Simpsonville Mill (18HO80)

The Simpsonville Mill Site (18HO80) is a late 18th- through early 20th-century mill town in Howard County, Maryland. Two 19th-century maps depict a rural milling community with a gristmill, woolen factory, sawmill, general store, wheelwright shop, blacksmith shop, cemetery, and at least nine residences. Simpsonville Mill served a variety of needs, including flour milling and textile production, and functioned as a town center for over two hundred years. The Simpsonville Mill Archaeological and Historic District represents one of the few mill sites in Maryland that has been professionally investigated.

In 1984, Lee Preston led the Upper Patuxent Archeology Group and a group of students from Atholton High School in excavations at the supposed location of the Iglehart General Store in Simpsonville. They dug 72- 1x1 meter units and recovered numerous artifacts dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1987 the Maryland Geological Survey undertook a Phase I survey of Simpsonsville Mill prior to proposed highway construction. Methodology included a surface inspection of exposed soils and fields, and the excavation of five shovel test pits. Two shovel test pits were placed randomly, while the other three were located near two recently-identified features designated 3 and 5. All soil was screened through ¼-inch hardware mesh, with all artifacts retained for analysis. This investigation identified 16 additional features including the stone walls of the mill and other structural foundations.

GAI Consultants undertook the Phase II investigation of the Simpsonville Mill Site from November 1989 to January 1990. Two hundred and thirty shovel test pits were dug to a depth of at least one meter over the entire site. Twenty 1x1 meter test units were also excavated in areas of high artifact concentration or around structural features. In addition, a magnetometer survey collected data in five areas to identify subsurface features. A total of 47 features were identified during Phase II investigations, some in intact, stratified, archaeological deposits.

John Milner Associates conducted the Phase III investigation of the sections of the Simpsonville Mill Site within the highway right-of-way between October 1992 and February 1993. One hundred and seventy-six shovel tests were excavated stratigraphically. Forty-four 1x1 meter excavation units were excavated. All shovel tests and excavation units were excavated to sterile soil and screened through ¼-inch mesh. Three-liter flotation samples were also taken from features, and column soil samples were taken from the five backhoe trenches across the mill waste race, overflow race, tailrace, and headrace, and between the tailrace and the overflow race. The Phase III investigations concentrated on the stone foundation of the mill/woolen factory, the overflow or waste race, the gristmill, an early wheelpit wall, Iglehart’s General Store, and an unidentified stone foundation.

Over 42,000 artifacts were recovered from the Simpsonville Mill Site. These materials suggested that few activities other than industrial endeavors occurred within and around the mill buildings. A predominance of architectural objects characterize the artifacts from Simpsonville Mill, including window glass, nails, and other fasteners, while artifacts relating to food preparation and other activities were less common.

(Edited from Archaeological Collections in Maryland)