Brice House (18AP38)

Site History

The Brice House site (18AP38) is an 18th-century standing structure and associated remains located in downtown Annapolis, Maryland. The site also contains some pottery and lithics dating to the Early and Late Woodland periods.

James Brice began building the house in 1766 and completed it seven years later. The house was owned and occupied by the Brice family until 1869, when it passed to William Martin, and was occupied by Martin's nephew, Thomas Ennals Martin. When Mr. T.E. Martin died in 1902, the property went through various hands, until coming under the ownership of the Carvel Hall Hotel, located on the adjacent Paca House property. In 1927 the property was sold to St. Johns College, who made modifications to adapt the building as faculty apartments. In 1953 Helen and Stanley Wohl acquired the property and restored it to become a single-family residence. Finally, the International Masonry Institute acquired it in the early 1980s.

Archaeological Investigations

The first formal archaeological work on the Brice House Site took place in 1969 by Contract Archaeology, Inc., at the behest of the Maryland Historical Trust. Archaeologists dug a series of trenches, although inconsistencies in reporting and a lack of available maps make it challenging to determine precisely where these trenches were excavated. Trenches 1-3 were excavated either under or to the northeast of the current Brice House parking lot and the remaining four trenches were further east, under what is now the Paca Garden Visitor Center. Trenches 5 and 6 were dug under what is now the Paca greenhouse. Some evidence of terracing was noted in the summary report but no precise delineation of features was made. Garden features may exist within the north portion of the yard behind the house; however, the poor quality of the report only allows for conjecture of 1774-era features.

Kenneth Basalik's (CHRS, Inc.) 1983-1984 excavations took place in the west, south, and north yards of the Brice House, in advance of restoration at the property. Deeply buried deposits were discerned in the west wing and west hyphen during restoration and testing of these deposits took place. In the yards surrounding the house, the upper 1 to 1.5 feet of earth in every yard appeared to be temporally mixed, with most artifacts from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but 18th- and early 19th-century objects were also recovered. Features were observed beneath the fill layers, but not all were explored. Testing in the northern two thirds of the west wing revealed a stone foundation and associated features and deposits.

In the spring of 1986, Eileen Williams (Historic Annapolis/Archaeology in Annapolis) conducted a short investigation, excavating three 5 × 5-ft units and one 2.5 × 2.5-ft unit at 178 Prince George's Street, located west of the Brice House. The land was originally part of the Brice property, but was sold in 1902. When the property owners were doing renovations in 1986, they uncovered architectural remains and contacted Archaeology in Annapolis to assess the uncovered remains. Brick and stone foundations were revealed, and data from the associated builder's trench dates the feature to the first half of the 18th century, predating by several decades the construction of the Brice House. The structure probably served as a stable, which may have been rebuilt by Brice.

In 1998 and 1999, Archaeology in Annapolis excavated 32 units in and around the Brice House. In addition, several construction trenches were profiled and the lowering of the grade in the south yard was monitored. Testing in the south yard revealed a number of filling and landform modification episodes dating from the periods following construction of the Brice House up to the early 20th century. An oyster shell drainage feature and associated evidence of African-American religious practices were recovered from a trench and unit at the western edge of the yard. Excavation in the interior of the west wing revealed the presence of three major stratigraphic units with associated structural and depositional features. These included 20th century deposits associated with modification of the interior of the wing, material associated with the construction of the Brice House between 1767 and 1773, and structural features and a floor deposit dating to the early 18th century. This material is potentially related to a store owned by Captain John Brice and his son John Brice II. Excavations in the east wing and hyphen also revealed a number of stratigraphic units related to the construction and subsequent modification of the Brice House. In addition, a large deposit of late 19th- and early 20th-century material associated with religious practices of African American occupants of the house was discovered beneath remnants of a brick floor in the interior of the east wing.

In 2003, James G. Gibb assisted a work crew at the James Brice House on East and Prince George streets in excavating a trench from beneath the window on the south façade of the east hyphen to the retaining wall above East Street. The trench revealed a truncated builder's trench along the south façade of the East Hyphen and the footer for the East Hyphen, which proved to be only five brick courses high and wider than the wall by a half—brick width.

In 2018 and 2019, archaeologists from The Lost Towns Project, Inc. completed the two phases of excavation to assist the restoration of the Brice House. Excavations consisted of the excavation of 31 units of varying sizes; predominantly 5 ft. × 5 ft. squares. Eleven units were excavated within the interior of the Main Block basement; 9 were excavated in the South Yard, and 11 were excavated in the North Yard, some immediately adjacent to the structure and remainder across the yard space up to the wall of the adjoining William Paca House Garden. In addition to the units, a total of 63 distinct cultural features were identified and excavated. All features were related to a specific building episode or particular cultural occupation associated with the Brice House. The excavations revealed intact 18th-century deposits in the north and west yards, information about the construction period of the Brice House, and insight into subsequent repairs and utility work. In addition, excavations in the interior of the Main Block basement uncovered a subcellar pit and documented changes to the space that occurred in the 19th century.

In 2023, James River Institute for Archaeology, Inc. (JRIA) performed Phase II archaeological testing for ongoing restoration work. JRIA excavated 20 test units in six areas in the north and northeastern yards and an additional 15 test units to prepare for the installation of downspout drain lines. Of the 20 features located, the vast majority dated from the late 19th century to the modern period. Identified features included: a builder's trench and several segments of robber/repair trenches for the Brice House foundations, brick foundations for an early 20th century addition to the east wing, a segment of builder's trench for the brick foundations, a stone wall previously identified by Joseph Hopkins Associates, another segment of a more modern stone wall, eight driven post molds or post holes, modern planting holes, and an amorphous modern soil stain. Construction will impact portions of the brick extension foundations and the stone walls.

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