Patapsco Neck Methodist Church (18BA443)
Site History
The Patapsco Neck Methodist Church (18BA443) is the site of a late 18th- through early 20th- century log meeting houses and cemetery along North Point Road Road in Dundalk, Maryland. The original church was constructed around 1793. After this building was razed, a second log meeting house was constructed prior to 1814. The second Methodist Meeting House was used as a hospital for both American and British soldiers following the Battle of North Point on September 12, 1814. The second building was used by the Methodists as a church and then a social hall until 1913 when a Black Baptist congregation leased it. It was sold to a neighboring farmer and demolished about 1927. A Late Archaic lithic scatter was also recorded at this location.
Archaeological Investigations
An archival and archaeological investigation was conducted in 1994 on a one-acre parcel on Old North Point Road in eastern Baltimore County prior to commercial development. This was the site of one of the earliest Methodist churches in the region.
Excavation located traces of the circa 1793 log church's stone foundation. Although archival research provided the general location of the second meeting house, no trace of this structure was located during the archaeological investigation, other than, an oyster shell walkway found leading to the probable front of the building.
The archaeological investigation also uncovered 35 burials, including two in-ground brick vaults, a fence line along the western boundary, a portion of a pea gravel walkway, an oyster shell walkway, and 20 features, including a stone foundation. The burials appear to date from the early 19th century, with the majority dating to the second half of the century. With the exception of a polished red granite base, no tombstones were found. A single quartz Brewerton corner-notched broken point, 1 quartz end scraper, and 2 quartzite hammerstones were found near the northern baseline.
References
1998 Phase III Archaeological and Archival Investigations, Patapsco Neck Methodist Meeting House Site (18BA443). Maryland Historical Trust. MHT # BA 123.
