Arnold Farm (18FR1110)

Arnold Farm (18FR1110) is an 18th-century standing stone structure in Burkittsville, Maryland. The site itself is in a manicured lawn behind the main house, as well as a small section of pasture to the south.

Dovetail Cultural Resources conducted Phase I and II archaeological testing at the Arnold Farm site in 2019 as part of a Maryland Department of Transportation project on the South Mountain Battlefield. Testing consisted of 34 shovel test pits and one 2.5 x 5 ft. test unit. A geophysical survey was also conducted on the property. Testing was confined to the back yard with the goal of gathering additional data on the initial occupation of the parcel, as well as to investigate for any potential troop occupation of the property during the Civil War.

Findings from the Arnold Farm site largely consists of domestic materials related to the occupation of the property, from the late 18th century through the early 21st century. A total of 772 artifacts was recovered from the shovel test pits and test unit. Ceramics account for 55 percent (n=424) of the assemblage, with varieties such as Astbury, Jackfield, creamware, pearlware, whiteware, glazed redwares, yellow ware, and ironstone placing the date span between the late-eighteenth through mid-nineteenth centuries. The majority of the recovered materials (n=379) were found in Stratum II, a potential buried A-horizon. This layer was likely the historic topsoil during the 18th- and 19th-century occupation of the property and was subsequently buried during early-20th-century landscaping activities on the farm. This landscape modification was evidenced by a 1-foot thick Stratum I, a fill layer characterized by a compact yellowish brown silt loam.

A small potential midden was also recorded at STP N545 E575. This test pit contained 127 artifacts and a high concentration of coal ash. Temporally diagnostic artifacts from this yard feature include the only fragments of Astbury and Jackfield found at the site as well as creamware, pearlware, and whiteware. Other materials include machine-cut nails, window glass, bottle glass, and lamp glass.

TU 1 was placed over a buried stone foundation shown by geophysical survey to measure 10 x 20 ft. to determine if the no longer extant building was associated with the early occupation of the home. While the artifacts recovered during this investigation offered no diagnostics suggestive of an early occupation, the construction style is likely associated with the early-nineteenth century. The rock foundation was laid with a mud mortar and measured 10 x 20 feet (3 X 6m) oriented at approximately 120 degrees north. Additionally, a picture from the early 20th century shows the building standing behind the home. While the exact function is unknown, it certainly served as an outbuilding.

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