FALL 2012 VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3

Extended Edition Inside this issue:

The Cultural Resources Section at the State Highway Concrete Post Reveals History 2 of Defense Housing Administration (SHA) has been busy commemorating the War of 1812 bicentennial by participating in public outreach events and making A Walk Through Historic 4 interesting discoveries. We hope you enjoy reading about our work in Taneytown this extended Fall edition of the CRaB. Caulk’s Field: MD’s Best 5 While providing you updates on our Cultural Resources Section and Preserved War of 1812 programs, we also encourage the submittal of archaeology or Battlefield architectural history articles (under 500 words) and/or photographs

from you. If you have any comments, would like to submit Native American Waterway 7 announcements, or wish to be added or removed from the CRaB Names in Maryland distribution list, please contact Nichole Sorensen-Mutchie. The Booth Log House: Birth- 8 place of an Assassin

Events Calendar 2012 10

Dover Bridge Outreach by Richard Ervin The Maryland As part of our public outreach program, SHA senior archaeologist Rick State Highway Ervin attended the annual Nause-Waiwash Festival and Pow-Wow on Administration is September 15, 2012 in Vienna, Maryland. The Nause-Waiwash have hosted the pow-wow here since its inception twenty years ago. Maryland committed to Commission on Indian Affairs Administrator Keith Colston was the Mas- sustaining the ter of Ceremonies. The event featured musicians and dancers from across the nation, along with a variety of cultural displays. balance between SHA displayed information on the early protecting our Colonial-period site found near the Dover cultural resources Bridge in Talbot County. Several years ago, archaeologists excavated the site. Interpre- and maintaining tive panels displayed during the festival sum- our transportation marized the important information gained from the investigations. Highlights of the system. festival can be viewed here.

17th century Westerwald jug found at site (pictured left).

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Concrete Post Reveals History of Defense Housing by Rebecca Crew

A modest concrete post along MD 22 at an apartment complex in Aberdeen marks an interesting aspect of American history. It doesn’t commemorate the colonial origin of the Old Post Road as decorated elsewhere by steel historic markers erected in the 1930s by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Rather, the concrete post pictured left, (a slender obelisk about four feet tall and inscribed “1942”) is a relic of a World War II defense housing project called Hamilton Courts, which housed African American defense workers and their families.

The current property is called Affinity Old Post Apartments, but the chain of title traces the property back to the Federal Public Housing Authority, which acquired it through condemnation in 1943. In 1956, the U.S. Government sold the project to private owners and the streets were transferred to the Town of Aberdeen. Newspaper advertisements stated that the project had 140 wood-framed units sided with Cemesto, concrete pier foundations, oak floors, sheet rock walls, and rolled asphalt roofs.

In 1956, housing remained segregated for African Americans and most of the residents were employed at the local defense installations. The advertisements and Sanborn Maps refer to the project as Hamilton Courts Project, MD 18260. Historic aerial photographs provided the layout of the buildings and sidewalks along these streets, showing 29 gable-roofed buildings, each with five walkways leading from the street (and presumably) five apartments each. A larger building, possibly a community building, is at the northeast quadrant, and an even smaller building is at the northeast corner. The aerial photographs do not provide enough detail to show the concrete post.

While archival resources have provided a fair amount of information regarding Hamilton Court, the definitive purpose of the concrete post has not been established. Images of comparable defense housing projects were found at the Library of Congress’ American Memory website, documenting methods used to quickly build defense housing projects as well as concrete posts- of a taller height. At the Sojourner Truth Homes in Detroit, Michigan, posts stand along an interior sidewalk with signs attached. Similarly, several towns, especially in the Southern , retain concrete posts. Generally these posts are painted with street names are stenciled onto them.

Close inspection of the Hamilton Court concrete post reveals two holes that run through the post parallel to Post Road, perhaps a cable was strung through the post to close Hanover Street to traffic at certain times? Or perhaps a series of concrete posts and cable fencing made a fence along the north side of Hamilton Court? Another remaining question why is the concrete post stamped "1942" when the parcel was not acquired until 1943? Did Army planners select the parcel for acquisition during 1942 and place the monument at that time, or does the monument relate to another parcel that was acquired in 1942? Or was the post prefabricated in 1942, but not installed until 1943?

While these questions remain unanswered, the historic context associated with Hamilton Court is fascinating. For several years prior to the attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States anticipated its involvement in World War II, building weapons and vehicles, manufacturing ammunition, and training soldiers. Realizing that defense workers needed places to live near their new places of employment, thousands of housing units, both temporary and permanent, were built by the federal government. Some of the earliest defense housing projects were designed by "star" architects, and some developments in prefabrication lent a style of modernity. As the war progressed, the need for quicker and less expensive housing overcame aesthetic considerations, using prefabrication methods on traditional housing styles. Continued on page 3.

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Continued from page 2...

Hamilton Court served a population associated with Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG). During the build-up to World War II, the growth of jobs at APG resulted in huge population growth in Aberdeen and the sur- rounding areas causing overcrowding. The shortage of housing for African Americans was especially severe, and Hamilton Court, while not glamorous, provided decent housing for its residents. APG’s commanders eventually banned segregated housing in 1967.

Elsewhere, such as in City, the placement of defense housing projects for African Americans was a matter of public and political debate, but the federal government selected sites in accordance with the ap- proval of local government. In the middle of World War II, politicians and cities questioned whether de- fense housing should be temporary or permanent. Many feared that following the war, temporary housing units would become slums and real estate developers opposed permanent government-owned housing units that would lower the number of potential homeowners. However, the Korean War required housing near the same places where many temporary projects were built, including APG. Thus, some temporary housing projects, including Hamilton Court, remained occupied long after their intended use. When the project was eventually rebuilt, it was done so in phases preventing displacement of residents, but demolishing buildings and a community plan that certainly represented a remarkable era in our country's history.

Housing for defense workers, Aberdeen, MD. African American residents at Detroit’s Sojourner Library of Congress. Truth Homes with similar housing design and con- crete posts. Library of Congress.

What is it? The copper alloy object pictured left was found on a War of 1812 battlefield site in Maryland. The artifact is 2.75mm in diame- ter. HINT: It is not a button. The winner will receive a copy of the book, Historic Bridges of Maryland and will be randomly chosen from the correct entries from the first day of the newsletter’s distribution. Email your guess to [email protected]. Good luck!

To help you learn as much as possible about our submissions contained herein, we have hyperlinked many words and phrases. To access additional information, use your mouse to place the cursor over the blue underlined word and the cursor will turn into a hand. Click on the word to discover more. Page 4

A Walk Through Historic Taneytown by Anne Bruder

As part of the Taneytown Streetscape project, SHA provided five interpretive panels and a walking tour brochure discussing the history of Taneytown from its founding in 1754 through the 1930s. The panels discussed Taneytown’s different religious buildings, the town’s early history, buildings constructed by architect, John Augustus Dempwolf, the canning and milling industries that made Taney- town prosperous in the early 20th century, and the town’s role in the Civil War.

The Civil War panel tells the story of Whitelaw Reid and how the news got to the public in the days be- fore the 24/7 news cycle. Taneytown was the site of General ’s encampment prior to the Battle of in June 1863. Reid was a newspaper reporter for The Cincinnati Gazette, and was one of the first reporters to regularly cover the Civil War battles and have the title of “war corre- spondent.” He had the opportunity to discuss General Meade’s plans with the General, and learned that Gettysburg was the battle site. Reid described the troops calling out to one another to “mount and spur to Gettysburg!” to express the urgency of the battle preparations. Before riding ahead of the troops, he sent his dispatches to The Cincinnati Gazette by messenger to the Frederick telegraph office.

Reid spent July 1-2-3, 1863 on the and observed the events unfold from . He then traveled to the other parts of the battlefield to discuss the outcome with the other Union commanders. He found the carnage horrifying. As he quit the battlefield, he wrote “nevermore,” as the ending of his final Gettysburg Battle dispatch.

This fall, staff members from SHA’s Westminster Shop installed the five interpretive panels along MD 140 (East Baltimore Street) and MD 94 (Frederick Street). The Cultural Resources Section appreciates their help with completing the project. The panels can be found in front of the New Windsor State Bank and the Taneytown Police Station on Baltimore Street, and the Stone Tavern and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on Frederick Street. The Taneytown Walking Tour Brochures are available at City Hall, Pristine Antiques and Collectibles, and Antrim 1844.

Portrait of Whitelaw Reid taken during the Civil Staff members from SHA’s Westminster Shop. War. Library of Congress. [left to right] Tyrone Henderson, Don Livesay and Frank Altvater. Page 5

Caulk’s Field: Maryland’s Best Preserved War of 1812 Battlefield by Julie Schablitsky

To commemorate the War of 1812 bicentennial, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) secured a , American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) grant to conduct an archae- ology survey across Caulk’s Battlefield. The battle was an American win and the site remains relatively unaltered. DBED chose the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) and University of Maryland (UM) to carry out the archae- ology survey and mapping project to determine troop and artillery locations, areas of intense fighting, and battlefield bounda- ries.

History of the Battle At the end of August 1814, the citizens of Kent County observed British ships in the Chesapeake Bay. British Captain Peter Parker held his frigate, HMS Menelaus, just off of Poole’s Island in an attempt to disrupt communications between Easton and Baltimore. While stationed here, Parker landed his men on shore to take supplies from local farms and to burn private property occupied by the American troops.

On the night of August 30, 1814 the burning and looting of Richard Frisby’s farm resulted in the capture of four enslaved African Americans: William, aged about 25; Ephraim, aged about 22; Solomon, aged about 20; and Peregrine, aged about 17. When the British interrogated the slaves that night, Captain Parker learned that American Lieut. Col. Reed’s camp was located just a short distance away. Trusting the word of these men, the British landed around 11:00 that evening to search out and destroy the American camp, take prisoners, and extract information from the troops.

At 11:30pm, Lieutenant Colonel Reed received word from his picket that the British landed near Waltham’s farm. Believing their intent was to burn and pillage, Reed took his men and marched towards Waltham’s farm. Within minutes Reed learned the British were actually in pursuit of them! At this point, he turned his men around, moved their camp into Caulk’s field and positioned the troops on “…the ris- ing ground—the right towards Caulk’s house and the left retiring on the road, the artillery in the centre, supported by the infantry on the right and left.” Continued on page 6.

Acting Commander Henry Crease’s recollection of the battle of Caulk’s Field, September 1814. Page 6

Continued from page 5...

While a fortified line took the center of the field, an advance troop of Americans laid in wait for the Brit- ish. As the British presented themselves, the Americans fired into them and then fell back to the fortified line with the artillery pieces. The fighting ensued and the British attempted to take the American left flank, but were unsuccessful. They continued to push the front American line and caused Reed to fall back. After almost an hour of fighting, Reed’s men found themselves almost out of ammunition, but continued to hold their position. After dozens of casualties including the death of their leader, Captain Peter Parker, the British quit the field and returned to the Menelaus.

The Archaeology In the spring and fall of 2012, the SHA and UM archaeologists conducted a metal detector survey across 40 acres of the battlefield to find evidence of this 200 year old military engagement. The archaeologists attempted to detect the locations of lead and ferrous munitions (lead musket balls and canister shot), brass clothing buttons, and other battle related artifacts. Each time that an artifact was found, an archae- ologist mapped the location with a total station to record the exact position it was found. The artifact was then bagged and collected for study in the laboratory. Although the archaeologists are only half way through their survey, it is possible to determine where the men stood and where their artillery guns were placed on the landscape. Future surveys will determine the battlefield boundaries and other unique de- tails. A public release of findings will occur in November.

Lead buck shot, ferrous shot, lead British and American musket balls from Caulk’s Field.

NOTICE: The battlefield is privately owned and trespassing is prohibited. Metal detecting was only performed under the guidance of professional archaeologists.

Wreath Laying Ceremony at Caulk’s Field

Maj. Gen. James Adkins, Adjutant general and commander of the Maryland National Guard and Lt. Col. Colby Corrin of the Brit- ish Royal Marines raised the American and British flags during a wreath laying ceremony at the monument on August 31, 2012. A video of the ceremony can be seen here. SHA chief archaeologist, Julie Schablitsky, presented the preliminary archaeological find- ings of Caulk’s Field at a reception following the ceremony. Page 7

Native American Waterway Names in Maryland by Carol Ebright

With its coastal setting and a multitude of rivers, estuaries and bays, Maryland’s waterways have been the focus of human settlement, a source of sustenance, and a means of travel for millennia. Many waterways still retain the names the Native American inhabitants, largely Algonquin-speakers, gave them. Here are a sampling of Maryland waterway names and their translated meanings, taken from a variety of sources:

Accokeek At the edge of the rising ground Antietam Swift water Anacostia At the trading town Assateague Yellow or brown river Catoctin Speckled mountain Chesapeake Great shellfish bay Chincoteague Large stream or inlet Choptank River It flows back strongly Conococheague A dull sound is heard far off-or-A long way-or-Water of many turns Conowingo At the waterfall or rapids Honga Goose Linganore It melts copiously in springtime Lonconing Where there is a beautiful summit Mattawoman Where one goes pleasantly Monocacy Fortified, fenced, a garden-or-At the garden creek Nanticoke Tidewater people; they who ply the tidewater stream Nanjemoy They go down to the river or landing place Nassawango Ground between the streams Octoraro Where the water is shallow and swift Patapsco At the rocky point or creek Patuxent At the little falls or rapids-or-tide covered with froth Piscataway Division or branch of a stream Pocomoke Pierced or broken ground-or-Broken by knolls Pomonkey River Twisting in the land-or-Where we sweat-or-Place of secrecy in the woods Port Tobacco (Potopaco) A jutting of the water inland-or-Bulging out Potomac Something bought-or-Where it is brought in-or-Those to travel to bring again Rockawalking At the fork-or-At the sandy ground Sinepuxent Stones lie shallow-or-Stones are lying broken up Tonoloway Long tail Tonytank Where there is a stream at a little hill Transquaking Place of the white cedar swamp Tuscarora Hemp gatherers Wicomico Pleasant dwelling or village Youghiogheny Circuitous or winding stream

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The Booth Log House: Birthplace of an Assassin by Jon Schmidt

At first glance, the Booth Log House (HA-1631) isn’t much to look at. It’s an unassuming, vernacular 19th century dwelling with a broad wraparound porch as its most distinguishing feature. The private residence is situated at the intersection of Churchville Road and Prospect Mill Road in Harford County. As currently configured, the dwelling is an irregular amalgamation built in four different sections: the original side-gable log house is sandwiched between a circa 1900 single- story hipped-roof kitchen addition and circa 1950 two -story shed-roof addition to the north and the circa 1925, two-story, gable-front Classical Revival addition to the south. The original log section is hard to discern from the other sections, only notable by its steep, gable ends incorporated into the east and west elevations shown by the arrow on the above picture. The periodization was determined through a close examination of the resource and a combination of new research and existing historical documentation. SHA consultant EHT Traceries conducted the cultural resource work for this property as part of an intersection improvement project at the location.

The most interesting element of the dwelling is its history. The log portion of the house was the first home of Junius Brutus Booth and his mistress Mary Ann Holmes. Booth was a successful Shakespearean stage actor when he immigrated to the United States in 1821, leaving behind an estranged wife and child. In 1824, Booth acquired a 1000 year lease for an agricultural parcel outside of Bel Air, MD and relocated a two-story, three-bay log house to the farm. The original location of the log dwelling is not known. Interestingly, the log house was the birthplace for several of Booth’s children including Edwin Booth (1833-1893) and, most famously, John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865), ’s assassin.

Booth constructed the nearby Tudor Hall (HA-117) in 1847, employing designs from the 1847 pattern book The Architect by William H. Ranlett. Tudor Hall was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 14, 1973. When construction of Tudor Hall was finished, Booth moved his family into the new home and left the log house on the property. Upon his death in 1852, Booth’s property in Bel Air changed hands before being sold directly to his wife in 1869. Mrs. Booth owned the property for nine years before selling it to Samuel A.S. Kyle in 1878. It was Kyle, a retired merchant from Ireland, who in 1880 moved the dwelling to its current location, then a distant corner of his property.

The Booth Log House is not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places owing to the wide variety of changes over the years. The dwelling lacks integrity of materials, design, workmanship, feeling, location, setting and association. The house is outfitted with replacement materials on nearly every surface, including replacement siding, roofing, doors, and windows. Additionally, the original dwelling contains three additions and has been moved at least twice.

Nonetheless, the log house is the birthplace of John Wilkes Booth, infamous for his role in the assassination of President Lincoln, making him a historical figure of outstanding importance. There are other historical sites still extant that are more closely associated with Booth’s life and actions in the killing of the President. Nearby Tudor Hall (HA-117) is the residence where Booth grew up and honed his acting skills. Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site is the physical location where the assassination took place. Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, where Booth is buried, is also listed on the National Register. These three locations are more strongly associated with the significant actions of Booth’s life, but it doesn’t make the unassuming dwelling at the intersection of Churchville Road and Prospect Mill Road any less interesting.

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Getting to Know: Matt Manning

Matt Manning is an architec- few and far between. So after tural historian consultant at working for 1 1/2 years, I headed SHA. He received his MA from to grad school to study historic the University of Georgia. The preservation. New buildings are following is an interview with fun to design, but old buildings Matt. have depth and character; they provide irreplaceable physical ties What got you interested in to our past. I think working with architectural history? existing buildings offers unique It started with family vacations creative opportunities and is and the close connection to the sur- – each one was a learning ultimately more rewarding than rounding landscape. I have visions of experience. Our trips typically simply replacing what we have with building a Frank Lloyd Wright Uson- revolved around historic cities something new. ian or a Gustav Stickley Craftsman in and national parks. Even when the mountains someday. we went to Disney World, we Do you have a favorite architec- made a trip to St. Augustine; tural style? What has working at SHA taught when we went to Busch Sometimes I think it changes you? Gardens, we also spent time in depending on what I'm working Being a relative newcomer to MD, Williamsburg and Jamestown. (I on. I've always been partial to working on a variety of SHA projects still associate the smell of roadside architecture; in school, I has given me an opportunity to see boxwoods with summer based a photography project more of the state than I ever would vacation.) Even so, I didn’t around Waffle House and wrote have otherwise. My weekends are immediately decide to become my thesis on strip malls. Post- filled with places I’ve filed away for an architectural historian. When World War II suburban architec- return visits. Having worked as an I graduated college with a ture is always interesting because architect, I’m familiar with building degree in architecture, I started such a volume of buildings and construction, but I didn’t know much working at a small architectural neighborhoods exists that there's about highway design or its history firm in North Carolina. The always something new to discover. until I started at SHA. It’s surprising firm specialized in big, upscale But if I were stuck on a deserted how involved something as seem- outlet malls, but some of their island with just one architectural ingly simple as sidewalk placement projects involved local rehabili- style, I'd choose something from can be, and I can’t drive anywhere tations and downtown infill. the Arts and Crafts movement. I now without noticing different types These were the projects I found love the use of natural materials, of bridges, guardrails and other high- myself drawn to, but they were the honest structural expression way structures.

What is it? Answer

There were a lot of great guesses for the mystery artifact (pictured far left) including a shutterdog, a cannon part and a saber pommel. The correct answer is a boot spur! This example roughly dates to ca. 1650-1775. Click here to learn more about early spurs. Congratulations to David Brown for being the first person to answer cor- rectly! Page 10

Events Calendar 2012

Free Fall Baltimore Call for Papers: Vitruviana 2013 Various venues Center for Palladian Studies in America Baltimore, MD Charleston, SC All of October Due November 15

Annual Conference on DC Historical 149th Anniversary of the Gettysburg Studies Address Washington, D.C Gettysburg October 18-21 Gettysburg, PA November 19 Midwest Archaeological Conference East Lansing, MI Hearth & Home in Early Maryland October 18-21 Historic St. Mary’s City, MD November 23 & 24 Archeological Society of Maryland Annual Meeting Lecture-”Dining, Wining & Social Life: LaPlata, MD Food and Beverage Wares 1600 to 1730” October 20 Wintethur Museum Wilmington, DE Lecture-“The Enduring Appeal of the November 29 Federal Style: Tradition of the Way We Live Now” Forensic Friday with Jamestown, Virginia Homewood Museum Archaeologists Baltimore, MD Smithsonian Natural History Museum October 22 Washington, D.C November 30 1812 Bus Tour Maryland Historical Society Exhibit-Changing America: The Emanci- Baltimore, MD pation Proclamation, 1863, and the March November 3 on Washington, 1963 Smithsonian American History Museum Finding Family in the Freedmen’s Washington, D.C Bureau Records Opens December 14 Reginald F. Lewis Museum Baltimore, MD November 10

Lecture - “Shadows, Reflections, If you are interested in submitting Spirits: The Stories Behind Edward announcements or articles to the CRaB, Curtis’s Photos of Native America please contact Smithsonian Institution Nichole Sorensen-Mutchie Washington, DC [email protected] November 14