Poplar Island North (18TA237)

The Poplar Island North site (18TA237) consists of a late 17th- to 19th-century possible structure, and an artifact concentration within layers of redeposited beach sand. It is located on the north end of one of the islands in the Poplar Island group, situated in the mid-shore region of the Chesapeake Bay. It is on a marshy hummock that is subjected to flooding by tides and waves, and a large portion of the site is now underwater.

Settlement began on Poplar Island in the 17th century. By the early 19th century, erosion was splitting the island into smaller landforms. The Carroll family came into ownership of the property in the late 1700s. In 1857, Charles Carroll sold the 250-acre parcel that contains the site to Thomas Sherwood, and it became known as Sherwood Farm. The 1880 census showed that the Sherwood family shared the property with a laborer and a servant. After 1904, settlement shifted away from the immediate shoreline, probably in response to rising sea levels.

A surface search and controlled underwater inspection of the shoreline of the island was conducted in 1987. This survey revealed six artifact concentration areas. The west side of the island seemed to have the greatest quantity of 17th- and 18th-century artifacts, designated as site 18TA236. The east side of the island yielded mostly prehistoric and 19th-century artifacts, and was designated as 18TA218. The remains of a possible brick floor eroding into the Chesapeake and a number of 17th-19th-century artifacts were discovered at the northwest part of the island, and were designated as 18TA237.

Phase I and Phase II archaeological investigations were conducted at 18TA237 in 1994, ahead of plans to restore Poplar Island by constructing a series of dikes and backfilling the area. During the Phase I survey, three unidentified brick features were discovered along the shoreline.

Phase II investigations included shovel test pits at close intervals, supplemented by auger holes in wet areas and locations with deep deposits. Two terrestrial test units and one submerged test unit were also excavated. The results revealed that one of the brick features was merely redeposited material. The second brick feature may have been the remains of a wall or floor, but it did not retain structural integrity and its original function could not be identified. Artifacts associated with it ranged in date from the 17th century to the present. The third brick feature was found to be unarticulated brick rubble. A total of 1,402 historic period artifacts were recovered during the Phase I and II investigations. The majority were associated with kitchen-related activities, with 19th-century materials predominating.

(Edited from the Maryland Historical Trust Synthesis Project)