Site History

The Blossom Point site is located at the confluence of the Potomac River and Nanjemoy Creek in Charles County, Maryland. A brick house measuring approximately 25’ by 30’ was constructed there c. 1805 for Bennett Semmes, a tenant farmer and overseer. At the time, Blossom Point farm was part of a much larger tract called St. Thomas Manor, which had been patented on behalf of Thomas Matthews and Father Thomas Copley in 1649. Both men were members of the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. The property was continuously occupied by various tenants of the Jesuits for the next 300 years. Semmes was the main overseer and collector of rents for St. Thomas Manor from 1788 to 1832. After he died in 1832, the Blossom Point Farmhouse became the residence of subsequent overseers.

In the first half of the 19th century, tobacco, oats, wool, peas, beans, potatoes, orchard crops, butter, beeswax, and honey were all produced at Blossom Point, but after a Federal Army Camp depleted its resources during the Civil War, its productivity decreased significantly. The Jesuits then tried to sell the farm, but they were unsuccessful and ended up renting it to short-term tenants who did not take care of the property. All farming activities were abandoned by 1920.

In 1942, the Army leased Blossom Point from the Jesuits and began using the site as a testing facility. The Blossom Point Farmhouse was the only surviving structure at the time. In 1980 the Army purchased the property, but they later had to tear down the farmhouse because erosion on Nanjemoy Creek had caused major structural damage and it posed a safety hazard.

Archaeology

A 1990 archaeological and architectural survey of Blossom Point Farmhouse helped date the original wing of the structure to c. 1805. The surveyors concluded that the yard was extensively disturbed and the only intact archaeological deposits were underneath the house itself. A subsequent Phase II study by Jay Custer included the excavation of ten test units within the interior of the house. The majority of the artifacts dated to the mid-late 19th century, but numerous 20th century artifacts were also recovered and these were found in the same strata as the earlier materials. The deposits seem to have suffered heavy disturbance from repair activities in the 20th century.

References

The Blossom Point archaeological collection is owned by the U.S. Army, Adelphi Laboratory Center, and is curated at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory.