Brown's Wharf (18BC59)
Site History
Brown's Wharf was located in the Fells Point Historic District. The area supported docks, piers and warehouses and the structures that fronted along Fells Street (which eventually came to be known as Thames Street) houses ships chandlers, rope makers, tailors, shoemakers and doctors who provided goods and services for the maritime community. In the late 19th century, these services made way for others, like saloons, boarding houses and places to purchase alcohol; by the early 20th century, billiard halls also began to appear (Stevens 1989:5). The residents were primarily working class and immigrant groups.
Brown's Wharf was built sometime between 1773 and 1799. At the end of the 18th century, the 130 ft. wharf was owned by James and Joseph Biays. The Biays received permission in 1813 to enlarge the pier to a length of 190 ft, not exceeding 20 ft wide.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Thames Street area housed primarily affluent families, many of whom were involved in the maritime industry (ship captains, ship chandlers, ship joiners), as well as tradesmen. After around 1820, the wealthier residents began to move out, with more taverns and boarding houses beginning to appear.
Archaeological Investigations
A redevelopment project in Baltimore sparked the archaeological excavation of the site of Brown's Wharf in the 1600 block of Thames Street in the summer of 1987. This testing took the form of mechanically excavated test trenches. Few intact archaeological deposits were discovered and those that were found were examined fully.
Prior to the archaeological investigations, demolition of standing structures took place, as well as archaeological monitoring of the removal of the cement floors of the buildings. Since none of the structures had cellars, it was believed that archaeological preservation might be good.
A series of five trenches (approximately 5 ft wide and up to 6 ft deep) were excavated mechanically. Artifacts were grab-sampled during the trenching. Research goals included finding evidence of shoreline alteration, shipbuilding and changing land use from commercial to industrial. No original land was identified and much of the rubble represents 1940s–period filled basements from rowhouses (Stevens 1989:15). In Trench 4, a timber located in a disturbed context appears to have once served as wharf cribbing or bulkheading (Stevens 1989:35), but no other traces of wharves were found, suggesting that all cribbing had been removed. Several features were discovered in the trenches and included basement cellar holes, an alleyway, two wells, several middens and the outlines of several 19th-century warehouses.
A total of 4,044 artifacts, primarily domestic, were removed during the trenching. Of particular interest was a wooden barrel found in Trench Two – the barrel contained tar at the time of its deposition. It was concluded that the barrel was deposited sometime before 1870, based on an empontilled bottle found inside the barrel. The barrel also contained sixty menhaden fish, a leather shoe and a large metal funnel. The barrel was conserved and is curated at the MAC Lab.
1989 An Investigation of the Archaeological Resources Associated with the Brown's Wharf Site (18BC59) on Thames Street, Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore Center for Urban Archaeology Research Series No. 28. MHT # BC 61.
