers, and 35 pieces of charcoal). Among the ceramic sherds were 10 pearlware, 293 whiteware, 19 ironstone, 40 redware, 3 yelloware, 3 miscellaneous earthenware, 14 American porcelain, 7 Albany slip stoneware, 3 Bristol stoneware, 5 American Blue and Gray stoneware, and 9 other stoneware sherds.
Though archeological evidence of the Waters family’s occupation of the site was encountered during the Phase II excavations at 18MO409, the research potential of the site was found to be dramatically reduced by a lack of soils with good stratigraphic integrity and displaced artifact recovery. Apparently, the continuous habitation of this area dramatically impacted the yards connected with this early residence, leaving the soils completely disturbed by modern materials. Thus, conducting future excavations at Site 18MO409 was thought to provide little additional research value beyond that already obtained through the evaluation process. The site is not considered eligible for listing on the NRHP.
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