Phase II and Phase III Archeological Database and Inventory Site Number: 18CH94 Site Name: Port Tobacco Prehistoric Other name(s) Historic

Brief Late Archaic,Early, Middle, & Late Woodland camps; 17th and 18th century Colonial town, Unknown Description: Contact trading post

Site Location and Environmental Data: Archeological Research Unit No. 11 SCS soil & sediment code EwB,WoA,WoB2 Latitude 38.5177 Longitude -77.0136 Physiographic province Western Shore Coastal Terrestrial site Underwater site Elevation 15 m Site slope 0-10% Ethnobotany profile available Maritime site Nearest Surface Water

Site setting Topography Ownership Name (if any) Unnamed tributary of Port -Site Setting restricted Floodplain High terrace Private Saltwater Freshwater -Lat/Long accurate to within 1 sq. mile, user may Hilltop/bluff Rockshelter/ Federal Ocean Stream/river need to make slight adjustments in mapping to cave Interior flat State of MD account for sites near state/county lines or streams Estuary/tidal river Swamp Hillslope Upland flat Regional/ Unknown county/city Tidewater/marsh Lake or pond Ridgetop Other Unknown Spring Terrace Low terrace Minimum distance to water is 0 m

Temporal & Ethnic Contextual Data: Contact period site Y ca. 1820 - 1860 Y Ethnic Associations (historic only)

Paleoindian site Woodland site ca. 1630 - 1675 Y ca. 1860 - 1900 Y Native American Y Asian American Archaic site MD Adena ca. 1675 - 1720 Y ca. 1900 - 1930 African American Y Unknown Early archaic Early woodland Y ca. 1720 - 1780 Y Post 1930 Anglo-American Y Other MIddle archaic Mid. woodland Y ca. 1780 - 1820 Y Hispanic Late archaic Y Late woodland Y Unknown historic context Unknown prehistoric context Unknown context Y=Confirmed, P=Possible

Site Function Contextual Data: Historic Furnace/forge Military Post-in-ground Urban/Rural? Rural Other Battlefield Frame-built Domestic Prehistoric Transportation Fortification Masonry Homestead Multi-component Misc. ceremonial Canal-related Encampment Other structure Farmstead Village Rock art Road/railroad Townsite Slave related Hamlet Shell midden Mansion Wharf/landing Religious Non-domestic agri Plantation Base camp STU/lithic scatter Maritime-related Church/mtg house Recreational Rockshelter/cave Quarry/extraction Row/townhome Bridge Ch support bldg Cellar Midden/dump Earthen mound Fish weir Ford Burial area Cairn Production area Privy Artifact scatter Educational Cemetery Burial area Unknown Industrial Spring or well Commercial Sepulchre Other context Mining-related Trading post Isolated burial Unknown trading post? Quarry-related Store Other context Mill Bldg or foundation Tavern/inn Black/metalsmith Possible Structure trading post

Interpretive Sampling Data: Prehistoric context samples Soil samples taken N Historic context samples Soil samples taken N Flotation samples taken N Other samples taken Flotation samples taken N Other samples taken Phase II and Phase III Archeological Database and Inventory Site Number: 18CH94 Site Name: Port Tobacco Prehistoric Other name(s) Historic

Brief Late Archaic,Early, Middle, & Late Woodland camps; 17th and 18th century Colonial town, Unknown Description: Contact trading post

Diagnostic Artifact Data: Prehistoric Sherd Types Shepard Keyser

Projectile Point Types Koens-Crispin Marcey Creek Popes Creek Townsend 63 Yeocomico 3 Clovis Perkiomen Dames Qtr Coulbourn Minguannan Monongahela Hardaway-Dalton Susquehana Selden Island Watson Sullivan Cove Palmer Vernon Accokeek 18 Mockley 14 Shenks Ferry Kirk (notch) Piscataway Wolfe Neck Clemson Island Moyaone 240 Kirk (stem) Calvert Vinette Page Potomac Cr 138

Le Croy Selby Bay Historic Sherd Types Ironstone 154 Staffordshire 281 Stoneware Earthenware English Brown 67 Morrow Mntn Jacks Rf (notch) Jackfield 18 Tin Glazed 4821 Astbury Eng Dry-bodie Guilford Jacks Rf (pent) Mn Mottled 7 Whiteware 4409 Borderware Brewerton Madison/Potomac Nottingham 10 North Devon 4 Porcelain 913 Buckley 291 Rhenish 75 Otter Creek Levanna Pearlware 2532 Creamware 3255 All quantities exact or estimated minimal counts Wt Salt-glazed 1421

Other Artifact & Feature Types: Prehistoric Features Lithic Material Fer quartzite Sil sandstone Prehistoric Artifacts Other fired clay Mound(s) Storage/trash pit Jasper Chalcedony European flint Flaked stone 2130 Human remain(s) Midden Burial(s) Chert Ironstone Basalt Ground stone Modified faunal Shell midden Ossuary Rhyolite Argilite Unknown Stone bowls Unmod faunal Postholes/molds Unknown Quartz Steatite Other Fire-cracked rock 165 Oyster shell House pattern(s) Other Quartzite Sandstone

Other lithics (all) 9 Floral material Palisade(s) Dated features present at site Ceramics (all) 527 Uncommon Obj. Hearth(s) Rimsherds Other glass trade Lithic reduc area beads

Historic Artifacts Historic Features Tobacco related 528 Privy/outhouse Depression/mound Unknown Pottery (all) 22512 Activity item(s) 163 Const feature Well/cistern Burial(s) Other Glass (all) 17462 Human remain(s) Foundation Trash pit/dump Railroad bed Architectural 28244 Faunal material Cellar hole/cellar Furniture 18 Misc. kitchen 12826 Sheet midden Earthworks Hearth/chimney Arms 20 Floral material Planting feature Mill raceway Postholes/molds Clothing 97 Misc. 18863 Road/walkway Wheel pit Personal items 9 Other metal Paling ditch/fence All quantities exact or estimated minimal counts fragments, slag

Radiocarbon Data: Sample 1: +/- years BP Reliability Sample 2: +/- years BP Reliability Sample 3: +/- years BP Reliability

Sample 4: +/- years BP Reliability Sample 5: +/- years BP Reliability Sample 6: +/- years BP Reliability

Sample 7: +/- years BP Reliability Sample 8: +/- years BP Reliability Sample 9: +/- years BP Reliability

Additional radiocarbon results available Phase II and Phase III Archeological Database and Inventory Site Number: 18CH94 Site Name: Port Tobacco Prehistoric Other name(s) Historic

Brief Late Archaic,Early, Middle, & Late Woodland camps; 17th and 18th century Colonial town, Unknown Description: Contact trading post

External Samples/Data: Collection curated at Society for the Restoration of Port Tobacco Additional raw data may be available online

Summary Description: The Port Tobacco site (18CH94) consists of the various archeological remains associated with the 17th and 18th century colonial town of the same name at the head of the Port Tobacco River in Charles County. A number of standing 18th century dwellings and other structures are situated throughout the town, which served as the seat of Charles County government from 1727 to 1895. The town is situated on the east bank of the river, an area that in colonial times was at the head of the navigable waterway. The river valley was broad and well-defined by moderately sharp rises on both sides of the floodplain. Due to extensive erosion and siltation due to historic farming practices, the historic port is entirely silted in today, a situation which cut off Port Tobacco from the Chesapeake Bay and led to the village’s steady decline. There are no obvious traces of period vegetation at the site, most of it having succumbed to town development and post-abandonment agriculture. Soils at the site are predominantly Woodstown sandy loams.

As early as 1634, the English Settlers of Maryland had established a small settlement on the east bank of what was then called the “Potapoco” River, so named for the local Indian inhabitants of the area. The community eventually came to be known as “Chandler’s Town”, after one of the prominent landowners in the region. English settlement at the time was still largely de-centralized, with large tracts of land held as plantations for the culture of tobacco.

The Lords Baltimore, proprietors of the Maryland colony, had long endeavored to erect towns throughout the colony. These central places would have encouraged tradesmen and promoted economic growth, as well as insure efficient collection of duties, fines, and other Proprietary revenues. Despite a series of laws passed between the 1660s and the early 1700s (the town acts), few towns were ever realized. The tobacco plant as a staple of the economy and the interests of the planters were ill-suited to the village and outfield system of Great Britain and Ireland. Many towns were platted, but never actually settled. Nevertheless, a few towns were established in the 17th century, most surviving only briefly. Port Tobacco was an exception.

Prior to 1727, the county seat for Charles County was situated a little over 3 miles to the east on the Moore’s Lodge tract (see synopsis for 18CH777). Both areas are sometimes referred to in the early records of the colony as “Port Tobacco”, leading to considerable confusion. “Port Tobacco” was an anglicized version of Potapoco which also emphasized the major export commodity of the region at that time. During the waning decades of the 17th century, Chandler’s Town/Port Tobacco grew to become Maryland’s second-largest river port (after St. Mary’s City). By 1727, the Charles County magistrates had determined that the old courthouse at Moore’s Lodge was, “so far impaired, ruined, and decayed, that there is a Necessity for erecting a new One; and that the Place where the Court-house now stands, is so remote from any Landing, that the Charge of bringing Materials together, by Land Carriage, for that End, will be much greater than if the same was to be built at the Head of Port-Tobacco Creek, where they may be easily Waterborn…”. The Maryland Assembly soon passed legislation authorizing a new courthouse at Chandler’s Town, the purchase of 60 acres from William Chandler for 15,000 pounds of tobacco, and the sale of the government facilities at Moore’s Lodge.

After the move of the county seat, Chandler’s Town was “officially” renamed “Charles Town”, but the name never caught on. The name Charles Town lingered in official documents, including deeds, but most locals appear to have preferred the name Port Tobacco. The courthouse opened between January 1728 and August 1729. The last town act in 1729 specified 60 acres for the town divided into 100 lots with streets, alleys, and a market square. The Anglican Church and the market place each had one acre reserved for their respective uses. Three lots previously had been taken up at the time the county surveyor, Major Robert Hanson, surveyed and lotted the town. Forty-three other lots were taken up over the next two years. Owners of six lots had to reenter their claims because they failed to meet the conditions established in the Act of the General Assembly for the laying out of the town. Each owner was required to erect a dwelling measuring at least 20 ft on a side within 18 months or risk escheatment to Lord Baltimore. By the last quarter of the 18th century, there were anywhere from 20 to 50 houses, a half dozen ordinaries and taverns, and as many stores, mostly run by Scotch firms.

Port Tobacco declined during the post-Revolutionary War economic depression, but seems to have improved after the War of 1812. A spate of public building, including the 1818 courthouse and jail, occurred through the latter part of the first quarter of the 19th century, and the town successfully incorporated in 1860. By the middle of the 19th century, the town had a newspaper and several hotels, and by the end of the century there were as many as 20 commercial establishments, including two newspapers, and 60 to 70 dwellings in and near the town.

Port Tobacco grew as a small town at the intersection of land-based and water-borne transportation networks. As he railroads and, eventually, automobiles became the principal means of moving people and produce, at the expense of boats and steamships, the town’s location at the head of the Port Tobacco River became peripheral to the county’s growth. On January 1, 1873, the Popes Creek Branch of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad opened for regular service between Upper Marlboro in Prince George’s County to Popes Creek, Maryland. The people of La Plata, a station on the newly erected railroad, sought to move the county seat to their new town. Their efforts finally succeeded after 20 years in 1895, three years after fire destroyed much of the courthouse in Port Tobacco. The town declined afterward. Where La Plata was not even included on an 1861 map, it appears in bolder, larger type than does Port Tobacco on an 1897 map of the area.

Local archeological enthusiasts have undertaken excavations at Port Tobacco since at least the 1960s and 70s (and perhaps as early as the 1930s). The first excavation for which we have any detailed information was that of the early 19th century courthouse, which had largely burned in 1892, the surviving wings subsequently appropriated for other uses. The work was initiated in anticipation of a state-funded reconstruction of the courthouse and was directed by a US Army Captain working on behalf of the Research Committee for the Port Tobacco Court House Restoration Committee. The crew for the project included groups of Boy Scouts, local high school students, and a variety of other volunteers. Work was carried out sporadically from 1966 to 1968 and a total of at least 22 whole, and 11 partial units were excavated. The units are believed to have been 3 X 3 meters (10 X 10 ft) in extent based on the grid size used by the project director. Large portions of the courthouse’s masonry foundations (main block, south wing, north wing) were exposed. Field directors noted the recovery of a substantial number of hand-made rosehead nails and foundations in the southwest corner of the courthouse that appeared inconsistent with the rest of the building. It was speculated that this area might represent remnants of an earlier building.

A Gerry Bradley of Annapolis reportedly conducted some sort of excavation work at the site in the early 1970s, uncovering what was thought to be a brick clamp. Also in the 1970s, a local collector named John Wearmouth was active at the site. Several local informants relate that Wearmouth excavated inside the ruins of the St. Cahrles Hotel, exposing a herringbone-patterned brick floor and removing as much as 60% of the deposits before the property owner requested an end to the work. In December of 1977, an Edith Sprouse conveyed a collection of artifacts from the “chapel area south and adjacent to the Court House” to John and Roberta Wearmouth made by someone named “Curt” or “Curts”. Phase II and Phase III Archeological Database and Inventory Site Number: 18CH94 Site Name: Port Tobacco Prehistoric Other name(s) Historic

Brief Late Archaic,Early, Middle, & Late Woodland camps; 17th and 18th century Colonial town, Unknown Description: Contact trading post

In 1971 a study was made of a series of Ektachrome transparencies, or slides, taken during flyovers of Port Tobacco. He identified 85 anomalies in the town, some of which could be seen on the gorund. None appear to have been ground-truthed through excavation. A report from 1971 survives, but the whereabouts of the original slides is no known. Most of these anomalies match up with the various structures/loci documented with Maryland Inventory of Historic Places (MIHP) site numbers within 18CH94 by MHT.

Beginning in 2006, a multi-year research program began at Port Tobacco. The work was funded by a variety of sources and with the assistance of numerous volunteers and crewmembers (primarily members of the Archeological Society of Maryland), but has been collectively referred to as the “Port Tobacco Archaeological Project” (PTAP).

In the fall of 2006, a Phase I survey was carried out over 9 acres in the southern portion of Port Tobacco to determine the approximate historical layout of this portion of the town of Port Tobacco. The work was carried out on portions of 3 different family lots, as well as on the lot of the 18th century Burch House, the restoration of which was being planned at the time. Though portions of the 2006 work fell within the boundaries of 18CH765 (the Burch House/MIHP# CH-23), all of the collection is cataloged here as part of 18CH94 (Port Tobacco) because the two sites are not disentangled in the original site reports. A Non-Capital grant for archeological survey, awarded to the Archeological Society of Maryland by the Maryland Historical Trust, underwrote a large part of the effort. The membership of the Society and other volunteers from around Maryland and neighboring states assisted in the field and laboratory work.

The 2006 fieldwork entailed the excavation of 349 shovel test pits (STPs) and three test units at Port Tobacco. STPs were excavated at 7.62 m (25 ft) intervals throughout most of the southern half of Port Tobacco and at 6.1 m (20 ft) intervals across the yard of the Burch House. STPs were excavated by hand and ranged in diameter from 36.6-45.7 cm (1.2-1.5 ft) and reached depths of 15.2-106.7 cm (.5-3.5 ft) below grade. Prolonged drought and, in most units, dense gravelly sediments, made penetration with a shovel difficult. Digging bars had to be used on most STPs. Thus, artifacts recovered from the STPs were not recorded by stratigraphic layer and STPs were treated as a single unit. Soils were meticulously described in terms of textures, colors, etc.and all soils were screened through hardware cloth. Precise STP locations were recorded using a total station.

Two of the test units were 91 X 91 cm (3 X 3 ft) in extent, while the other unit was 152 X 152 cm (5 X 5 ft). The larger unit and one of the smaller units were situated in the Burch House yard. The other smaller unit was placed in front of the reconstructed courthouse building. The two smaller units were excavated stratigraphically and the artifacts were bagged by natural stratum and levels (depth of levels not described) within strata. Excavation of the larger units involved only sod removal above a brick pavement and foundation segments of a probable house addition and no artifacts were recovered from the unit. All soils were screened through hardware cloth. Brick, oyster, and coal were weighed, counted, and discarded in the field, but all other materials were retained.

Shovel testing at the site revealed rich artifact deposits, complex stratigraphy, architectural features, and aboriginal occupations. Initial results suggest that Native Americans occupied the banks of the Port Tobacco River during the Woodland periods and possibly earlier. The distribution of aboriginal material, chiefly lithics and pottery with some fire-cracked rock, suggests one or more shifts in the river’s course.

Shovel testing identified 20 areas with intact brick foundations, masonry rubble, or (in one case) a posthole. As many as 10 building sites have been identified, provisionally, and a number of them can be characterized with confidence as 18th century buildings occupied well into the 19th century.

Distributions of handwrought and machine-cut nails also betray the locations of several buildings, and these distributions also suggest settlement stability. Building sites characterized by brick and machine-cut nails (later) mirror those of brick and handwrought nails (earlier). The distributions of Colonial vs. Antebellum ceramics, coupled with the brick and nails data, suggest stability in the spatial organization of the village, with 18th century locales occupied well into the 19th century. This suggests that an 1888 survey of the property may fairly accurately reflect the spatial layout of the town in earlier decades.

A total of 24,279 artifacts were recovered during the 2006 survey of 18CH94. The assemblage included 151 activity items (hardware), 8,638 architectural artifacts, 34 clothing items, 16 furniture artifacts, 12,188 kitchen-related items (including 17 tin-glazed earthenware sherds, 6 creamware sherds, 19 pearlware sherds, 56 whiteware sherds, 1 redware sherd, 3 yelloware sherds, 1 Westerwald stoneware sherd, 18 other ceramic sherds, 11 pieces of wine bottle glass, 51 machine-molded glass vessels, and 9,160 vessels), 238 tobacco-related artifacts, 8 arms objects (including 1 English flint flake), and 3,006 miscellaneous objects (including 1,443 fuel objects, 3 ecofacts, 566 lithic items, 66 indeterminate objects). It should be noted that the full site report does not distinguish between historic lithics or prehistoric lithics, or (with a few diagnostic exceptions) between various vessel types (historic, prehistoric, glass, ceramics, etc.), so the materials are cataloged here and in the tables above simply as miscellaneous or kitchen items respectively.

Recovery of a considerable quantity of bone, including fish scales and other fragile specimens, suggests excellent preservation of the site deposits. This observation is further supported by the discovery of intact brick foundations and at least one posthole. The high degree of preservation may be due to the cumulative (as opposed to deflationary) nature of the deposits. Erosion and deep plowing have taken a toll on archeological sites throughout Maryland, particularly in the uplands. Ironically, the same forces that have contributed to the degradation and destruction of upland sites have contributed to the preservation of Port Tobacco in the floodplain. Many shovel tests revealed deep gravelly sediments, sediments known to have been cultivated in the 1930s and within the past 20 years. And those deposits appear to contain a mixture of Colonial and later artifacts. However, underlying sediments also have yielded artifacts that appear to date to the 18th and early 19th centuries.

In the summer and fall of 2007 another survey was carried out at Port Tobacco, this time focusing on the northern portion of the site and the village core. Shovel testing was carried out in the general vicinity of two 18th century standing structures: the Volman (or Chimney House) property and the Barbour (or Stagg Hall) property. Additional survey (controlled surface collection) was carried out in the fields south of the town as part of the larger project, but this work fell outside the boundaries of 18CH94. Fieldwork was carried out by volunteers with the Archeological Society of Maryland and with support (funding and some staff time) from the Maryland Historical Trust. Additional funding was provided by Preservation Maryland and the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium.

Shovel testing in 2007 was carried out at 7.62 m (25 ft) intervals at the Chimney House (MIHP# CH-14) and Stagg Hall (MIHP# CH-13) properties. This area encompasses what an 1888 survey of the town identified as the “core” of the village. Shovel testing utilized the same methods as were employed during the 2006 study. Twenty-two STPs were excavated in the yard of Stagg Hall and 40 were excavated in the vicinity of the Chimney House.

The 2007 STPs at 18CH94 produced 2,382 artifacts. Large quantities of brick rubble, an especially deep cultural deposit, and an oyster shell midden 73 and more cm below grade were encountered on the Chimney House property. It was noted that very few artifacts were found in the front yard of the Chimney House compared to the front yard of Stagg Hall, though the composition of the two assemblages (in terms of artifact types) was similar. The rear yard of the Phase II and Phase III Archeological Database and Inventory Site Number: 18CH94 Site Name: Port Tobacco Prehistoric Other name(s) Historic

Brief Late Archaic,Early, Middle, & Late Woodland camps; 17th and 18th century Colonial town, Unknown Description: Contact trading post

Chimney House was surprisingly unproductive. This proved disappointing insofar as the Atzerodt carriage shop was long held to be just behind the Chimney House on what was known as the marsh road. The setting, however, is unsuitable for any buildings.

The 2007 excavations produced 2,325 historic artifacts and 57 prehistoric artifacts. The prehistoric assemblage consisted of 2 projectile points, 38 flakes, 16 fire-cracked rocks, and 1 sherd of prehistoric pottery. The historic assemblage included 4 activity items (a glass marble, 2 horseshoes, and a staple), 952 architectural artifacts (284 pieces of brick, 169 window glass fragments, 14 wire nails, 12 handwrought nails, 184 machine-cut nails, and 289 unidentified nails), 3 clothing objects (a metal button, a pin, and a snap), 1 furniture object (a tack), 1,333 kitchen-related artifacts (423 ceramic sherds, 639 glass fragments, a spoon, 100 animal bones, and 170 pieces of oyster shell), 5 personal objects (coins), and 27 tobacco-related artifacts/pipe fragments. The kitchen ceramic assemblage included 21 tin-glazed sherds, 68 creamware, 52 pearlware, 13 miscellaneous earthenware, 21 Chinese export porcelain, 2 other porcelain, 148 whiteware, 20 yelloware, 21 redware, 5 English Brown stoneware, 1 Nottingham stoneware, 4 Rhenish stoneware, 20 white salt-glazed stoneware, 2 Westerwald, and 25 miscellaneous stoneware sherds. The kitchen glass included 11 hand-tooled vessel fragments, 20 machine-made vessel fragments, 8 wine bottle glass fragments, and 600 other vessel glass pieces.

The Archeological Society of Maryland returned to 18CH94 in June of 2008 as part of the Society’s Annual Field Session in Archeology. Based on the results of the 2007 shovel testing survey as well as archival research, four loci within the village core were chosen for further investigation through the excavation of test units. The locations chosen corresponded to the former locale of the Wade House/Centennial Hotel complex (MIHP# CH-263), a locus of apparent aboriginal activity, a possible historic cemetery, and the location of the 1859-1896 jailhouse (MIHP# CH-172).

The field team excavated 24 units, all of which were 1.524 X 1.524 m in extent with the exception of a 61 cm (2 ft) by 3 m (10 ft) trench excavated in search of the jailhouse foundations. Units were excavated stratigraphically and all soils were screened through hardware cloth and the artifacts retained by unit and stratum. The volunteers recorded all soil colors and textures, with particular attention to the constituent textures as data on sedimentation. All units were established, and the levels subsequently measured, with a total station.

Seven test units were situated in the aboriginal locus identified during the 2007 shovel testing. Beneath the plowzone in this area was a thin layer of dark yellowish brown and dark brown sandy clay (interpreted as a buried A-horizon). Beneath this a brick and mortar rubble layer was identified in 6 of the 7 units. This brick feature was nearly fully exposed, but was not excavated, instead it was covered with plastic and the units were backfilled. It was posited that the feature might represent cellar fill or fill within a series of overlapping barrow pits. The seventh unit, which was situated just to the west of the 6 adjacent units that exposed the feature, also revealed a feature and produced the greatest number of prehistoric artifacts. The unit revealed a single posthole and mold complex along its west wall.

A total of 16,041 artifacts were recovered from the “aboriginal locus”, 1,058 of which were aboriginal in origin. The aboriginal assemblage included 8 projectile points, 9 other bifaces, 697 flakes, 2 hammerstones, 49 pieces of fire-cracked rock, and 293 pottery sherds (10 Accokeek, 8 Mockley, 149 Moyaone, 73 Potomac Creek, 20 Townsend, 3 Yeocomico, and 30 indeterminate). Historic materials included 1,862 nails (49 handwrought, 484 machine-cut, 4 wire, 1,325 indeterminate), 1,995 window glass fragments, 4,842 ceramic sherds (108 Buckley, 3 North Devon, 42 North Italian earthenware, 144 Staffordshire slipware, 904 tin-glazed earthenware, 703 creamware, 627 pearlware, 1,114 other earthenware, 260 redware, 196 whiteware, 22 yelloware, 189 Chinese export porcelain, 8 other porcelain, 14 British Brown stoneware, 1 Nottingham stoneware, 4 Rhenish stoneware, 4 Westerwald, 419 white salt-glazed stoneware, and 80 miscellaneous stoneware), 208 pipestems, and 6,076 miscellaneous objects. Diagnostics range from the early 18th century into the 19th.

During the shovel testing work in 2007, a shovel test revealed a soil anomaly in an area where relatively few artifacts were recovered in nearby STPs. The soil anomaly appeared to be quite deep, but the paucity of domestic and architectural materials in the vicinity was inconsistent with a cellar, boorow pit, or posthole. Researchers suspected it was a graveshaft. During the June 2008 field session, volunteers excavated 3 test units in the area of the potential cemetery. These units exposed four possible partial graveshafts and a likely paling fence ditch defining the eastern edge of a cemetery of unknown extent.

Artifacts in this cemetery locus were few, highly fragmented, and largely historic (1,045 of 1,371 objects). The prehistoric artifact assemblage in the cemetery locus included 3 projectile points, 3 aboriginal sherds, 312 flakes, and 11 pieces of fire-cracked rock. One of only three aboriginal sherds was identifiable (Townsend Cord-marked). Two of the three projectile points were stemmed and likely of Archaic vintage. The presence of fire-cracked rock suggests aboriginal activities beyond simple knapping. Most of the debitage comprised locally avialbale quartz and quartzite.

The historic assemblage consisted of 18 pieces of daub, 122 indeterminate nails, 5 pieces of roofing slate, 20 tin-glazed earthenware, 59 creamware, 45 pearlware, 134 other earthenware, 11 Chinese porcelain, 20 redware, 25 whiteware, 1 British Brown stoneware, 4 Rhenish Brown stoneware, 8 white salt- glazed stoneware sherds, 18 unidentified stoneware, 79 wine bottle fragments, 114 machine-molded vessel glass fragments, 347 other vessel glass fragments, 7 tobacco-related items, and 5 pieces of coal. The historic ceramic and glass vessel sherds suggest occupation through the late 18th and 19th centuries. Based on shovel test data from the previous year, these materials probably relate to the nearby Swann House, a 19th century dwelling south of the locus. The earlier materials could point to an entirely distinct houselot. The discovery of graveshafts in this locus suggests the proximity of the 1727 Anglican Church at Port Tobacco, a lot for which was laid out in the Town Act of 1727, or perhaps an earlier church. Either way, it was likely of earthfast construction.

Oral history and archival research provided an approximate location for the former Port Tobacco jailhouse. A local resident, James Barbour, had recounted to the field crew how his cousin had died from a fall while dismantling the jail. Another local resident, Calvin Compton, Jr., recalled the structure still standing in the 1940s. The 2007 shovel testing had failed to definitively identify the location of the jail, so placement of two initial test units was based on estimates from a photograph. Both units encountered a septic drain field. Since this area was highly disturbed, volunteers began scouring a patch of woods about 15 meters away from the drain field in search of the former jail. They discovered brick, mortar, plaster, and portions of a decorative iron fence on the surface.

Clearing of the brush from this wooded area revealed a large mound of masonry rubble, and several shovel probes revealed deep deposits of rubble as well as 18th, 19th, and 20th century artifacts. A 76 X 305 cm (2.5 X 10 ft) trench exposed only demolition debris. A series of four contiguous units was then excavated to the west of the trench, each exposing a portion of masonry foundation. At one point, the foundation seemed to reach a corner and so STPs were dug as 1.524 m (5 ft) intervals beginning 4.6 m (15 ft) from the southernmost foundation exposure. The STPs hit foundation remnants at each location. An additional two test units were then dug in the vicinity of the furthest STP. The wall, strangely, appeared to terminate there.

This locus yielded 2,160 artifacts, the vast majority being historic in origin. Of 377 identifiable nails in the assemblage, only two are handwrought, supporting the hypothesis that the foundations revealed were those of the ca. 1859 jailhouse. However, numerous 18th and early 19th century ceramic sherds were recovered. It is possible that the site of the 1859 jail occupied the site of an earlier trash midden that may have been associated with the jail. According to Phase II and Phase III Archeological Database and Inventory Site Number: 18CH94 Site Name: Port Tobacco Prehistoric Other name(s) Historic

Brief Late Archaic,Early, Middle, & Late Woodland camps; 17th and 18th century Colonial town, Unknown Description: Contact trading post county records, a jail built in 1811 stood until the 1859 jail was finished. The County Commisioners ordered the demolition of the 1811 jailhouse in September 1861. Local resident James Barbour noted that a Clayton Rice had added to the dilapidated 1859 jailhouse in the 20th century and moved into it, having abandoned his “shack” in front of the courthouse ruin. The 40 wire nails and 71 sherds of modern vessel glass may have been left by Rice.

The full assemblage from this area consisted of 2 handwrought nails, 335 machine-cut nails, 40 wire nails, 186 other nails, 32 pieces of roofing slate, 508 pieces of window glass, 499 ceramic sherds (1 Buckley, 18 tin-glazed earthenware, 14 creamware, 195 pearlware, 12 Chinese-export porcelain, 3 later porcelain, 39 other earthenware, 30 redware, 118 whiteware, 10 yelloware, 1 ironstone, 1 British-brown stoneware, 1 Rhenish Brown stoneware, 6 white salt- glazed stoneware, and 50 other stoneware), 19 pieces of wine bottle, 2 pieces of milk glass, 72 machine-molded bottle glass fragments, 411 other vessel glass fragments, 16 tobacco pipe fragments, 1 stone projectile point, and 35 lithic flakes.

The final area tested in June of 2008 was in the vicinity of the former Wade House and Centennial Hotel. It was tested with six formal test units. Photographs of the Wade House depict a frame structure with exterior double chimneys of brick at each end, suggesting that it was built in the 18th or early 19th century and was demolished in the early 20th century. The Centennial Hotel was a frame addition to the Wade House, presumably built in the late 19th century. Two test units were situated in the Wade House area (in a presumed cellar hole) and four test units were situated in the vicinity of the hotel addition.

The two test units in the Wade House cellar hole encountered dense deposits of masonry rubble. A total of 4,878 artifacts were recovered from atop the rubble. The assemblage consisted of 1 lightbulb, 25 pieces of asbestos tile, 9 handwrought nails, 148 machine cut nails, 19 wire nails, 620 other nails, 4 metal buckles, 1 bone button, 3 metal buttons, 5 plastic buttons, 3 shell buttons, 416 ceramic sherds (38 tin-glazed earthenware, 1 North Devon earthenware, 9 Buckley, 77 creamware, 82 pearlware, 51 other earthenware, 17 Chinese export porcelain, 3 other porcelain, 103 whiteware, 6 redware, 1 yelloware, 5 white salt-glazed stoneware, 23 other stoneware), 55 glass jar fragments, 110 wine bottle fragments, 189 machine-molded vessel fragments, 1,331 other vessel glass fragments, 13 metal can fragments, 1 spoon, 129 bone fragments, 3 coins, 1 pair of eyeglasses, 2 keys, and 1,785 miscellaneous objects.

The four contiguous units at the Centennial Hotel encountered no cellar holes or other features. Instead they exposed a complex series of soils suggesting considerable earthmoving. It is possible that this area may have provided some of the fill that was used in the early to mid 20th century to fill the depression left by the Wade House cellar and possibly a cellar for the Centennial Hotel. The excavation crew recovered 5,903 artifacts. The 2008 assemblage from this locus consisted of 2 dice, 1 lock, 1 ceramic doll fragment, 1 metal buckle, 2 bone buttons, 3 metal buttons, 2 plastic buttons, 15 handwrought nails, 203 machine-cut nails, 1 wire nail, 486 other nails, 1,819 ceramic sherds (620 tin-glazed earthenware, 37 Buckley, 40 Staffordshire slipware, 38 North Italian earthenwares, 102 creamware, 202 pearlware, 391 other earthenware, 51 redware, 36 whiteware, 3 yelloware, 82 Chinese export porcelain, 23 other porcelain, 10 English Brown stoneware, 2 Nottingham stoneware, 7 Rhenish stoneware, 5 Westerwald stoneware, 136 white salt-glazed stoneware, 34 other stoneware), 744 wine bottle fragments, 714 other vessel glass fragments, 456 bone fragments, and 1408 miscellaneous objects. Aboriginal objects included 1 glass trade bead (counted as a historic personal item), and 43 ceramic sherds (4 Accokeek, 13 Moyaone, 8 Potomac Creek, 13 Townsend, and 5 other).

Volunteers with the ASM returned to Port Tobacco in 2009 to conduct additional fieldwork, returning to some of the locations that had been tested in previous years. Fieldwork in 2009 continued excavation work in the aboriginal and cemetery loci (the latter determined not to be a cemetery, but a structure location), and new excavations at the Swann House and two test loci in a field east of the Swann House.

Excavations at the “aboriginal locus” involved the re-opening of six previously excavated units to expose the aforementioned brick rubble feature and the addition of 4 additional test units. In this locus, each test unit was excavated stratigraphically and independent of the other units. Only one of the new units was excavated completely as excavations of the other 3 units stopped, as planned, upon exposure of the brick rubble. This brick rubble feature is associated with 9 of the 11 units excavated in this area. Two possible postmolds and one definite posthole/mold complex was found in the area. The results suggest a possible 18th century earthfast structure with a chimney collapse covering a series of borrow pits. More evidence of the Contact Period aboriginal component was found in the forms of pottery and lithics.

A total of 11,789 artifacts were recovered from the “aboriginal locus” during 2009, 730 of which were aboriginal in origin and 11,059 of historic origin. The aboriginal assemblage included 3 projectile points, 9 other bifaces, 1 core, 493 flakes, 50 pieces of fire-cracked rock, 1 other lithic, and 173 pottery sherds (4 Accokeek, 6 Mockley, 77 Moyaone, 48 Potomac Creek, 27 Townsend/Rappahannock, and 11 indeterminate). Historic materials recovered from this locus included 1,264 nails (692 handwrought, 233 machine-cut nails, 1 machine-cut/hand-headed nail, 10 wire, and 328 indeterminate), 3,254 ceramic sherds (93 Buckley, 3 Jackfield, 1 North Devon, 75 Staffordshire Slipware, 566 tin-glazed earthenware, 595 creamware, 290 pearlware, 192 other earthenware, 60 redware, 658 whiteware, 16 ironstone, 29 yelloware, 52 Chinese export porcelain, 85 other porcelain, 9 British Brown stoneware, 2 Nottingham stoneware, 7 Rhenish stoneware, 4 Westerwald stoneware, 313 white salt-glazed stoneware, 64 miscellaneous stoneware, and 140 other sherds), and 6,541 miscellaneous objects.

Upon further examination of the cemetery locus (3 re-opened units and 20 additional units), the features found during the 2008 fieldwork, thought to be graveshafts, were in fact a series of six very large postholes and molds. These postholes indicate the presence of a substantial structure, as do the many nails recovered. The paucity of brick recovered, argues against the presence of a chimney. Just east of this structure, another block of units (to the north) exposed a midden area containing many large butchered mammal bones, and large oyster shells. All soils excavated from the midden had to be water- screened through nylon window screen and the residuum separated through flotation in a compressed-air system. Ten small postholes with molds were also found in the area. Eight of them formed two lines running grid northwest to southeast. These were thought to be the remnants of a fence with the midden forming in a shallow depression prior to the installation of the fence.

Only select artifacts from this area are described in the full site report for the 2009 work. Historic objects recovered from this locus included 2 pieces of brick, 12 nails, 8 window glass fragments, 1 glass button, 1 pin, 1 drawer pull, 2 tin-glazed earthenware sherds, 8 redware sherds, 17 creamware sherds, 5 pearlware sherds, 2 other earthenware sherds, 5 whiteware sherd, 1 white salt-glazed stoneware sherd, 3 other stoneware sherds, 11 pieces of wine bottle glass, 1 blown-in-mold bottle fragment, 1 other bottle glass, 1 tobacco pipe stem, 5 pieces of lead shot, 6 unidentified metal pieces, 1 piece of charcoal

Aboriginal artifacts also occurred in this area, primarily in plowzone contexts. The assemblage included 6 projectile points (all dating to the Archaic period, and most the Late Archaic), 28 flakes, and 12 pieces of shatter. There was also a piece of Potomac Creek pottery from the Late and a possible glass trade bead recovered.

Test excavations in the vicinity of the Swann House (MIHP# CH-261) locus proved inconclusive, four test units were placed in a hedgerow west of a farm field and next to a pile of field stones and debris in hopes of finding the remains of the Swann House, a former 19th century frame dwelling that was home to a free Phase II and Phase III Archeological Database and Inventory Site Number: 18CH94 Site Name: Port Tobacco Prehistoric Other name(s) Historic

Brief Late Archaic,Early, Middle, & Late Woodland camps; 17th and 18th century Colonial town, Unknown Description: Contact trading post black man named James Swann and his family. Freed from slavery long before the Civil War, Swann worked as an oysterman and purchased a house on the south side of town out of which he and his family would eventually operate an oyster house or restaurant. The restaurant, per necessity, catered largely to a white clientele. The Swanns operated this business until James Swann’s death in the 1870s. Artifacts ranging from the 18th through the 20th centuries were recovered from this area, but no structural features were identified.

The 2009 assemblage from this locus included 2,500 artifacts, 198 of which were aboriginal in origin. The aboriginal assemblage consisted of 2 projectile points, 4 bifaces, 107 flakes, 59 pieces of shatter, 1 other lithic, 22 pieces of fire-cracked rock, 2 Rappahanock sherds, and 1 Moyaone sherd. The historic assemblage consisted of 24 handwrought nails, 29 machine-cut nails, 6 wire nails, 277 other nails, 816 ceramic sherds (3 Jackfield, 2 Staffordshire slipware, 30 tin-glazed earthenware, 215 creamware, 81 pearlware, 46 other earthenware, 15 Chinese porcelain, 14 other porcelain, 286 whiteware, 9 yelloware, 52 redware, 6 ironstone, 36 white salt-glazed stoneware, 1 Nottingham stoneware, 2 Rhenish stoneware, 18 other stoneware), 1 fish bone, and 84 mammal bones. A small amount of oyster shell was also recovered.

Two test units were excavated in a field east of the Swann House where an earlier STP had identified some aboriginal material. These units did not reveal any more evidence of native occupation than did other areas of Port Tobacco. Both units were excavated through plowzone to a buried soil surface with several features present. In one unit a triangular soil stain of uncertain origin and function was identified It was surrounded only by lithic artifacts. In the other, two features were identified: a dark brown soil stain containing bone, oyster shell and historic artifacts and a possible postmold.

A total of 5,293 artifacts were recovered from this locus, 160 of which were aboriginal. The majority of these were lithics, although a glass trade bead and Potomac Creek sherds were also found. The aboriginal assemblage consisted of 104 flakes, 40 pieces of shatter, 7 pieces of fire-cracked rock, 8 Potomac Creek sherds and a glass trade bead.

Of the remaining 3,545 historic artifacts, only the 1,748 ceramic sherds are enumerated in the report. Thus, the remaining objects are simply categorized in the tables above as 1,797 miscellaneous objects. The ceramic assemblage consisted of 4 Buckley, 4 Jackfield, 6 Staffordshire slipware, 226 tin-glazed earthenware, 252 creamware, 138 pearlware, 149 other earthenware, 35 Chinese export porcelain, 13 other porcelain, 44 ironstone, 592 whiteware, 51 redware, 38 yelloware, 93 white salt-glazed stoneware, 6 British Brown stoneware, 1 Nottingham stoneware, 17 Rhenish stoneware, 12 Westerwald stoneware, and 67 other stoneware sherds.

An area southeast of the Swann House locus was also tested with two test units during 2009, based on a high response rate when a metal detector was used in the area in the continued attempt to locate the actual remains of the Swann House. Two posthole and molds were encountered just beneath the plowzone in one unit. Time constraints precluded further investigation of these units.

A total of 162 aboriginal artifacts were recovered from these two units. The materials were similar in type and quantity to those found in other loci. They included 2 projectile points, 1 other biface, 90 flakes, 50 pieces of shatter, 2 hammerstones, 1 other lithic, 10 pieces of fire-cracked rock, a glass trade bead, and 5 pieces of aboriginal pottery. A total of 554 historic ceramics were recovered, including 13 tin-glazed earthenware, 63 creamware, 45 pearlware, 27 other earthenware, 4 Chinese export porcelain, 17 other porcelain, 294 whiteware, 18 ironstone, 5 redware, 41 yelloware, 9 white salt-glazed stoneware, 2 Rhenish stoneware, and 16 other stoneware sherds. Brick, coal, and oyster shell were also recovered but tallies are not available.

In 2009, additional work was carried out at 18CH94 by the Port Tobacco Archeological Project working, not only with the local chapter of ASM, but also with a number of fieldschool students from Heidelberg University. This work was funded by a Preserve America Grant from the and focused additional efforts on the Swann House locus, a possible blacksmith shop location, the locus of the former Indian King Hotel, and the vicinity of the Brawner/Smoot House. Methods utilized followed the same standards used by PTAP and the ASM throughout their long-term collaboration.

The Swann House was investigated in the fall of 2009 with the excavation of 3 additional test units, near the western edge of the hedgerow situated near the locus (see above). The excavation revealed an oyster shell midden, but no evidence of a foundation. Historic ceramics recovered from these units were consistent with a mid to late 19th century occupation, but also revealed an earlier 18th century occupation, a pattern consistent with the other Swann House units to the east. Along with the ceramics were several utensils including a small, bone handle engraved with the initials “CB” and a large amount of vessel glass.

Based on these findings a more intensive effort was undertaken to clear vegetation and debris in the area between the spring 2009 Swann House units to the east and the fall 2009 units to the west. A pile of stone rubble, auto parts and other debris was identified and just to the south of this, an alignment of stones was encountered. Upon further inspection, these stones marked the edge of a stone-lined cellar hole with a brick end-chimney that roughly conformed to a historic photograph of the Swann House.

The field crew fully exposed the foundation, including the chimney base with two apparent closets flanking the hearth. The northern of the two closets had a burned oyster shell ‘floor’. Brick rubble in the middle of the east foundation suggested a second heat source (i.e. a separate chimney). A fourth unit was then excavated in the northeast corner of the structure. It revealed around 61 cm (2 ft) of mid 20th century domestic refuse, indicating that the structure stood into the 1960s and was demolished with earthmoving machinery. There were, however, artifacts related to the 19th century occupation of the site as well as smaller amounts of earlier material. The earlier material consisted mainly of white salt-glazed stoneware and tin-glazed earthenwares indicating an occupation well before James Swann bought the property in the 1840s. The site appears to have been occupied from the mid-to-late 18th century until sometime in the late 19th century.

Artifacts from the fall 2009 excavations at the Swann House locus included 463 ceramic sherds, the engraved bone utensil handle, and vessel glass (minimally estimated at 20 pieces). The ceramic assemblage included 1 Staffordshire slipware, 6 tin-glazed earthenware, 142 creamware, 99 pearlware, 11 other earthenware, 113 whiteware, 27 redware, 3 yelloware, 2 ironstone, 5 Chinese porcelain, 17 other porcelain, 17 white salt-glazed stoneware, 2 British Brown stoneware, and 14 other stoneware sherds.

The “blacksmith’s shop” locus was identified based on the recovery of several pieces of slag, miscellaneous pieces of iron, and a horseshoe during the shovel testing survey of 2007. Simulated distributions of slag counts and weights, using a kriging algorithm, suggested the location of a balcksmith’s shop just north of Chapel point road. It was thought that this might be the late 19th century Coombs Smithy identified in historic records and descriptions of the town. Eight test units were placed in the general vicinity (in two clusters) to locate any remains that might be associated with such a facility. Phase II and Phase III Archeological Database and Inventory Site Number: 18CH94 Site Name: Port Tobacco Prehistoric Other name(s) Historic

Brief Late Archaic,Early, Middle, & Late Woodland camps; 17th and 18th century Colonial town, Unknown Description: Contact trading post

The researchers were unsuccessful in locating the footprint and dating a blacksmith’s shop or shops in the area. Testing did narrow the search area somewhat. Artifacts recovered from this area in 2009 included 2 slate pencils, 1 piece of building stone, 688 window glass fragments, a slate roof fragment, a machine-cut nail, 175 unidentified nails, 2 miscellaneous hardware items, 1,230 ceramic sherds, 872 pieces of kitchen glass (1 table glass, 7 machine-made vessels, 274 wine bottle fragments, and 590 other vessel glass pieces), 2 mammal bones, 6 pieces of oyster shell, 31 tobacco pipe fragments, 18 unidentified metal objects, 2 modern items, 11 aboriginal stone flakes, 3 pieces of shatter and 3 other lithics. The ceramic assemblage included 118 tin-glazed earthenware, 21 Buckley, 3 Jackfield, 7 manganese-mottled, 290 creamware, 186 pearlware, 9 Staffordshire slipware, 51 miscellaneous earthenware, 50 porcelain, 379 whiteware, 15 ironstone, 11 redware, 2 yelloware, 5 English Brown stoneware, 1 Nottingham stoneware, 3 Rhenish stoneware, 30 white salt- glazed stoneware, 2 Westerwald, and 47 miscellaneous stoneware sherds.

Excavations were also carried out in the vicinity of the former Indian King Hotel. Archival evidence conclusively places the Indian King Hotel between the Barbour family lot and Chapel Point Road, south of the village square and north of the Burch House. Detailed analysis also suggests that the lot had been the site of an ordinary or hotel from the mid 18th century through the 1860s and possibly into the 1870s. Documents reveal that a US Colored Infantry unit occupied a portion of the hotel during the Civil War. Given that Union troops legally could be billeted only in empty buildings, it is likely that the Indian King Hotel, after aborted attempts to lease or sell it, was largely abandoned at that time. An Alexandria Gazette article from early 1864, describes the troops as being in an unoccupied part of, “the old Indian King Hotel”, suggesting that there was an occupied portion of the building still at that time. Land transfer data suggests that the most likely period for the closure of the hotel was sometime between 1867 and 1877.

The 2009 excavations in this area focused on finding the foundation of the Indian King Hotel. A likely location for the hotel was identified through shovel testing in 2007, based on two clusters of masonry rubble and both handwrought and machine-cut nails in the STPs. Again, a krigging simulation was used to determine locations for the placement of excavation units. Ten units were placed in the vicinity of both artifact clusters: 7 in a contiguous block between two machine-cut nail concentrations and a block of 3 within a concentration of handwrought and machine-cut nails about 15 m (50 ft) to the north. All of the units were 1.524 X 1.524 m in extents except for one which was truncated to 1.524 X 1.22 m (5 X 4 ft) in size. Each unit was excavated stratigraphically and independently of the other units. Only one unit was dug to subsoil. The other units were closed when 18th century deposits were exposed.

Both excavation blocks revealed structural remains or robber trenches (trenches excavated to recover brick for reuse) under deep plowzone deposits. Beneath those deposits, a well-preserved deposit of pre-Revolutionary Ware material was encountered. Civil War era artifacts, and particularly those attributable to the occupation of the hotel by members of a US Colored Infantry unit, were few and inconclusive. Despite the archival evidence to the contrary, the structural features exposed appear to be those of one or more Colonial Period buildings that were demolished and cannibalized long before the Civil War. The mid 19th century deposits were vertically mixed, but the project PI was confident that the location was that of the Centennial Hotel. Further field investigations were recommended, but time and funds for such work were in short supply in 2009.

Over the course of the excavations of the Indian King Hotel locus, the field team recovered 29,848 artifacts. Of this total, only 131 were aboriginal and included flakes, fire-cracked rock, a biface, and a single quartzite projectile point likely dating to the Late Archaic or Early Woodland Periods. These material are counted in the table above as “flaked stone”, though some fire-cracked rock is in the assemblage as tallies of each artifact type are not available.

The historic assemblage from this locus included 2 activity items (a spur and a horseshoe), 10,354 architectural artifacts (1 piece of burned daub, 5 pieces of unburned daub, 2 pieces of oyster shell mortar, 5 fragments of plaster, 5 pieces of roofing slate, 7,255 window glass fragments, a piece of window lead, 146 handwrought nails, 655 machine-cut nails, 43 wire nails, 2,231 other nails, and 5 staples), 50 clothing-related items (a bone button, 41 glass buttons, a brass button, a copper alloy button, a metal cuff button, another metal button, a rubber button, and 3 shell buttons), 9,772 kitchen-related artifacts, 7 arms objects (an unspent cartridge and 6 cartridges shells), and 3 miscellaneous objects (2 pieces of glass and 1 piece of metal). The kitchen assemblage included 6,355 ceramic sherds (2,262 tin-glazed earthenware, 27 Buckley, 5 Jackfield, 4 Staffordshire slipware, 729 creamware, 548 pearlware, 247 miscellaenous earthenware, 142 Chinese export porcelain, 115 other porcelain, 52 ironstone, 1,503 whiteware, 61 yelloware, 144 redware, 14 English Brown stoneware, 1 Nottingham stoneware, 18 Rhenish stoneware, 333 white salt-glazed stoneware, 21 Westerwald stoneware, and 129 miscellaneous stoneware) and 3,417 kitchen glass fragments (25 table glass, 829 wine bottle glass, 6 handmade vessel glass, 22 machine-made vessel glass, and 2,535 other glass fragments).

The PTAP team also investigated the vicinity of the Brawner/Smoot houses in 2009. Archival research clearly identified the locations of the Smoot House and of the Brawner House or Hotel (known by various names). The Brawner House almost certainly was used by the conspirators in the Lincoln assassination when the originally planned to kidnap President Abraham Lincoln and transport him via Port Tobacco Creek and the Potomac River to Virginia and, thence, to Richmond. John Wilkes Booth altered the plan to one of assassination upon General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, effectively ending the war. The Smoot House may have been the home of one of the individuals who sold the getaway boat to the conspirators. However, some research suggests that the house existed in the 1860s (it may have been built after the war).

Restrictions by the property owner limited fieldwork in this locus to shovel testing. A total of 72 shovel tests were placed at 7.62 m (25 ft) intervals in the northern portion of the site where archival research and various surveys placed the location of the Brawner and Smoot houses. Fifteen of the 72 STPs encountered quantities of masonry rubble, including bricks, brick bats, and mortar. Distinguishing between rubble representing demolished, previously unrecorded buildings, and the material that accumulated during excavation of the courthouse and brick cleaning in 1969/1970 was problematic. Nail and window glass distributions were instead used to attempt identifying former building locations. Five building loci were suggested. The two west of the reconstructed courthouse were determined to be the most likely locations for the Smoot House and associated outbuildings. The identifications of the other clusters were more uncertain. No catalog of the artifacts recovered from this area is provided in the body of the full site report.

The extensive research carried out to date at 18CH94 has revealed the presence of intact features related to the formation and layout of Port Tobacco. The site should be considered a significant archeological resource related to one of Maryland’s most important colonial towns.

External Reference Codes (Library ID Numbers): 95001242, 95001243, 95001244, 95001612, 95001581