Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18QU240 Great Neck Road
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Great Neck Road Site (18QU240) is a tenant house or farmstead which was built during the early 19th century and stood until the early 20th century. It is located on Kent Island south of Broad Creek in Queen Anne’s County. The field in which the site is situated was plowed in the past but by 1950 the field was lying fallow and empty. Stratigraphy at the site included a fairly consistent plowzone of dark yellowish brown (10YR4/4) above an olive brown silty clay (2.5Y4/4). The site lies on two soil groups: Mattapex silt loam and Matapeake silt loam. Both are moderately well-drained, but very acidic soils.
Archival research indicated that the original 200 acre tract that the site sits on was originally surveyed for Thomas Waddy in the late 1600s or early 1700s and was called ‘Friendship’. In 1707, the tract was conveyed to Dr. Lewis DeRochbrune. At this point, an additional 162 acres were added to Friendship. An inventory of the property made in 1716 included 5 structures, 1 of which was an old plantation house, and 1 of which was a new plantation house. A resurvey of the land in 1744 indicated that the DeRochbrune tract contained 335 acres. It was then referred to as ‘Friendship Resurveyed’. One of the 18th century brick structures (the plantation house) is still standing and is located southeast of the site area. A 60 acre parcel adjoining Friendship Resurveyed and called ‘Joseph’s Addition’ was patented in 1746, apparently to DeRochbrune. Joseph, his son, was living on the property at the time of DeRochbrune’s death. The actual survey places the tract close to, or possibly in, the site area. Joseph left Joseph’s Addition to his niece upon his death in the late 1770s.
The land, inclusive of Friendship Resurveyed and Joseph’s Addition, was conveyed in 1784 to Thomas Winchester. In 1817, Winchester conveyed part of Friendship Resurveyed, Joseph’s Addition, and another contiguous property (called ‘Partnership’) to Issac Winchester. The land was next conveyed to Roderick Earickson in 1829. The site is located within the Friendship Resurveyed tract. A structure was visible in the area on maps from 1846, 1877, 1895, 1904, and 1907. The structure was probably associated with one of the two plantations and was within either Friendship Resurveyed or Joseph’s Addition. When Earickson died, his large property holdings were divided amongst his heirs. The site was located in Lot 2, containing 166 acres, which went to his eldest son (also called Roderick). The land records indicate that the lot contained the farm of William S. Thompson. Lot 2 was conveyed to the Thompsons in 1857 but then purchased by Roderick, Jr.’s son Edwin in 1870. By 1896, the land was conveyed to Lelia Duvall by Edwin Earikson, Jr. and J.H. Legg, the assignee and trustee of Lelia Duvall. During the first quarter of the 20th century, as with the last half of the 19th century, the land functioned as a farm rather than as a plantation as it had during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was postulated that the structure comprising 18QU240 was built by either Issac Winchester or Roderick Earickson. Due to the length of time that the structure was standing, it could have been occupied by several different families.
Archeological investigations were required ahead of the proposed Maryland Route 8 widening project. Specifically, the roadwork involved shoulder widening between 2.438 m and 3.65 m (8 and 12 ft) and drainage improvements. In the area of the Great Neck Site, the road was to be realigned to straighten an existing curve, and a storm water management pond was to be constructed. A Phase I archeological survey was conducted in 1990. The purpose of the survey was to document the presence or absence of potentially significant archeological resources to be affected by the proposed road improvements. A non-systematic surface survey revealed a dense surface scatter of brick fragments, oyster shell, ceramics, and glass. The scatter was located west of the right-of-way but appeared to extend westward and northward. A total of 29 shovel test pits (STPs) were excavated at 20 m and 5 m intervals. In all, 84 artifacts were recovered from the plowzone, which ranged from between 37 cm and 52 cm below the surface. The artifacts were densely concentrated in a 40 m area. A terminus post quem of 1840 was calculated from the ceramic assemblage.
The 5 architectural items identified included 1 window glass shard and 4 unidentified nails. A total of 69 kitchen-related artifacts were recovered including 21 bottle glass fragments, 41 ceramic sherds (1 British Brown stoneware, 1 white salt-glazed stoneware, 28 whiteware, 1 pearlware, 4 gray stoneware, 1 buff-bodied stoneware, 1 ironstone, 1 porcelain, 3 redware), 7 animal bone fragments. A single white clay pipe stem fragment was also recovered. Brick, coal, and slag were presented as weights in grams rather than as counts (0.80 g brick fragments, 0.10 g coal, and 1.0 g slag).
Phase II fieldwork was initiated at the site in May 1993. The purpose of the Phase II investigations were locate the site boundaries and to evaluate the site for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places. A total of 68 STPs were excavated at 10 m intervals. The purpose of the STPs was to delineate the 19th century site, which was the area designated as having a high artifact density during the Phase I study. For that reason, a large number of STPs were excavated outside the Great Neck Road project boundary. Eight 1 m² test units (TUs) were excavated in areas with high artifact concentrations. Most were located within the right-of-way and some were placed outside the right-of-way with the aim of identifying site boundaries and searching for features associated with the 19th century structure. All excavated soils from the STPs and TUs were screened and all artifacts were retained with the exception of oyster shell which was sampled. Additionally, four 30 m long trenches were mechanically excavated and manually cleaned using shovels and trowels to search for any historic features. Soil removed during the trenching was not screened although visible diagnostic artifacts were collected from the spoil heaps and the trench floors. Cultural features were encountered only in Trench 3. None of the features encountered were excavated except for a portion of Trench 3, Feature 1.
Trench 3 was placed perpendicular to MD Route 8 in the southwest section of the site. Feature 1 was identified as a brick foundation feature in Trench 3. The feature consisted of an artifact concentration mixed with brick and shell. The bricks, most of which were fragmented and crumbling, were distributed throughout the feature but no pattern was evident. A small 50 x 50 cm portion of the feature was excavated to determine whether the feature was intact below the exposed trench floor. Whole bricks associated with whole oyster shells were encountered. Although it was unclear if the brick represented a floor or another part of the foundation, the presence of whole bricks indicated that the soil disturbance was restricted to the plowzone. Assessment of the artifact assemblage suggested that the feature was part of a domestic structure.
Eight postmold features (Features 3-10) were identified on the floor of Trench 3 and east of Feature 1, except for Feature 10 which was located west of the brick feature. Examination of the semi-circular pattern formed by postmolds Features 3-9 and the distances between them indicated that they could have been part of the structural frame of a dwelling, a fence line, or even an outbuilding. It was further suggested that given the variation in size and fill of the postmolds, they may not be contemporaneous with one another, indicating that the structure they supported was built in stages or later reinforced. Feature 10 was not apparently associated with the other postmolds.
A builder’s trench (Feature 11) was identified along the southeastern wall of Trench 3. The subsoil differed from the typical subsoil identified in the surrounding STPs and TUs in that it contained a higher percentage of mortar dust and chunks. Because only a portion of the builder’s trench was exposed, its exact size could not be determined.
A total of 6,264 artifacts were retrieved during the Phase II investigations. Total counts for all objects were taken from text and a table in the original report except the counts for the miscellaneous items, vessel glass, and oyster shell which were taken from the artifact inventory in Appendix VI. Ten activity items were recovered including 9 fragments of chimney glass and 1 metal stirrup. There were 3,040 architectural items including 2,481 bricks and brick fragments, 197 window glass fragments, 11 other flat glass fragments, 92 nails (a few cut nails but mostly unidentifiable fragments), 250 pieces of mortar, 3 pieces of slate, 3 spikes, 1 hinge, 1 hook, and 1 bolt. Ten clothing items were identified, all buttons (1 porcelain, 1 plastic, 2 metal, 4 white glass, 2 unidentified). There were 2,134 kitchen-related items including 747 bottle glass fragments, 164 vessel glass, many fragments which when mended form a partial goblet of the type dated to the early 19th century, 4 fragment of milk glass, 416 ceramic sherds (34 creamware, 3 earthenware, 5 Rockingham, 4 ironstone, 9 porcelain, 78 pearlware, 94 redware, 2 British Brown stoneware, 42 glazed stoneware, 80 whiteware, 1 yellow ware, 64 unidentified), 12 animal bone fragments, 736 oyster shells and shell fragments, 1 clam shell fragment, and 54 unidentified shell fragments. There were 1,043 miscellaneous items including 50 unidentifiable pieces of glass, 235 unidentified metal objects, 2 pieces paper, 13 pieces of cinder, 465 pieces of coal, 126 pieces of charcoal, 116 pieces of slag, 19 fragments of “PLST”, 1 piece of rubber, 12 “STY” (possibly Styrofoam) objects, 1 “ALBM” fragment and 1 “STRP” (abbreviations unknown), and 2 unidentified objects. There was 1 personal item, a key. A total of 23 tobacco-related items were found including 19 white clay pipe stem fragments and 4 white clay pipe bowl fragments. Arms-related items included 3 pieces of gunflint.
An analysis of the artifact distribution revealed some trends. Of the ceramic assemblage, the creamware and pearlware sherds were most heavily associated with the area around Trench 3, Feature 1. The thick aqua window glass was only recovered from Trench 3and nowhere else at the site. Likewise, there was a large cluster of kitchen artifacts associated with Trench 3, Feature 1.The presence of charcoal, cinder, and carbonized brick in Trench 3 was thought to indicate that a fire took place prior to the demolition of the structure represented by Feature 1. In addition to the clustering of artifacts in Trench 3, another small cluster of kitchen-related artifacts and nails was located at the north end of Trench 1. Based on frequency distribution maps for the historic artifacts, new site boundaries were established. Construction remains were used for boundary definition. Brick was the strongest indicator for the site boundary, followed by nails, ceramics, and window glass.
The Great Neck Road Site (18QU240) represents a tenant house or farmstead which was built during the early 19th century and stood until the early 20th century, although the artifact assemblage reflects earlier occupation in the site area. It can provide important information concerning tenant farm life on the Maryland eastern shore during the historic periods of Rural Agrarian Intensification (1680-1815) and Agricultural-Industrial Transition (1815-1870). For that reason, the site was believed to meet criteria for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D. However, because the site lies just outside of the right-of-way, it was not going to be affected by the proposed construction. No further archeological investigations were recommended for the site unless it is endangered by earthmoving activities.
|
