The Shriner Site (18FR633)

The Shriner Site (18FR633) is located east of the Monocacy River and northwest of Israel Creek in Frederick County, Maryland. It is situated on a relatively flat plateau adjacent to the south side of Route 26 near its intersection with Route 194. Nineteenth century maps and archival sources suggested that the area contained two early and mid-19th century structures; a blacksmith and wheelwright’s shop, and a residence associated with the development of the City of Frederick. Soils at the site are composed primarily of Huntington silt loams, with some Hagerstown gravelly loam and local alluvium, both of which can be described as “prime farm land”.

The site was first discovered during a Phase I survey conducted by the Maryland Geological Survey in 1988, within the proposed right-of-way for the dualization of Maryland Route 26 and Route 194. This survey included both walkover examinations of the impacted parcels and shovel test pits (STPs). In the vicinity of Shriner (Parcel G), twenty-one STPs were placed in two (nearly parallel) east-west trending lines at no greater than 20 meter intervals. In an area of deeper soils, three 1 X 1 meter test units were excavated to Pleistocene levels. In addition, where two shovel test units encountered cultural materials, smaller 75 X 75 cm test units were opened up. Soil was excavated by natural stratigraphic levels and screened through hardware cloth. Primarily historic artifacts were recovered from the site, although a small number of prehistoric artifacts were also encountered (see below). Stratigraphy encountered during Phase I consisted of a recent orange clay fill which ran to a depth of approximately 25 cm. One feature, a cinderblock wall foundation, was found at the base of this orange clay fill in one area. Below this layer of modern fill a buried “A” horizon contained artifacts from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Below this buried plowzone, a “B” horizon was uncovered. In one shovel test a circular feature was found at a depth of 50 cm that extended into the “B” horizon. A metal barrel band was found 5 cm into this straight sided feature; its circumference delineating the feature walls. Green-edged refined earthenware was found at the top of the feature. It was determined that this feature represents the remnants of a buried barrel; perhaps a barrel-lined well. Additional shovel tests helped to define the edge of the area overlain with the modern orange fill soils (likely related to Route 26’s construction). Artifacts associated with the 19th and early 20th century were found in these STPs. Beyond the area of recent construction fill, shove test pits revealed a common pattern of brown loamy topsoil with artifacts present, followed by a yellowish brown clay loam subsoil or B horizon devoid of artifacts. In the area of floodplain soils where 1 X 1 meter units were established, no artifacts were encountered.

Historic artifacts encountered during the Phase I survey include 5 activity related items, 233 architectural objects, 1 piece of clothing, 1 furniture item, 144 kitchen-related artifacts, 1 personal item, and 150 miscellaneous objects. The activity items are 2 toy car parts, part of a glass ink well, an iron punch, and a piece of braided barbed wire. The architectural assemblage includes 114 brick fragments, 1 piece of glazed brick, a piece of cement, 3 plaster fragments, 10 mortar fragments, 25 linoleum pieces, 38 fragments of plate window glass, 10 machine-cut nails, 10 wire nails, and 21 unidentified nails. The clothing item encountered was a plastic button, while the furniture item was a possible vase fragment. The 1 personal object was a fragment of a comb. Kitchen-related artifacts were 99 ceramic sherds, 33 glass fragments, an aluminum can, and 11 faunal remains. The ceramic assemblage consisted of 1 buff-bodied earthenware sherd, 1 creamware sherd, 8 pearlware sherd, 4 porcelain sherds, 4 ironstone fragments, 1 buff-bodied stoneware sherd, 3 gray-bodied stoneware sherds, 1 miscellaneous stoneware fragment, 45 pieces of whiteware, 17 Rockingham sherds, 10 redware sherds, and 4 unidentified ceramics. Glass fragments include 9 table glass fragments and 24 bottle/container glass shards. The faunal remains were 5 animal bones (1 is a bovine scapula), 5 oyster shell fragments, and 1 clam shell piece. The miscellaneous objects were 2 pieces of unidentified glass, 4 pieces of copper, 63 unidentifiable metal fragments, 26 pieces of stone (soapstone, sandstone and slate), 2 pieces of plastic, 24 charcoal fragments, 7 clinkers, and 22 pieces of coal. In addition to the historic artifacts, 16 prehistoric items were encountered. These were 6 quartz flakes, 1 quartz biface, 6 quartz chunks, 2 argillite flakes, and 1 chert chunk.

As a result of the Phase I survey work, and in lieu of the fact that widening and dualization of Routes 26 and 194 would significantly impact the northern portion of site 18FR633, Phase II testing was undertaken in 1993. Extensive archival work was a component of this research. A complete description of archival research results is available in the full site report. An abbreviated discussion of what historical documentation reveals is presented here, followed by the results of archeological research.

The original land patent “Dulany’s Lot” that encompasses the Shriner site was surveyed by Daniel Dulany in 1724 as a 3,850 acre tract. Dulany was an immigrant from Ireland who arrived in Maryland in 1703. He patented numerous tracts in Frederick, Anne Arundel, and other counties in the state. Dulaney, a lawyer and Chief Justice, was politically active in Annapolis and lived many years in Anne Arundel County. The property which is now Site 18FR633 was part of 1,000 acres purchased by Susanna Beatty in 1732. Susanna Beatty arrived as a widow from New York with ten children. Her husband, John Beatty died in 1721 and Susanna received most of his holdings. During the tenure of the Beatty’s in the 18th century most of this property was used for agriculture and pasture. When the land passed to Susanna’s children, it was split into several small (20+ acre) tracts. By 1790, a grist mill and ferry were in operation on James Beatty’s property just southwest of the site along the Monocacy River. The ferry (called Reynold’s Ford) began operation in 1849 by Thomas Reynolds and replaced the earlier Hussey’s Ford. The mill appears to have been built by Beatty, as it is depicted on his property in maps as early as 1794 and he sold the land and mill to Sebastian Graff in 1797. John Beatty sold 166 acres, including the tract on which the site is actually located to General Otho Holland Williams in 1800. It was during Williams’ ownership of the property that the full industrial potential of this property was explored. General Williams had an older grist mill razed and with his son William E. Williams built the grist and flour mill that still stands today (the Ceresville Mill) in 1813. The Graff residence was located just south of Israel’s Creek, and Sebastian Graff continued to operate the old mill on his property until 1814, when he sold it to William E. Williams. By 1820, William E. Williams had numerous small businesses operating in the area including the new 6 story grist mill (in close proximity to a stone residence), a sawmill (possibly two), a limestone quarry, a ferry, and a blacksmith and wheelwright’s shop.

The Ceresville Mill was one of the largest flour mills in the area, with enormous productivity. It boasted two waterwheels (nearly five meters high) and was almost completely reliant on the powerful waters of Israel’s Creek in the early 19th century. The mill was also one of the first mills to use machinery made of iron rather than wood, which contributed to its output. In the 1820’s, the mill was leased and operated by Cornelius Shriner, the grandson of a German immigrant to Frederick County. In 1833, Shriner purchased 40 acres from Williams, including most of the mill complex, its outbuildings, storehouses, access roads, the blacksmith’s shop and a coalhouse, ferry, and boats. Shriner constructed an addition to the stone house near the mill, and presumably resided there. Sometime during the early 19th century, a second residential structure was built in-between the blacksmith’s shop and the stone residence originally sold with the property. Maps of the mid-19th century depict the stone residence as belonging to E.A. Shriner (Cornelius’ son), but do not give any clue as to who resided in the second structure. E.A. Shriner continued to improve the mill complex and played important roles in the development of the City of Frederick. His stone house was raised in 1888 and a new mansion was built nearby. The other residence on his property and a portion of the blacksmith shop appear to be within or very near the site boundaries. The site was a high visibility, heavily used area of the Ceresville mill complex throughout the 19th century. These two structures appear to have stood until the mid-20th century when they were replaced by a large rectangular storehouse. The storehouse was destroyed and removed after 1972.

Phase II testing included 85 STPs, four test units, and a series of small trenches. First, STPs were laid out on a regular grid of 5 meter intervals. Most of the shovel testing revealed that the majority of the site was disturbed. Two adjacent shovel tests yielded bricks, limestone blocks, and construction materials; evidence of structural remains. Two 1 X 1 meter test units were laid out atop these STPs, and a third irregular unit (Unit 1A) was opened up alongside the 1 X 1 furthest to the west (Unit 1) to further expose the feature that was identified there. This feature was interpreted to be a collapsed fireplace associated with the residential structure owned by (but apparently not lived in) by E.A. Shriner. The unit to the east (Unit 2) identified limestone blocks used as fill (probably from Shriner’s quarry) as well as the edge of a cinderblock foundation. It would seem this feature is related to the one encountered during Phase I work. A fourth test unit (Unit 3 – 1 X 1 m) was placed in an area recommended for further study during Phase I; the location of the supposed barrel-lined well. Researchers found this area to be heavily disturbed by the original construction of Route 26 and other activities. A plastic bead was found in a deeply buried stratum along with 19th century artifacts and much of the deposit contained sand and petroleum stains. A modern poured concrete slab was also identified. Upon completion of the test units, a series of six trenches were excavated eastward from Unit 2 to follow the course of the cinderblocks and determine if they were, in fact, an in situ foundation. The cinderblocks ran east from Unit 2 and ended approximately 24 meters away. They are the remains of the storehouse that existed at the site in the mid-20th century, and was destroyed in 1972 during Hurricane Agnes. According to anecdotal evidence, the storehouse contained Styrofoam housing insulation which absorbed floodwater and exploded, destroying the storehouse.

Most of the artifacts recovered during the excavations were historic, ranging in time from the early part of the 19th century through the modern period. The artifacts reflect the intense and varied use of this site along the Monocacy and the once navigable Israel Creek. As discussed above, the site was once the location of a ferry, a blacksmith shop, a residence, and finally a warehouse that was destroyed in the floods of 1972 that accompanied Hurricane Agnes.

Detailed summary tables of total artifact counts are not provided in the body of the full site report, but rough descriptions are provided. The tallies provided in the tables above are rough estimates. Twenty-two activity items were encountered, including 21 pieces of lamp chimney glass and a glass marble. Roughly 550 architectural artifacts were excavated, including 2 pieces of ceramic pipe, at least 359 brick fragments, at minimum of 38 intact bricks, at least 14 mortar fragments, asphalt, concrete, cinderblock, Styrofoam construction materials, construction board, 70 pieces of identifiable window glass, a minimum of 31 machine-cut nails, and 2 ceramic electrical insulators. Only two clothing objects were recovered; a glass 4-hole button and a rubber button. Around 933 kitchen-related artifacts were excavated, most of which were ceramics and glass shards. Among the kitchen ceramics were 3 unidentified earthenware sherds, 5 pieces of creamware, 49 pearlware sherds, 2 pieces of porcelain, 2 annularware sherds, 8 pieces of ironstone, 11 miscellaneous stoneware sherds, 163 pieces of whiteware, 5 yelloware sherds, 111 redware sherds, and 7 unidentified pieces of pottery. The kitchen glass assemblage consists of 240 pieces of bottle glass and 155 vessel glass (jars, tableware, and other kitchen glass) fragments. The remaining kitchen artifacts are faunal remains; over 100 animal bones (although some may be rodent bones and not food remains), 71 pieces of oyster shell, and 1 other shell fragment. Two personal items were recognized; an 1893 Indian Head Penny and an eyeglass lens. Miscellaneous artifacts encountered throughout the site were 100 pieces of unidentifiable flat glass, 4 other unidentifiable glass pieces, miscellaneous metal objects, and large quantities of charcoal, slag, and coal.

A number of prehistoric lithics were also uncovered during the Phase II work. These include 119 flakes and flake fragments, and 27 pieces of shatter. Most of the artifacts (84%) were rhyolite, with small numbers of quartz, sandstone-like material, chalcedony, quartzite, argillite, and chert. These prehistoric artifacts, were recovered in the least disturbed areas of the site and combined with those recovered during Phase I, seem to indicate that a light lithic scatter is present. They suggest that the primary prehistoric activity taking place there was the reduction of rhyolite blanks into more complete tool forms. Given the highly disturbed nature of most of the site, the potential for these deposits to yield additional information useful to our understanding of prehistory is very limited.

The archival findings, along with the archeological excavations, provide evidence for the existence of a domestic structure just south of the highway project right-of-way. Two excavation units revealed an intact structure dating, on the basis of ceramics (pearlware and creamwares), glass fragments, cut nails, and other objects, to the early to mid 19th century. It appears to be a collapsed fireplace likely related to a residential structure depicted on historic maps between E.A. Shriner’s home and his blacksmithing enterprise. In addition to the remnants of plates, the remains of consumed meat and oysters were found. While a blacksmith/wheelwright shop was documented in the project area, no tools or other artifacts that might be associated with such a shop were recovered. Such tools might include anvil tools, chisels, punches, blade fragments, and the like. In addition, no products, such as gun parts or horseshoe fragment were recovered either. Slag was recovered, but it was not concentrated in any one portion of the site. It was determined that the dualization of Maryland Routes 26/194 would not have a destructive impact on the Shriner site, as the intact prehistoric and historic deposits near the collapsed fireplace are south of the highway right-of-way. Additional intact deposits may be present in this area or farther to the south.

(Edited from the Maryland Historical Trust Synthesis Project)