Crabb Grass Site (18CH353)

The Crabb Grass Site (18CH353) is a mid-18th century artifact scatter and possible tenant house site north of Swan point in Charles County.

The history of ownership of the land containing the Crabb Grass Site begins with a 1642 land grant of 2,000 acres to James Neale. Born in England, Neale was a prominent individual in Maryland politics. He named the entire land grant, as well as his dwelling, “Wollaston Manor.” This land was subsequently divided many times among his descendants, and various parcels were passed through several owners until the mid-20th century, when much of the original Wollaston Manor property was acquired by the Maryland Realty Investment Trust and subsequently sold to the US Steel Corporation in 1969.

Site 18CH353 was initially identified during a reconnaissance survey in the early 1990s. Fifteen shovel test pits (STPs) were placed throughout the site, initially at 40 m (130 ft) intervals and then at intervals of 9-20 m (30-65 ft) from STPs containing artifacts. The STPs were situated in two transects spaced 45.7 m (150 ft) apart. Artifacts from 9 positive STPs led to the interpretation that the site was the remains of a tenant or slave dwelling dating to the mid-18th century.

In 2007 Phase II testing was carried out. In order to relocate the site, a shovel test grid spaced at 30.5 m (100 ft) increments was superimposed and excavated. Based on the distribution of artifacts, this grid was narrowed to 15.24 m (50 ft), 7.62 m (25 ft), and 3.81 m (12.5 ft) increments. In total, 213 shovel tests were excavated within the grid and the data were used in the strategic positioning of test units. Five formal 91 X 91 cm (3 X 3 ft) test units were excavated. Additionally, two trenches and approximately 25 judgmentally-placed shovel tests were excavated. Unless specified, all excavated soils were dry-screened in the field using hardware cloth.

Features were cross-sectioned and excavated using special excavation and documentation procedures. Soil samples were collected and were waterscreened through window screen. Two cultural features were identified within the site area; an architectural-domestic pit (Feature 2) and an historic oyster shell midden (Feature 1). The oyster shell midden was situated in the south-central portion of the site. Feature 2 was a shallow pit with a maximum thickness of 12.7 cm (5 in) thought to be associated with an 18th-19th century domestic occupation. Artifact distributions in the proximity of this feature suggested that a dwelling was present just to the south of this portion of the site.

Over 114 shovel tests and all 5 test units produced positive artifact recoveries within 18CH353. Additionally, cultural materials were recovered from surface finds and manual trenching within the site area. In total, 1,530 artifacts were recovered including 1,528 historic items and 2 prehistoric artifacts.

It was concluded that the site had a rural domestic function and an 18th-early 19th century temporal affiliation. According to the nature of the ceramic assemblage, the site occupants were thought to have an upper-middle socio-economic status. The site would appear (based on archival evidence) to be connected with members or associates of the Taney, Lancaster, and/or Hammersly families. The former had married into the Neale family.

Upon examining the research and field results, it was concluded that Site 18CH353 had research value based on its antiquity and association with the Neale family. Although the historic landscape was not well-preserved, the site appeared to be confined to soils with good stratigraphic integrity. This condition provided both old yard soils and buried artifact deposits. Artifact preservation was also considered to be fair-to-good. MHT disagreed with the original researchers’ recommendation of the site as eligible to the National Register. MHT found that the lack of additional features and activity areas, as well as a high degree of previous construction-related disturbance limited the research potential of the site. Thus, it was concluded that 18CH353 would not require additional work and proposed development of the area would have “no effect” on significant archaeological resources.

(Edited from the Maryland Historical Trust Synthesis Project)