E.J. Chiswell Farm Complex Ruins (18MO379)

The E.J. Chiswell Farm Complex Ruins (18MO379; MIHP# M:16-2) mark the location of a house first constructed in the early 19th century, along with other standing outbuildings, structural ruins dating back to the late 18th century, and associated landscape features. It is located near Poolesville in northwest Montgomery County, and was investigated in advance of the proposed creation of a county landfill.

The Chiswell Farm Complex (also known as “Longview”) is situated at the south end of a property that was surveyed for Carlton Belt in 1786. He called it “The Whole Included,” as it was a consolidation of various smaller tracts. By 1798 his son Carlton Jr. was residing on a 100-acre parcel within The Whole Included, which he later inherited. The younger Belt may have been living there as early as 1795, along with his wife, at least one child, and a small number of enslaved Africans. Belt sold his land to Charles Wilson in 1807, who in turn sold it to Daniel Trundle in 1815. Trundle did not reside on the property, and sold it to Henry W. Talbott in 1822. Talbott may have built the standing house at 18MO379. He slowly acquired more land around his farm, and lived there along with his wife, children, and four to five slaves until his death in 1859. His heirs sold the property in 1866 to Edward Jones Chiswell, a Confederate Army veteran who lived there with his family and a number of African American farm laborers and servants. Chiswell expanded his house and constructed a number of outbuildings. In 1904 he sold the farm to his son Thomas, who stayed there until 1932, when he sold the property to F. Irwin Ray. The farm went through a series of owners before being purchased by Montgomery County in 1995.

A Phase I survey of 18MO379 was conducted in 1991. The site was defined as the Chiswell Farm Complex of buildings and a 19th-century stone fence located about 1000 feet away. The farm complex included the standing house, barns, and other utility outbuildings, as well as ruins and an ornamental garden. Non-systematic surface collection and limited artifact retention was used to investigate the site. The artifacts dated from the late 18th century to the late 20th century.

Phase II testing in 1993 recorded a diffuse artifact scatter measuring 800 feet by 400 feet, running from the Chiswell House in the north to a barn ruin in the south. The site was surface collected, then excavated with 55 shovel test pits and four test units. Artifacts were generally most abundant close to the buildings. Test Unit #1 was placed next to a visible stone foundation in the northwest portion of the site. Based on the artifacts recovered, the foundation appeared to date to the c.1795-1807 Carlton Belt, Jr. occupation. A dog burial was also uncovered in this unit. Test Unit #2 was in the southwest corner of the site, next to a bank barn ruin. It revealed that the barn foundation had a concrete footing and dated to the mid-20th century. Test Unit #3 was placed to investigate the builder’s trench of a stone outbuilding on the west side of the Chiswell house. The recovered artifacts suggested a construction date in the first quarter of the 19th century. The outbuilding shares architectural details with the oldest section of the Chiswell House, so they may be contemporary. Test Unit #4 explored a stone foundation 15 feet from Test Unit #3. The foundation enclosed a brick floor, but was quite shallow. Artifacts from the builder’s trench indicated that the foundation was constructed in the first half of the 19th century.

Given its integrity and research potential, the E.J. Chiswell Farm Complex/18MO379 was placed on the Maryland Register of Historic Properties. The house was renovated and leased as a residence.

(Written by Ed Chaney)