Reiff Site (18WA454)

The Reiff site (18WA454), a 19th-century domestic occupation, was located at the intersection of MD 63 and MD 58 in Cearfoss, a village near Hagerstown. The site was destroyed by construction of a traffic circle after archaeological investigations were completed.

Around the turn of the 19th century, the Reiff site was part of a 182-acre tract called “Good Neighbor, which surrounded a turnpike intersection and was the home of Jacob Zeller. A tavern was also located there. After 1833, Zeller’s son David began to subdivide the property, and David Reiff and Daniel Cearfoss were among those who bought parcels. A Mennonite community began to develop around the intersection, with a church in existence by 1840. In 1843, John Cunningham purchased the tavern and began to acquire the surrounding land. Around 1852, his widow Mary married Daniel Cearfoss, and by the 1870s they owned most of the area, which became known as “Cearfoss Cross Road.” The neighborhood buildings were largely commercial in nature, and David Reiff may have operated a tavern there at that time. The Cearfoss/Holsinger family was the major property owner in the community until the mid-20th century. The Reiff site itself appears to have been the home of an unknown tenant(s), one of many such houses located around the turnpike intersection.

In 1994, a Phase I archaeological survey of the area conducted by the Maryland State Highway Administration first documented the Reiff site. Phase II excavation of 35 shovel test pits and 10 test units followed immediately, revealing the remains of a fieldstone footer and intact deposits representing a ca. 1820-1850 occupation, including a very large assemblage of domestic artifacts.

The Phase III investigations focused on the portion of the site lying within the traffic circle right-of-way, but six test units were placed across the rest of the site. A total of seventeen Phase II and III test units were excavated within the right-of-way. They revealed late 20th-century fill layers and disturbed soils lying above intact 19th-century deposits associated with the tenant house.

Large numbers of 19th- and 20th-century domestic and architectural artifacts were recovered. Analysis of this material revealed that local potters provided most of the food preparation and storage vessels used by the inhabitants, while serving pieces were largely “imported.” Faunal remains showed a preference for purchased beef and home-raised pork and poultry.

(Edited from the Maryland Historical Trust Synthesis Project)