Gaither Howard Site (18MO778)

The Gaither Howard site (18MO778) is a late 18th-century two story Anglo-American and African-American stone ruin and farmstead located on a terrace 400 feet from an unnamed tributary of the Patuxent River near Glenwood, Maryland. A datestone, until quite recently located in the north gable end (a gaping hole in the masonry attests to its disappearance) attributes this stone building to B.G.; its legend read "B.G. 1790." The standing ruin, located at edge of tree line, has been looted and vandalized. The landscape around the site contains a stone well, large trees, grassy areas, a driveway and a low sloped wall, as well as agricultural fields.

The Gaither Howard house was constructed around 1790 by Beale Gaither and the property remained in the Gaither family ownership until 1862. Census records for 1790-1810 show Beale Gaither as the sole Anglo-American resident on the property and he was shown as owning between 5 and 12 enslaved individuals during this period. In 1862, free black George Howard purchased 289.5 acres from the Gaither heirs; this property included the land containing the house built by Beale Gaither. Howard farmed, producing rye and oats, corn, rice and barley. He also owned horses, mules, oxen, cattle, pigs and milk cows. Howard continued to buy and sell land throughout the 1880s and he also invested in stocks and securities. He sold a small tract of land for a Black school in 1878. Howard passed away in 1895, leaving the property equally divided between his five children.

The domestic structure contained a cellar with archaeological deposits related to occupation. The site was identified in August 2021 by A.D. Marble for MDOT/SHA.

Archaeological testing of the property was conducted by A.D. Marble in 2021. A total of 54 shovel test pits and 15 test units were excavated on the site. A combination of systematic and judgmental placements determined shovel test pit locations. A total of 952 artifacts were recovered from the shovel test pits and those findings helped determine the placement of the test units. These artifacts consisted largely of household, kitchen and architectural artifacts dating to the 19th and 20th centuries.

Six cultural features, all in the west yard of the house, were uncovered and tested. Of these features, five were postholes and one, Feature 2, was the substantial (2.5 to 3.0 ft. thick) foundation of an outbuilding of undetermined size and function. Some of the artifacts from the Feature 2 area suggest that the building may have been a stable, but the proximity of the house suggests otherwise. One posthole near the house may have been from a scaffolding, while the others were interpreted as being parts of fence lines.

Test units in the east and south yard revealed two yard surface deposits of domestic and architectural artifacts. Stratum II contained both 18th and 19th century artifacts, while Stratum I included more modern artifacts. Stratum I in the west yard appeared to be related to a later cleanup, demolition and removal of materials at the site, since artifacts were highly mixed. A lense of dark soil mottled with mortar in Test Unit 14 may be related to a disassembled stone structure whose stone was spread out in Test Units 1, 7 and 12. These stone may relate to the foundation designated Feature 2. Yard deposits in Test Units 3, 10 and 11 contain substantial quantities of domestic artifacts.

(Written by Patricia Samford)