Enclave at Beechfield A (18PR955)

The Enclave at Beechfield site (18PR955) is a late 18th to early 19th century plantation yard and a late 19th-to early 20th century tenant house. An alternate name for the site is the Richard J. Duckett site. The property is located on an upland ridge between the Northeast Branch and tributaries of Lottsford Branch. Between 1754 and 1798, the property was owned by Richard Jacob Duckett and remained in his family until 1900. Historic maps show the presence of a house at this location by 1861 and farm outbuildings at least by the 20th century.

In August 2008, this site was identified during a Phase I survey by Greenhorne & O'Mara, followed by Phase II testing in 2009, consisting of the excavation of 261 shovel tests, six lxlm test units and one pit feature and the machine excavation of 177.8 square meters within 8 trenches.

A total of 4,253 artifacts were recovered from the field investigations. Excavations resulted in the identification of four cultural features: one trash pit, a well, a portion of a structural foundation, and the remains of a burned structure. Based on these investigations, 18PR955 appears to represent two separate areas of occupation. One area, located within a pasture, consists of a portion of a brick foundation and the remains of a burned structure. Artifacts associated with this area date from the late 19th and 20th centuries. It is likely that this portion of 18PR955 represents the remains of a tenant residence and an associated building. The second area, located near standing residential structures, consists of large areas of fill, a well, and a trash pit. The fill contains a mixture of architectural and domestic artifacts that appears to date from the late 18th through the 20th centuries. The fill may be associated with land leveling and the demolition of the original Duckett residence. The trash pit, however, appears to date to the late 18th and first quarter of the 19th centuries.

A Phase III investigation was conducted at the site in the fall of 2019 by Applied Archaeology and History Associates. The work included mechanical stripping of 1,366 square meters of soil in 17 trenches, the hand excavation of 17 one-meter squares and the sampling of 44 cultural features. A total of 4,666 artifacts were retained from the Phase III work, which included a late 18th to mid-19th century pit associated with the Duckett family occupation, thirteen features associated with a late 19th- to mid-20th-century rubble foundation, and five features associated with a demolished mid-20th century home. The excavation also uncovered the remains of a previously undocumented cemetery containing at least fifteen human burials and a dog burial. These graves were not excavated.

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