Pleasant Prospect (18PR705)

The Pleasant Prospect site represents a plantation complex dating from the late 1720s to the 1790s. Richard Duckett owned the plantation, which was known as Sprigg’s Request until the 19th century. Inhabitants included the Duckett family, an overseer, and at least 17 enslaved individuals. Richard Duckett’s son Isaac inherited the property by 1788, at which time he built a new manor house called Pleasant Prospect. Structures still stood at 18PR705 into the 1790s, however because they were assessed on the 1798 tax rolls. Richard Duckett’s probate inventory and the artifacts found at the site point to his status as a member of Maryland’s aspiring elite.

The Pleasant Prospect site was identified in 2004 by Phase I investigations for a proposed residential development. Phase II investigations confirmed the presence of significant intact features, prompting a Phase III data recovery in 2006. The Phase III began with controlled surface collection, followed by mechanical excavation to expose features. Features were then bisected or quartered and a portion of each feature was hand excavated. The project identified several structures, including the brick-lined cellar of the main dwelling, a detached kitchen, probable slave quarter sites, a possible overseer’s house, and unidentified outbuildings.

Some 17,457 historic artifacts were recovered in all phases of excavation at 18PR705. As small number of prehistoric artifacts were also recovered. Soil and carbon samples were collected from multiple features and were subject to processing and macrobotanical analysis.

The site today has been largely impacted by grading and construction. Because of these impacts to the site, it retains no additional research potential. The site was very well documented during Phase III data recovery operations. Researchers wishing to pursue laboratory-based projects related to the late colonial period would be hard-pressed to find a better collection of data than that obtained at 18PR705.

(Edited from Diagnostic Artifacts in Maryland, Small Finds and the Maryland Historical Trust Synthesis Project)