Worthington Farm (18FR68)
Site History
The Worthington Farm site (18FR68) is a Paleoindian, Early & Late Archaic and Early, Middle, and Late Woodland short-term camp located on the Monocacy River in Frederick County, Maryland. The site lies within the boundaries of the Monocacy Battlefield.
Archaeological Investigations
The site was first recorded in 1970 with information provided by J.J. Snyder and avocational archaeologist Spencer Geasey reported that he had artifacts from the site in 1975. This collection was donated to the Maryland Historical Trust in 1993. In 1980, Bill Lynch and Maureen Kavanagh dug two 60x60cm units at the site.
In November of 2023, this site was revisited by New South Associates as part of a contract with the National Park Service to identify and evaluate the park's archaeological resources. This work included shovel testing of 18FR68. Five positive shovel tests were identified within and near the existing site boundaries. The site was expanded by about 30 meters to the south as a result of this survey. Background research conducted prior to this survey noted several nearby sites that demonstrated deep cultural deposits below alluvial sediment. This suggests cultural deposits may exist at this site deeper than the shovel testing could reach (1 m deep). Additional deep testing is recommended for this site, which would help determine the presence of intact cultural strata and overall site eligibility.
