Sibley (18MO745)

The Sibley Site (18MO745) is a late-18th to mid-20th century domestic site shown on historic maps as belonging to Jonathan Sibley in the mid- to late 19th century and located in Clarksburg, Maryland. This site was identified in 2018 by Applied Archaeology and History Associates, Inc. during a Phase I survey in advance of sidewalk and walkway improvements on MD 355. A total of 22 shovel test pits were excavated at 5-10 m intervals within the area of potential effect. The southern portion of the site has been disturbed by road construction.

In April of 2019, Phase II testing was conducted by Applied Archaeology and History Associates, Inc. Fieldwork included pedestrian reconnaissance, 21 shovel test pits at 5 m intervals, and 10 1x1 m test units. A total of 2,606 artifacts were recovered from the test units, which identified three archaeological sites (18MO742, 18MO745 and 18MO746).

At the Sibley Site, the excavations revealed evidence for substantial deposits of redeposited 20th-century fill material across the site. Across the majority of the site, the fill reached a depth of around 20-30 cm below ground surface; however in the southwest corner of the site, excavations identified substantial evidence for the remains of an infilled cellar with a possible root cellar at its base. In much of the cellar, the fill material, which dated to the 20th century, reached a depth of over a meter, making excavation incredibly difficult. It was, however, possible to identify several potentially intact deposits at the base of the cellar. The house appeared to have been constructed in the first half of the 19th century and demolished in the early 20th century, around the time that the still-standing Day House was built on the property. It is unclear whether the material used to fill the cellar hole came from the site itself or if it was brought to the location from somewhere else.

The majority of the artifacts recovered from the site dated to the 19th through early 20th centuries, but a number of sherds of colonial ceramic were also recovered, as were pieces of free-blown bottle glass. These artifacts could indicate the presence of an early occupation, especially as the parcel was originally patented seven years prior to the nearby Dowden’s Ordinary (MIHP# M: 13-53). No structural components for the structure survived its demolition.

The artifact assemblage from the Sibley Site totaled 2,606 artifacts, the most recovered from the three sites under investigation (18MO742, 18MO745, 18MO746). The vast majority of the artifacts from the Sibley Site come from secondary 20th-century deposits that are associated with the demolition of the house (n=1,958 or 75.13%) that place limitations on what the full assemblage can reveal about the site apart from a probable date for the demolition event itself. Of the remaining artifacts, 508 or 19.49% were recovered from yard contexts (in both STPs and TUs) and 140 or 5.37% were recovered from intact deposits within the filled-in cellar hole.

The fill contexts contained a mix of diagnostic artifacts that span the entire time Clarksburg has been settled. The site contained 271 diagnostic ceramics, of which 167 (61.62%) were recovered from fill contexts, 98 (36.16%) were recovered from yard contexts and 6 (2.21%) were recovered from intact contexts within the house. Because the fill deposits may have been brought in from elsewhere, the focus of this discussion must necessarily be the artifacts from the yard and intact house contexts. In these two contexts, 19th-century whiteware (n=53) and ironstone (n=30) dominate, together accounting for 79.81% of the diagnostic assemblage. One piece of Rockingham early refined earthenware also dates to the 19th century. Late 18th- to early 19th-century wares are less frequently attested, including pearlware (n=13 or 12.5%) and creamware (n=4 or 3.85%). Two considerably earlier ceramics and two pieces of Rhenish stoneware. Both of these are Colonial wares that likely date to the earliest occupation of Clarksburg. Other diagnostic artifacts from these contexts include machine-made bottle glass (n=72), 19th century machine-cut nails (n=12), and 20th century wire nails (n=6). Together, this points to an occupation likely beginning in the second quarter of the 19th century and extending into the first quarter of the 20th, but given the location of the site close to the 18th-century Dowden’s Ordinary (MIHP # M: 13-53) and the relatively early date for the patenting of the property, it is possible that the site may have been occupied around the turn of the 19th century or earlier. At least some of the 20th century artifacts from the yard probably originated during the occupation of the Day House rather than the earlier house.

Archaeological evaluation of the Sibley Site has resulted in the determination that substantial grading has occurred across much of site, reaching a depth of approximately 20 cm below surface. Notwithstanding this disturbance, the investigations resulted in the identification of an infilled cellar with a potential root cellar at its base indicating that the disturbance/grading has been limited to the upper layer of the property. The cellar belongs to a house that was likely constructed in the first half of the 19th century and demolished in the early 20th, around the time the Day House was constructed on the property. The 20th-century infill of the cellar contained a small number of colonial artifacts mixed into modern contexts, potentially indicating an occupation that predates the site and similar in age to nearby Dowden’s Ordinary. These artifacts were not found in an intact context, however, and may also have resulted from fill being brought in from elsewhere. The cellar contained cultural features buried under more than 100 cm of modern fill. These features relate to the occupation of the previous house on the Sibley Site and indicate the potential for additional intact features buried beneath the fill. Significant information on the site remains unknown, including the north-south extent of the former structure. Due to its potential to provide significant information on life in Clarksburg during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this site is recommended eligible for inclusion on the NRHP under Criterion D.

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