Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18WA454 Reiff
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Reiff Site (18WA454) is located at the intersection of MD 63 and MD 58 in Cearfoss, Maryland. The site was destroyed by construction of the present roundabout or traffic circle at the intersection, but not before discovery and subsequent data recovery excavations documented the resource. The crossroads community of Cearfoss (near Hagerstown) has existed as a small commercial hamlet at least since the first quarter of the 19th century. The surrounding landscape is rolling farmland, with residential and commercial development along the roads. Soils consist largely of Hagerstown very rocky silt loams.
In 1994, prior to the construction of the roundabout by the Maryland State Highway Administration, a Phase I survey was conducted to inventory archeological sources within those areas that would be directly affected by grading, excavation, and other activities related to the road reconstruction. An early 19th century domestic site (Reiff) was documented during this initial stage, and immediately investigated at the Phase II level. The horizontal limits of the site and the integrity of its deposits were determined through the excavation of 35 shovel tests and ten 1.5 X 1.5 meter units. In addition, the survey and testing work entailed a significant archival research component.
Archival work reveals that significant white settlement of the Hagerstown Valley did not occur until the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763. Many of the first settlers moved to the area from adjoining Virginia and Pennsylvania, and the majority were of Germanic ancestry. Cearfoss was originally part of a 255.75 acre tract called “The Republican”. It was acquired by a Jacob Zeller around the turn of the 19th century. Zeller also owned several other large tracts, including a 182 acre tract to the south of The Republican called “Good Neighbor” on which he lived. Two turnpikes (Williamsport-Greencastle and Mercersburg-Hagerstown) intersected near the center of The Republican tract. Jacob Zeller devised all of The Republican to his son David in 1833, who subsequently parceled it up and sold tracts to several individuals (David Reiff and Daniel Cearfoss among them). It was around this time that a Mennonite community began to establish itself around the crossroads. A Mennonite church was built as early as 1840 and a tavern ‘stand’ was already in operation by 1825.
In 1843, the tavern was purchased by a John Cunningham, who came to own much of the land immediately around the intersection (where the tavern was located). He may have been largely responsible for the economic development of Cearfoss, or at least for its surge in commercial growth. Cunningham died in 1850 and his widow, Mary, married Daniel Cearfoss, probably around 1852. Cearfoss acquired much of his personal and real property through this marriage. He was an active and, apparently, a self-promoting individual. Beginning in the late 1850s with his purchase of an additional 2 acre tract of The Republican from the Zellers and continuing through the 1870s, Daniel Cearfoss acquired most of the land and buildings around the intersection and the name “Cearfoss Cross Road” came to be associated with the community. He may have taken advantage of the economic instability surrounding the Civil War to acquire much of what had been previously referred to as “Cunningham’s Corners”, reinvesting his wealth in the physical and commercial infrastructure of the community. Much of the hamlet and surrounding areas remained in the hands of the Cearfoss/Holsinger family until the middle of the 20th century. Most of the buildings in Cearfoss during the latter half of the 19th century were commercial in nature and included a wagon shop, post office, store, and tavern. David Reiff, who had purchased several acres (multiple parcels) out of The Republican beginning in the 1830s, also may have operated a tavern in the early 1870s.
This crossroads community provided a critical link between the rural hinterland and regional market centers such as Williamsport and Hagerstown in Maryland, and Chambersburg and Greencastle in Pennsylvania. Their retail and repair shops served as conduits through which agricultural products and manufactured goods moved between large urban centers and local farmsteads. Most of the Cearfoss area was divided into large plantations that were worked by tenants. Frequently, the tenants actually resided in tenant houses situated on small lots (portions of the much larger plantation tracts) near the crossroads. The tenure of most tenants on a particular parcel is often not well documented and it is impossible to determine who the actual inhabitants of the Reiff site were. They were likely tenants as there is no evidence that David Reiff, or any of the other 19th century lot owners, ever lived at the site locale. Maps, land records, and estate inventories seem to indicate that the site supported a small tenant house possibly into the last quarter of the 19th century, at which point the structure may have been merged with a second tenant dwelling on the same lot.
The Phase II excavation, archival research, and subsequent analyses revealed the remains of a fieldstone footer and relatively intact deposits representing a ca. 1820-1850 occupation; probably tenants living and working on what was originally the Jacob Zeller plantation, but was rapidly evolving into an important commercial conduit between farm and city. The site also yielded a very large assemblage of ceramics that included extra-local refined earthenwares and locally-made red earthenwares as well as a large glass vessel assemblage. This seemed to indicate that the site had the potential to answer significant research questions regarding the economic choices of tenant farmers/workers in 19th century crossroads communities. Thus, when it was determined that the designs for the highway roundabout could not be altered and that the site could not be avoided, the decision was made to proceed with Phase III data recovery. The Phase III work focused on obtaining a representative ceramic and glass vessel sample, as well as an adequate faunal assemblage from previously identified activity areas. Field efforts focused on that portion of the site lying within the proposed right-of-way; however, the remainder of the site was examined with a stratified random sample of six 1.5 X 1.5 meter test units. A total of seventeen Phase II and III test units, most of which were clustered in a single block, were excavated within the proposed right-of-way.
Five strata were recognized at the site. Stratum 1 is a recent topsoil fill deriving largely from a soil quarry in the area. Stratum 1 artifacts hold little analytical value other than to confirm the late 20th century date of the soil layer. Stratum 2 appears to actually be a disturbed portion of Stratum 3, accumulating artifacts from the early 19th century through the early 1970s. Stratum 3 represents the original soil at the site uncovered in units within and outside of the proposed right-of-way, other than those extensively disturbed by the installation of a water main. The “ash deposit”, consisting of organic soil with some charcoal, formed when the tenant dwelling was under construction, or during its use. And finally, in the eastern-most units at the site, several additional stratigraphic layers were uncovered beneath Stratum 3, which are collectively referred to as the “East Units”.
The totals provided below are not in agreement with the tables provided in the full site report. Several of these tables appear to contain errors in which between 1 and 3 rows of a given table are omitted when artifact totals are calculated. The numbers here are from totaling the table cells by hand. Stratum 1 yielded 70 activity items, 1,571 architectural objects, 21 clothing items, 2,039 kitchen-related artifacts, 11 tobacco-related items, and 743 miscellaneous objects. The activity items were 18 fragments of lamp chimney glass, 33 auto glass pieces, and 19 screws. The architectural artifacts were 94 brick fragments, 33 mortar/plaster pieces, 879 window glass pieces, and 565 nails (2 handwrought, 523 machine-cut, 38 wire, and 2 unidentified). The 21 clothing-related items were all buttons. The kitchen assemblage consist of 1,158 ceramic sherds (1 miscellaneous earthenware, 88 pearlware, 10 cream-colored wares, 500 whiteware, 4 Rockingham, 17 gray stoneware, 3 miscellaneous stoneware, 3 yelloware, 519 redware, 11 porcelain, 2 ironstone), 15 table glass shards, 501 19th-early 20th century glass vessel fragments, 50 late 20th century glass vessel fragments, 249 animal bone pieces, and 66 pieces of shell (though snail is included). Tobacco-related objects were 11fragments of white clay pipes. And finally the miscellaneous items were 98 unidentifiable glass fragments, 408 unidentifiable metal fragments, 8 slate pieces, 102 plastic/foil fragments, 6 charcoal and 91 coal pieces (actually square inches of the material), and 30 unidentified items. The Stratum 2 deposits across the site contained 172 activity items, 4,958 architectural objects, 31 clothing items, 5,329 kitchen-related artifacts, 39 Tobacco-related objects, and 1,340 miscellaneous artifacts. The 172 activity items were 60 fragments of lamp glass, 60 pieces of auto glass, and 52 screws. Architectural objects in stratum 2 were 357 brick fragments, 66 mortar/plaster pieces, 2,739 window fragments, and 1,796 nails (2 handwrought, 1,390 machine-cut, 322 wire, and 82 unidentified). All 31 clothing objects were buttons and the 39 tobacco-related items were white clay pipe fragments. The kitchen-related items were 3,176 ceramic sherds (28 miscellaneous earthenware, 361 pearlware, 31 cream-colored wares, 1,208 whiteware, 27 Rockingham, 31 gray stoneware, 19 miscellaneous stoneware, 10 yelloware, 1,416 redware, 27 porcelain, and 18 ironstone), 23 table glass shards, 839 19th-early 20th century glass vessel fragments, 247 late 20th century glass vessel fragments, 835 animal bone pieces, and 209 pieces of shell (though snail is included). The miscellaneous artifacts from Stratum 2 were 116 unidentified glass objects, 606 unidentified metal items, 18 pieces of slate, 39 plastic/foil fragments, 2 charcoal and 509 coal pieces (actually square inches of the material), and 50 unidentified items. Stratum 3 yielded 84 activity-related objects, 2,144 architectural items, 22 clothing objects, 3,632 kitchen-related items, 9 tobacco-related artifacts, and 369 miscellaneous objects. The activity items were 57 pieces of lamp chimney/globe glass, 16 auto glass fragments, and 11 screws. The 2,144 architectural objects were mostly window glass (966) and nails (9 handwrought, 657 machine-cut, 53 wire, and 13 unidentified). But, 324 brick pieces and 122 mortar/plaster fragments were also encountered. All 22 clothing objects were buttons and the 9 tobacco-related items were white clay pipe fragments. The kitchen assemblage from Stratum 3 contained 2,736 ceramic sherds (11 miscellaneous earthenware, 307 pearlware, 34 cream-colored wares, 690 whiteware, 7 Rockingham, 8 gray stoneware, 7 miscellaneous stoneware, 1 yelloware, 1,650 redware, 10 ironstone, and 11 porcelain), 11 fragments of table glass, 336 19th-early 20th century glass vessel fragments, 22 late 20th century glass vessel fragments, 435 animal bone pieces, and 92 pieces of shell (snail included). The miscellaneous items in the ash deposit were 30 glass fragments, 180 pieces of metal, 18 pieces of slate, 6 plastic/foil pieces, 74 charcoal and 54 coal objects (actually square inches), and 7 unidentified objects. The layer of ash deposits contained 24 activity-related objects, 1,848 architectural objects, 16 clothing items, 2,073 kitchen objects, 23 tobacco-related items, and 116 miscellaneous artifacts. Within the ash deposits, the activity-items were 13 pieces of lamp glass, 7 auto glass fragments, and 4 screws. The architectural assemblage contained 161 brick fragments, 142 pieces of mortar/plaster, 1,252 window glass shards, and 294 nails (3 handwrought, 269 machine cut, 12 wire, and 10 unidentified). The 16 clothing objects were buttons and the 23 tobacco-related items were white clay pipe fragments. Kitchen artifacts were 1,440 ceramic sherds (22 miscellaneous earthenware, 303 pearlware, 15 cream-colored wares, 323 whiteware, 768 redware, 2 Rockingham, 3 gray stoneware, 1 ironstone), 4 table glass fragments, 155 19th-early 20th century vessel glass fragments, 418 animal bone pieces, and 56 shell fragments (snail included). The miscellaneous items in the ash deposit were 12 glass fragments, 80 pieces of metal, 1 piece of slate, 4 plastic/foil pieces, 5 charcoal and 11 coal objects (actually square inches), and 3 unidentified objects. And finally, the deep East Units layers contained 9 activity-related objects, 448 architectural objects, 1 piece of clothing, 739 kitchen-related artifacts, 4 tobacco-use objects, and 103 miscellaneous artifacts. The activity items were a piece of lamp glass, 7 auto glass fragments, and a screw. The architectural artifacts were 65 pieces of brick, 20 mortar/plaster fragments, 214 window glass pieces, and 149 nails (139 machine-cut, 7 wire, and 3 unidentified). The only clothing object recovered was a button and the 4 tobacco-related items were white clay pipe fragments. Kitchen artifacts were 580 ceramic sherds (4 miscellaneous earthenware, 76 pearlware, 1 cream-colored ware, 160 whiteware, 293 redware, 22 yelloware, 1 Rockingham, 6 miscellaneous stoneware, 15 gray stoneware, 2 ironstone), 62 19th-early 20th century vessel glass fragments, 56 animal bones, and 41 shell fragments (snail included). The miscellaneous items in the East Units were 4 glass fragments, 47 pieces of metal, 4 plastic/foil pieces, 31coal pieces (actually square inches), and 17 unidentified objects.
Higher level laboratory analysis was conducted on both the faunal remains recovered from the site and carbonized floral remains recovered from nine floatation samples collected from relatively intact organic strata scattered about the site. A more detailed discussion of the floral materials is provided in the linked ethnobotany profile, but it appears they are all locally prevalent wild species which are likely incidental inclusions. The faunal assemblage is more revealing. The vast majority of the faunal assemblage (some 72%) is not possible to identify to even the family level, however most of it can be classified as mammalian. Of the identifiable species, 180 cattle bones, 225 pig remains, 22 remains, 13 sheep/goat bones, 22 artiodactyle bones, 262 bird bones (turkey, chicken, several unidentified duck and yard fowl species), 9 rodent bones, 1 Terrapin, and 5 fish bones/scales. Based on the above distributions, cattle, pig, and probably domestic fowl formed the bulk of the Reiff site tenants’ meat diet. All three, of course, were raised on farms throughout the region in the 19th century, and most non-farmers owned a milk cow and, possibly, some poultry. It does not follow, however, that the meats eaten by the Reiff site tenants derive solely from household production. An analysis of age and butchering patterns bears this point out, suggesting at least two sources for beef and pork. Pigs generally were slaughtered upon reaching physical maturity and, unlike cattle, tended to be cleaved rather than sawn. Cattle are represented largely by sawn axial elements (particularly ribs and shoulder cuts), whereas swine appear largely in the form of cranial and lower limb elements. Bovine metapodials and teeth are absent, while swine metapodials and teeth are present (and plentiful in the case of teeth). Beef appears to have been purchased, or at least professionally butchered. Pork, on the other hand, it appears was derived from home production. Pigs were raised to maturity and butchered at the Reiff site for household consumption and, possibly, for sale. Alternatively, the tenants acquired pork from a neighboring farm, selecting sides of ribs, the head, and cuts from the lower limbs. This pattern differed from at least one urban site in the region.
Analysis of the other parts of the assemblage revealed other interesting patterns relating to the economic decisions made by the Reiff site tenants. Ceramic analysis, relying largely on minimum numbers of vessel counts, revealed patterns in household ceramic acquisition that can be related to other patterns at sites in the region. With respect to redwares, the Reiff site tenants lent their patronage to local retailers selling ‘imported’ dinnerwares (serving pieces) and to local potters manufacturing food preparation and storage wares. This pattern is seen at contemporary sites in the region. Thus, despite highway widening, water main installation, and parking lot construction, the Phase II and III work at 18WA454 proved that the remaining deposits were capable of addressing important research issues on the themes of economics and commerce regarding Western Maryland’s Agricultural to Industrial Transformation during the first half of the period 1815 to 1870. With the construction of the new roundabout atop the site, that research potential has now been exhausted.
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