Molly Berry (18PR787)
Site History
The Molly Berry site (18PR787) is a late 18th through 19th-century plantation located near Cabin and Back Branches in Prince Georges County, Maryland. This site comprises a small wooden structure associated with the Brookfield House and believed to be a former slave quarter. The structure lies adjacent to a nearly 200-year-old house and associated farm structures, known as Brookfield of the Berrys (National Register of Historic Places; MIHP # PG:86A-020) but outside the boundaries of this Historic Brookfield House Site.
Archaeological Investigations
The structure was located within a planned residential development and underwent Phase IA archaeological testing in July 2004, by Greenhorne & O'Mara. Archival research indicated that precontact and historic sites had been recorded near the property, but none within the project area. In September of that year, Phase IB field testing was conducted and included shovel testing at 50-foot intervals. In Locus 1, the area of an historic standing slave quarter, a total of 32 shovel test pits were excavated.
In 2005, Phase II testing was conducted at the site, including the excavation of 108 shovel tests and 37 1 × 1m test units in and around the structure. These efforts did not identify any additional structures, subsurface features (other than a walkway, chimney/hearth, and porch/step), or burials in the surrounding area, but they did result in the identification of a midden in the yard area and the collection of 4,709 historic artifacts. Artifacts recovered dated from the late 18th-century through the early 20th century. Test units excavated within the structure also revealed buried architectural elements from earlier periods of occupation.
It was difficult to determine with certainty that the building had been used as a quarter for enslaved individuals. However, evidence collected during the evaluation indicated that the structure was occupied prior to the Civil War, and it resembles other known quarters in the area. However, it might also have been occupied by an overseer before the Civil War and likely housed a succession of tenants after the war.
References
2004 Phase IA Archaeological Assessment of the Molly Berry Property, Prince George's County, Maryland. (Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc.) MHT # PR 394.
2004 Phase IB Archaeological Survey of the Molly Berry Property, Prince George's County, Maryland. (Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc.) MHT # PR 395.
2006 Phase II Archaeological Evaluation of the Molly Berry Site (18PR787) on the Caroline's Walk Property in Prince George's County, Maryland. (Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc.) MHT # PR 391.
