Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18MO639 Stoney Springs Site 6
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
Stoney Springs Site 6 (18MO639) is the archeological remains of a 19th-20th century farmstead near Poolesville in rural Montgomery County. The site is situated on an open, overgrown upland flat, amidst the overgrown remains of a complex of abandoned farm-related structures. An unnamed tributary stream is situated east of the site, flowing south towards the nearby Potomac River. The surrounding landscape consists of ridgetops, knolls, hillslopes, and swale-like terrain, with the majority of these areas open and covered with grass. Soils at the site are primarily Penn and Readington silt loams.
Site 18MO639 appears to have been associated with the Metzger family throughout the latter half of the 19th century. The property was purchased by William Metzger from John M. Williams and Mary Williams in 1864. William Metzger appears on an 1865 map of Montgomery County very close to the R.W. Williams property. William Metzger was a resident of the Poolesville area prior to the 1864 land purchase. He, with his wife and ten children, were listed in the 1850 Census. William was listed as a farmer and had real estate valued at $1,500. The census also records Metzger as a slave owner. He was reported to have owned three slaves at the time. Many farmers in Montgomery County were slave owners during the early to mid 19th century, which led to much dissension in the area during the Civil War period.
In 1860, William Metzger and his wife and 9 children were still living in the Medleys District (which incorporated the site area). At the time, his real estate was valued at $1,500 and his personal property was valued at $800. The Metzger family only owned one slave by this time, who was 65 years old. The Metzger family was not recorded in the 1870 Census. Records indicate, however, that William Metzger continued to own the property until his death. At that time, there was some dispute over the family estate. It was several years after that when the property was purchased from several heirs by his son, Charles Metzger. Charles apparently did not marry. Upon his death in 1898, the property was sold to James and Alice Johnson. It is unclear what structures existed on the property during the ownership by the Metzgers, although deeds made reference to “structures and improvements”. According to an 1879 Atlas of the area, the property was owned by Harriet Metzger, the wife of William Metzger, in 1879. The map, however, made no reference to standing structures on the property. The Metzger property remained a farm after its acquisition by the Johnson, and later the Lunn families in the 20th century.
The site was first examined archeologically in the spring of 2006. By that time, the site was part of a developer-owned 724.33 acre property known as “Stoney Springs”. The Stoney Springs property was to be developed into a new residential community with single family homes, new roads, and associated infrastructure. The Phase I archeological work was associated with a client application for a wetland permit with the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Maryland Department of Environment.
The Phase I fieldwork at Stoney Springs consisted of a walk-over, shovel testing, and metal detection. Minor artifact scatters, historic stone foundation features, and several modern farming-related outbuildings were discovered during the walk-over. The property was dissected into 12 sub-areas and shovel tested using a 7.62-to-15.24 m “25-to-50 ft” spacing interval. Seven hundred and twenty-nine shovel tests were excavated , with 100 units producing positive artifact recoveries. In total, 450 artifacts were recovered through excavation and metal detection, resulting in six archeological sites being identified on the Stoney Springs property.
Site 18MO639 was defined by 10 positive shovel tests surrounding the stone foundation of a historic dwelling. The horizontal extent of the site was estimated to be roughly 38.1 m (125 ft) north-south by 22.9 m (75 ft) east-west. One hundred and sixty-seven historic and modern materials were recovered from the site area. The Phase I historic assemblage (98 items) consisted of a piece of brass hardware, 1 metal wire fragment,13 window glass fragments, 4 highly corroded nails, 4 cut nails, 13 wire nails, 2 pieces of brick, 1 door hinge, 1 piece of slate, 8 whiteware sherds, 2 pearlware sherds, 1 brown-glazed redware sherd, 26 container glass fragments, 7 large mammal bone fragments, 1 large mammal rib fragment, 1 bird bone, 7 pieces of coal, 4 pieces of charcoal, and 1 miscellaneous glass fragment. The 69 modern objects were recorded in the table above as “miscellaneous finds”. Based on these findings, and the potential impact that would be caused to this area by the (then) proposed grading of the entire locale for the residential development, Phase II testing was recommended for Site 18MO635.
Phase II testing was also carried out in 2006. The fieldwork was initiated with shovel testing, which incorporated the existing 15.24 m (50 ft) grid utilized during the Phase I survey. This grid was narrowed to a 7.62 m (25 ft) increment to better examine the site area. In those portions of the site where cultural features were identified or artifact densities were high, shovel testing was narrowed one more time to a 3.81 m (12.5 ft) increment. 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 excavated soils were dry-screened in the field using hardware cloth. Soil profiles were recorded for each shovel test pit (STP) on standardized forms and using standard nomenclature and methods. Cultural materials recovered during the screening process were retained for analysis and bagged according to provenience, i.e., by site number, shovel test coordinate, and stratigraphic designation. The material recovery was plotted on a field map in order to provide the study with a comprehensive distribution of artifacts recovered and cultural features identified.
Test units were then excavated using the STP map data as a guide. In total, 59 shovel test pits were excavated and 6 non-contiguous test units were excavated as well. All 6 test units were 91 X 91 cm (3 X 3 ft) in extent. The test units were excavated manually, using flat shovels and trowels. These units were also excavated stratigraphically in order to maintain control over the vertical provenience of the artifacts recovered. Selected strata in excess of 7.62 cm (3 in) were further excavated by arbitrary levels, which generally ranged in thickness from 5.08-10.16 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, i.e., site numbers, test unit number, stratigraphic or feature designation, and arbitrary level. A standard report form was completed for each excavated stratum or arbitrary level within a stratum per test unit of the site. As with shovel testing, soil characteristics, stratum depths, and recovered cultural materials were documented on these forms. Profiles were drawn of one wall in each unit, and black and white photographs were taken to document soil stratigraphy.
Special excavation and documentation procedures were followed when cultural features were identified within test units. Within reason, the overall goal was to expose the horizontal and vertical extent of any feature identified. Trenching, shovel testing, and/or probing were employed to establish the horizontal boundaries of any features extending beyond the limits of the initial test unit dimension. This typically involved masonry features such as foundations. Upon exposing and then excavating a feature, it was hand drawn and photographed in plan and sectional view. The cross-section approach was used in the excavation of features. All non-masonry features were excavated separately from the surrounding matrix. Based on field judgment, no soil samples were retained from features for finer screening, closer examination, or chemical testing.
Through the Phase II testing at 18MO639, nearly three thousand artifacts were recovered and two cultural features were identified. The cultural features included a red Seneca sandstone dwelling foundation and a modern cinder block well and pump. The depth of some portions of the dwelling foundation were consistent with the presence of a cellar, but this appears to have been filled-in during the razing of the house. Interior masonry supports documented post-1940 modifications to the historic house.
More than 55 shovel tests and all 6 test units produced positive artifact recoveries within Site 18MO639. Additionally, materials were recovered through manual trenching of the site to define features. In total, 2,885 artifacts were recovered, including 2,197 historic objects, 675 modern objects (counted as miscellaneous in the tables above), and 2 prehistoric flakes. The historic assemblage consisted of 41 activity items (hardware), 974 architectural artifacts, 3 clothing items (a button and 2 belt parts), 999 kitchen-related artifacts, 10 personal items, 1 tobacco pipe fragment, 18 arms objects, and 150 miscellaneous finds (79 unidentified and 71 charcoal/coal/clinker pieces). The architectural assemblage consisted of 184 glass window pieces, 635 nails (1 handwrought, 69 machine-cut, 245 wire), 63 pieces of brick, 35 pieces of mortar/plaster, 52 slate fragments, and 3 architectural hardware pieces. Kitchen-related artifacts were 377 ceramic sherds (1 Jackfield, 1 creamware, 10 pearlware, 211 whiteware, 34 ironstone, 2 Rockingham, 13 yelloware, 52 redware, 30 miscellaneous earthenware, 7 porcelain, and 16 miscellaneous stoneware), 517 pieces of container glass, 12 metal can and jar/bottle lid fragments, 82 animal bone/teeth pieces, and 11 shell fragments. The arms assemblage included a possible gunflint, a Minié ball, and 16 brass cartridges. This assemblage suggests domestic occupation from ca. 1830 to as late as the 1950s.
Based on the findings, Site 18MO635 was classified as a 19th to 20th century farmstead. Historic research suggests that this farmstead was owned and occupied by the Williams and Metzger families. These owners were middle-income, owned slaves, and farmed the surrounding land. Based on the lack of an intact historic landscape, a paucity of intact cultural features and a general absence of artifact-bearing soils with good stratigraphic integrity, Site 18MO639 was not thought to have research potential. The site should not be considered a significant archeological resource.
|
