Site History

The Horne Point site, along the southern bank of the Choptank River in Dorchester County, Maryland, was part of a 600-acre tract of land that Richard Preston of Calvert County purchased from a London merchant named John Horne in 1668. Richard Preston was a prominent Quaker who was the first delegate to represent “Dorsett” county on the Maryland Assembly. If Richard Preston ever lived at Horne, however, it was not for long, because he died in 1669 and willed the parcel to his daughters Rebecca Preston and Sarah Foorde. Sarah Foorde and her husband William probably inhabited the original dwelling at Horne Point. Like his father-in-law, William Foorde was a representative on the Maryland Assembly in the 1670s, placing the family in Maryland’s landed upper middle class. William died in 1679, and Sarah later remarried Edward Pindar. Edward died in the early 1690s, but Sarah continued to live at the site until at least 1697.

In 1711, Horne was willed to Edward Pindar III from Edward Pindar, Jr., Sarah Foorde’s son by her second marriage. Unfortunately, Edward Pindar III died before coming of age, leaving the chain of title unclear. By 1740, the dwelling at Horne seems to have been occupied by Elizabeth Taylor, who was presumably the unmarried granddaughter of Sarah Foorde or the sister of Sarah’s son-in-law, Thomas Taylor, Jr. At that time, much of the land at Horne and the surrounding area was purchased by land speculators who then sold it to the wealthy lawyer and legislator, Charles Goldsborough. Horne continued in the possession of Charles or his successors until the dwelling burned down around 1770. Charles reportedly had another home in Cambridge, but if he did not live at Horne himself, it may have been occupied by a member of his family or a well-to-do tenant.

Archaeology

Spring plowing revealed the presence of the Horne Point site at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies in 1975. After the site was surface collected, excavations took place in 1976 under the supervision Perry Flegel, the late Director of Archaeology for the Dorchester Heritage Museum. The archaeological work focused on exposing the dwelling foundation and determining a timeline for occupation at the site. Brick foundations accompanied by daub, plaster, and nails were indicative of a frame structure with plastered walls. Brick foundations outlined a hearth at each gable end of the house, and the charred remains of a center stringer running the length of the house illustrated the presence of a wooden floor.

Artifacts exhibited a wide variety of high-class colonial goods, including a complete copper alloy tea service with a set of five tea spoons, sugar tongs, and a mote spoon that date to the 1750s. Small hinges and a hook found in proximity to this set indicate that it was in a box when the fire took place. A late 17th-century silver slip top spoon with the initials “RP” on the handle has been attributed to Richard Preston. Marked pipes and diagnostic ceramics date the site to the second half of the 17th century through the third quarter of the 18th century.

A significant prehistoric occupation was also discovered below the dwelling. Prehistoric artifacts include lithic tools, a steatite platform pipe, and a small (4 x 3 5/8 inches) but complete Townsend cord-marked pot. The prehistoric assemblage dates from approximately 1500 B.C. to the Contact period.

References

The Horne Point archaeological collection is owned by the Maryland Historical Trust and curated at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory.