Compton Site (18CV279)

The Compton Site (18CV279) is a mid-17th-century tobacco plantation located near the mouth of the Patuxent River at Solomons in Calvert County, Maryland. The traces of at least five earthfast structures and post and rail fencing dating between 1651 and 1685 were uncovered. William and Magdalen Stevens acquired the Compton Site in 1651, when they are believed to have come to Maryland from Virginia. The Stevens remained at the site until 1665, when they left for the Eastern Shore. The site continued to be occupied until 1685 by as-yet-unidentified tenants.

The Compton Site collection has the potential to yield important information about 17th-century plantation life in the rural Chesapeake. Although the Compton Site resembles a typical tobacco plantation in many ways, the site’s architecture and artifact assemblage suggest the variability that is suspected to characterize early colonial culture. The Compton collection can be used to address questions of adaptation, household organization and change through time, trade, standards of living, and other issues concerning colonial Chesapeake culture.

Thunderbird Archaeological Associates identified the Compton Site in 1987 during a Phase I investigation for the Patuxent Point residential subdivision. Agricultural fields in the project area were plowed in 20-foot wide strips and then surface collected in 20-by-20-foot squares. The excavation of two one-foot square test pits in a surface concentration of oyster shells revealed the presence of a subsurface feature.

Phase III investigations of the Compton Site were conducted by Louis Berger and Associates (LBA) between June and August 1988. The first period of data recovery focused on the excavation of 162 2.5-by-2.5-foot units from the plowzone layer within the site boundaries. All soil was screened through ¼-inch mesh, and 57 samples for soil chemical analysis were collected. Following the plow zone sampling, the remaining plow zone was mechanically removed from a 140-foot-by-150-foot area. During the second phase, subsurface features, such as post holes, post molds, and pits, were identified and mapped. Of these features, 26 were excavated, most of them pit features. The refuse pits were excavated following natural stratigraphy, and a flotation sample was removed from every major layer. No soil was screened during feature excavation. Unfortunately, few post holes or post molds were excavated, making it difficult to sort out precise construction technologies and sequences for the five structures and three fence lines identified at the site.

The site plan of 18CV279 consisted of five post-in-the-ground structures, four surface middens, two cooking pits, post-and-rail fencing, and other subsurface features. The 16-by-16-foot dwelling, consisting of one or two rooms, had paned windows and a wattle and daub chimney which utilized Dutch yellow bricks. The four additional earthfast structures measured 18 by 20 feet, 18 by 25 feet, 10 by 10 feet, and 5 by 6 feet. Three fence lines, including a diamond-shaped post-and-rail enclosure, were probably used to pen livestock and delineate yard space. Two elliptical pits were possibly utilized for cooking, while three additional ones were probably used for the preparation of mortar. In addition, three cooking pits dating from the Middle and Late Woodland Periods (ca. 500-1600 AD) were uncovered.

(Edited from Archaeological Collections in Maryland)