Woodlawn Farm (18ST88)

Woodlawn Farm (18ST88) was first documented in 1934 by Henry Chandlee Forman, who photographed the west and north elevation of the extant house, and sketched a floorplan and approximate location of an adjacent building, the "Anc.(ient) K.(itchen)." The measurements of the main house were inconsistent with the tax records of 1798, as were the estimated dimensions for the 1934 kitchen building. This lack of accord, and the near exclusive use of cut nails in the building, suggests an early 19th-century date for the main house. The c. 1804 date for the house listed in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Places is presumably based on the fact that it is a pre-1805-style building with post-1803 nails.

In 1976, Dennis Basler excavated several test trenches to uncover the remains of the "ancient kitchen." The ceramic assemblage from this investigation is predominantly post-bellum in character. Additional excavations in the kitchen area were undertaken by James O'Conner in 1984/85. A backhoe was used to remove the cultural deposits to accommodate ongoing construction, uncovering many early to late 19th-century artifacts.

In 1985, Julia King and Patricia McGuire excavated two test trenches in front of the water-side door of the house, revealing two post holes, which do not appear to have been porch supports, as they were irregularly placed. In 1989, James Gibb excavated a unit adjacent to these 1985 trenches, and another unit about 50' south of the house.

Excavations at this site have revealed a late 19th-century cobblestone walkway between the house and the kitchen. The kitchen itself appears to be a much earlier structure that was raised onto concrete piers in the late 19th century. A builder's trench survives next to the main house, and early to middle 19th-century artifacts have been found, but nothing from earlier periods, other than a scatter of prehistoric lithic debris.

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