News and Events
A Very Old House Yields Up Fragments of History
January 14, 2008
For the past several months, the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience has been renovating an 18th-century house in Chestertown that will become the Patrick Henry Fellows Residence for distinguished visiting historians starting next fall. In the course of the construction work, a number of artifacts have come to light... offering eloquent testimony to nearly three centuries of American history and everyday life.
The house, known locally as the Buck-Chambers House and located on Queen Street in the downtown historic district, was built around 1735 and is one of the oldest in Chestertown. Its purchase and restoration by Washington College were funded through the generous support of the Barksdale-Dabney-Patrick Henry Family Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The general contractor for the renovations, which include new wiring, plumbing, HVAC, cabinetry, and foundation work, is Torr Howell '01 of Blue Heron Contracting, LLC.
The artifacts will undergo conservation and cataloging by the Washington College Archaeology Lab, and the hope is eventually to display many of them, either in the Custom House or in the Henry House itself.
Click to enlarge photos.
The Patrick Henry Fellows Residence (Buck-Chambers House, circa 1735) on Queen Street.
Carpenter Peter Battcock shows off one of the most remarkable artifacts recovered in the house: an 18th-century letter, somewhat tattered but mostly legible, that he found under the floorboards of the third-floor garret.
The letter is addressed to a Mr. James Arthur of Chestertown and dated "Phila., July 12, 179-" (the last digit has been chewed off by a hungry insect or rodent).
The second page is signed by Mathew Carey (1760-1839), a well-known printer, journalist, and propagandist in early Philadelphia. The hand that penned these lines would have shaken hands with Franklin, Jefferson, and Lafayette. Carey was the author of works on subjects ranging from dueling to yellow fever to Irish independence. In this letter, more prosaically, he demands repayment of a longstanding debt.
Overseeing the renovations are (left to right) Starr Center Director Adam Goodheart, Torr Howell and Gary Ward of Blue Heron, supervising architect Michael Bourne, and subcontractors Victor Shepard and Jason Pinder of Pinder Service Company in Kennedyville. The British-born Ward has worked on restoration projects at a number of historic sites, including the Tower of London. Bourne is a former architectural historian at Colonial Williamsburg and the Maryland Historical Trust and coauthor of Historic Houses of Kent County.
Adam Goodheart holds a copper cent from the 1830s that he found under the floorboards.
A children's book, dated 1848, found intact under the floor. It bears the penciled signature of an early owner, one A.M. Russell.
A ticket to a "Strawberry Festival" dated June 14, 1859. The other side bears the inscription "Mary A. Howard, Chestertown, Kent County, Md."
The spot where many of the artifacts were uncovered. The floor in this room was partially taken up to replace electrical wiring. Some of the historic items may have slipped through gaps between the boards, while others were likely crammed in as insulation, or stashed by squirrels, rats, or mice.
Victorian advertising ephemera.
An assortment of 19th-century remedies include witch hazel, "Trask's Magnetic Ointment," "Genuine Essence," "Dr. Miles' Anti-Pain Pills," and (the largest bottle) a half-pint of whiskey.
A fragmentary letter invites a local militia unit, the "Chester Republican Blues," to participate in Chestertown's celebration of Independence Day, circa 1825. It is signed by Joseph Redue and George Vickers.
Part of a document addressed to the constable of Kent County, circa 1840.
A stash of postcards found in the attic. The message on the top one, dated 1915, reads "Look for us saturday night at Betterton."
The Frankford Dispatch newspaper, March 17, 1905.
Michael Bourne inspects an 1820s mantel, originally taken from another house nearby, being prepared for reinstallation in the front parlor.
A 1780s fireplace under restoration.
Peter Battcock constructs new cabinetry.
In the cellar, 18th-century stonework meets 21st-century ductwork.
A program for the Talbot County Fair, October 1915.
A 20th-century baseball glove charm.
Contractor Jed Howell M '74 repairs a window.
Different types of nails used in constructing the house at various periods. Left to right: early 18th-century, late 18th-century, 19th-century.
Last semester, students Marian Robbins '08 and Courtney Madden '08 in Dr. Ed Otter's "Doing Archaeology" course conducted an exploratory dig in the cellar of the house.
Sifting the soil for artifacts.
The students' finds included early clay pipe stems and sherds of bottle glass and ceramics from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Fragments of a 19th-century glass cup, found under the floor, bear the hand-painted motto "Forget me not"—an uncanny message from the long-ago past.
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