The Elizabeth Lowry Site (18CR226)

The Lowry Site (18CR226), located west of Westminster in Carroll County, Maryland, consisted of an extant residence (Elizabeth Lowry House) and associated yards. The Elizabeth Lowry House consists of a log house, initially constructed circa 1839 - 1841, with frame and brick additions. The site was initially owned by free African-American Elizabeth Lowry.

Archival research indicates that in 1839, free black Elizabeth Lowry purchased a portion of a tract from landholder Henry Cassell. Tax records to indicate that a structure was on site by 1841. This is likely the core of the building; a simple log house. A frame addition and later Queen Anne style addition were constructed over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Maps indicate a second log dwelling, also built by Lowry circa 1865. This structure is no longer extant. Lowry ownership ended circa 1868 when the property was purchased by J.D. Roop, a local white landholder. The property was likely occupied by unknown tenants until the 20th century. The Lowry House served as a meeting space for the Meadow Branch Church of the Brethren from 1944 to 1954. The property appears to have remained in the Roop family until 1976.

In 1993/1994, the Maryland State Highway Administration sponsored a Phase Ib survey of alternates for a bypass around Westminster. Phase Ib examination of 18CR226 consisted of a pedestrian survey and the excavation of 13 shovel test pits. The Phase Ib survey indicated archaeological deposits present in the house yard, with a total of 265 artifacts recovered. Phase II testing at the site consisted of 63 shovel tests and four 1 X 1 meter test units placed against the extant building foundations. Yard deposits were similar across the site: a humus layer over a yard deposit of varying thickness, resting directly upon subsoil. No differential stratigraphy representing different temporal occupations was encountered. The strata that represent the yard deposits have been receiving artifacts from the initial occupation through the present. Overall 2,308 artifacts were recovered from the Phase II tests.

It appears the original Lowry cabin survived as the core of the extant residence. Several features were identified, including a cellar hole, stone-lined privy, brick and cement foundation for a well-house, an area used in the 20th century for burning automobiles, and a fieldstone path. All but the cellar hole appear to have been in use until the recent past. The cellar hole represents the second cabin built circa 1865 that burned around 1900. The filled cellar represents a tightly dated artifact-bearing context that dates over a 40 year time span when the property was owned by Roop and presumably occupied by tenants.

Phase III data recovery was recommended. In 2007, researchers returned to the Lowry site for data recovery, including a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey, mechanical stripping of ca. 08 acres, and hand excavations in test units. Several features were identified and excavated in the yard and units and features were excavated in the cellar hole. After completion of the GPR survey, three 5 X 5 ft. test units were excavated to the base of the cellar deposits. These test units, combined with the two Phase II 3 X 3 ft. units, provided a sample of the yard surface above the fill deposits in the cellar. The yard surface over the cellar was stripped with a backhoe and additional test units were excavated in the cellar to examine the floor and fill was associated with the destruction and demolition of the structure.

Targeted areas were stripped with a backhoe. The GPR survey resulted in the identification of 8 features and 3 clusters of anomalies, as well as the privy/shaft feature and the filled cellar hole. Several features were identified and excavated in the yard, including two pits (Features 2 and 10), two mica-schist foundations (Features 4 and 5), a rectangular pit (Feature 6) and a shaft feature interpreted as a cistern converted to a privy. The two mica-schist features and the rectangular pit appeared to have supported small outbuildings of undetermined function. The pits were filled with trash that showed evidence of burning, probably associated with refuse disposal. The shaft feature fill included destruction debris, and auto parts. The lower fill stratum included fecal matter, as well as ceramics and architectural artifacts from the mid-20th century. Several test units and three features were excavated in the cellar hole. A stratum of destruction debris associated with the burning of the cabin was excavated. The cellar floor below this deposit was thermally altered. Two other units were excavated to expose the mica-schist northeast corner entrance to the cellar. Under the demolition deposits were occupation deposits on the cellar floor. These deposits were not exposed to the heat of the fire. In addition, two postholes (Features 7 and 8) were identified that probably represent structural members of the cabin. A pit feature (Feature 9) may have served as a storage pit.

During excavation of the Lowry Site, 21,058 artifacts were collected. Approximately 94% (19,804 artifacts) were recovered from the cellar of the cabin, and about 5.95% came from the yard features and the privy. Many artifacts were not identifiable, as they were burned or melted beyond recognition during the fire that destroyed the cabin. Functional analysis of the assemblage demonstrated that the largest part of the cellar assemblage consisted of architectural materials (72%) associated with the cabin’s destruction by fire. Kitchen artifacts were the second most frequent group (20%). Plant remains recovered revealed the presence of 241.94 grams of wood charcoal, 2,726 uncharred seeds, and 175 charred seeds. Analysis of the faunal collection recovered from the Lowry site (414 specimens) identified domestic and wild animals.

Analysis of the landscape of the site focused on relationships among the archaeological features (buildings, fences, pits, and privy/cistern) and artifact distributions to understand the landscape ensemble of the site. This house-and-garden property was occupied by African Americans. Archival and archaeological evidence demonstrates that the log house built by Elizabeth Lowry was the first dwelling on the property, probably about 1830. The house faced the main road and the work yard was north and east of the house and cistern. No evidence of fences was found. At the northeast of the yard was a group of small outbuildings with stone foundations (Features 4 and 5). Around the mi-19th century, a frame addition was built on the log house and a second log building was built southeast of the original house. The distribution of ceramics north and east of the log cabin suggests a work yard, similar to that around the original house. The property was sold to the Roop family in 1868, and the dwellings occupied by tenants. Artifact distributions in the yard show similar patterns to those of the Lowry occupation. The log cabin burned c. 1900 and a large addition was built on the original house. The cistern was converted to a privy and a well house constructed. A garage was built in the 1930s or 1940s. The property was used for an auto-repair business in the late 1950s. The small outbuildings were probably removed during the 2nd half of the 20th century, and a circular driveway was added.

(Edited from the Maryland Historical Trust Synthesis Project)