Connemara Site (18BA552)

The Connemara Site was excavated in 2007, 2008, and 2009 through collaboration between Maryland State Highways Administration, URS Corporation and Hardlines Design Company. Excavations were conducted in order to gather information about the property to assist in interpretation.

The Connemara site functioned as a farm from the 18th through 20th centuries, and was occupied by European Americans and African Americans. The first documented ownership of Connemara was granted in 1736 to Thomas Sheredine. Two years later Sheredine sold the property to William Worthington. Neither Sheredine nor Worthington appear to have lived on or made any improvements to the property while it was in their ownership. In 1746 Neale Haile and Benjamin Long acquired the property and at some point Haile took complete ownership. It remained in the Haile family until 1811 when James Boyd bought the property. It is likely that Boyd constructed the main house that stood on the property until the 1980’s when the house was demolished. In 1823, Stephen Marsh purchased the site. In 1833 Connemara was put up for sale, and in 1839 William Bosley of John. In 1851 Bosley leased the land to John Connolly for use as a quarry. The land was bought again in 1862 by John Crowther and remained in the Crowther family until 1911. The land changed hands several more times until 1955 when it was sold to the Simonson family and renamed Connemara. In 1965, Connemara was purchased by the Harry T. Campbell and Sons quarry company. The house was surveyed in 1985 before it, and all associated buildings were demolished in 1987.

The objective of the field excavations was to determine the function of the outbuildings and the farmstead layout, determine the function of identified features, and to test the area south of the house to determine of outbuildings or specialized use areas had been present. Shovel tests, test units, and features were excavated as part of the field investigation. Two small soil samples were collected from a possible midden deposit for flotation. Thirty three cultural features were found during investigations and date from the mid -18th century to 1987. Ten building remains were investigated. Cultural feature types include foundation walls, cellars, pits, postholes, chimney base, builder’s trenches and possible drain features.

Excavations determined that much of the Connemara property has been significantly disturbed as a result of mechanical demolition and modifications in the 20th century. Despite being heavily disturbed, Connemara site has yielded and has the potential to yield significant information about 18th and 19th century life in Baltimore County.

(Written by Alexandra Glass)