Middle Plantation/Dove (18AN46)

Site History

The Middle Plantation site (18AN46) is located in Davidsonville, Maryland, in Anne Arundel County. Mareen Duvall was a French Huguenot (Protestant) who came to the Maryland colony in or about 1650 as an indentured servant. Duvall, about 25 years old when he arrived in Maryland. He earned his freedom in 1659 and embarked on a remarkable career, accumulating thousands of acres of land, including, in 1664, his home plantation, Middle Plantation. At his death in 1694, Duvall was one of the wealthiest men in the colony.

In late 1664 Duvall, then listed as a carpenter, received a 600-acre land grant called Middle Plantation, located in South River Hundred. An adjoining parcel of 165 acres (Duvall's Addition) was granted in 1670. Duvall lived on the Middle Plantation property with a succession of wives and twelve children.

Upon his death in 1694, Duvall left his extensive property to his wife and children. His widow, Mary, received the Middle Plantation house and the 300-acre property associated with it. The land where the Duvall home was located remained in the extended family until 1763. After several short-term owners, the property passed to William Hall, who owned it until 1833. The Dove family acquired the land in 1924 and was held by this family until around 1980.

Archaeological Investigations

In 1968, Anne Arundel County native son and farmer, William P. Doepkens, found scatters of artifacts on rented farmland in Davidsonville, not far from a standing late 18th-century house. For the next 22 Mr. Doepkens and his family, with assistance from professional archaeologists, undertook the archaeological excavation of the Mareen Duvall Middle Plantation site (18AN46).

Large areas of the site were stripped with a backhoe, making it easy to locate archaeological features. These features were mapped and excavated, with artifacts separated by features and areas. As eventually revealed, the site consisted of a primary domestic compound consisting of an earthfast dwelling, kitchen, dairy and outbuildings surrounded by a palisade or fence. A number of trash and privy pits were recorded and excavated. There were 39 unmarked graves, which were excavated, but the remains were not removed.

A large (238 × 30 to 40 ft wide) spring/stream area (Area 5) was used for trash disposal throughout the lifetime of the site. Area 5 was removed in seven sections, which were labeled with letter designations (5N, 5E, 5W, etc.) and artifacts from each section were kept separate from one another. Two springs—one bricked and the other a shallow depression—were also excavated in Area 5. Several small earthfast structures identified in the report as "coolers" for storing food were also located in Area 5.

The archaeological collections from the site were donated to the Maryland Historical Trust in March of 2025 and are curated at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab.

(Edited from archeological site survey form, Maryland Historical Trust, and Doepkens 1991)