Thursday, May 27, 2010

Indian Queen Tavern, Day 9: "The Last Day in the Field, For Now...."

It was our last day in the field at the Indian Queen Tavern Site, though some of us will be back here in late June to finish up a few things....

Meanwhile all the archaeologists that joined the excavation have different projects to work on through the summer: some are off to digs in Scotland at a castle, or at a 19th century plantation in Maryland, or at a quarry in Frederick, and to Belize. Some are off to work on the cultural resources outreach for the ICC, some to help the National Park Sevice catalog the material culture for the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial or organize the civic engagement program for the Nations Park's. I am looking forward to hearing about all their summer adventures!
Here is a posting from Jenna Zimmerman, a graduate student at the University of Maryland, talking about what she learned out at the site:

The past two weeks here in Bladensburg have certainly been an adventure – rain, blistering heat, incredible artifacts, amazing people, and of course many sore muscles. Although I’ve worked on multiple archaeological excavations over the past three years, I always find that every site is different – new people, new artifacts, new information about the past, new methods of archaeology, and even new lessons on archaeology. As a student of archaeology, I am constantly looking to learn something when I step onto a new field site, and Bladensburg has been nothing short of a learning experience. On my first day alone, while working with Jenn, I had to learn an entirely new way of filling out paperwork. For all the non-archaeologists out there, you may not realize that everything you do in the field must get written down – measurements for every layer you dig, the number and types of artifacts you find, the types of soil you are digging in, etc.

This week I have spent a lot of time wet-screening, which may have left me covered in mud at the end of each day, but was well worth it during the heat we experienced over the past two days. While working in Unit 7 with Lisa and Zac, we kept gradually approaching the water table and all of our soil got sludgy and mixed with clay, which required a lot of water-screening. Digging in this unit also proved difficult because it was difficult to see the various changes in the soil. We discovered a feature ( Feature 31) that gradually got wider as we dug deeper. Lisa hypothesized that this could have been a builder’s trench as it was located next to a possible stone wall. Artifacts that came out of this feature included a variety of ceramics, buttons made of metal and glass, and a glass goblet.

I have certainly enjoyed my time working here in Bladensburg, and I am sad that is coming to a close today. The team of archaeologists working here undoubtedly has a wealth of knowledge about all historical artifacts, and I will carry this knowledge with me to my next field site this summer. I would like to thank all of the archaeologists and volunteers who worked at the site – all of you made this excavation not only educational, but also interesting and enjoyable!

AND BTW!

We'll have lots more to say as we start to look at the tremendous assemblage of artifacts we collected over the last two weeks. We also have video and photos from the field to sort through as we organize documentation from ten test units, thirty archaeological features and thousands and thousands of artifacts. We'll also talk about other aspects of Bladensburg history we have come across that relate to our projects in town. We are also planning a fourth workshop at the George Washington House early this Fall to talk about the archaeology and history of Bladensburg. So stay tuned!
This morning we had a visit from Bladensburg Mayor Walter James. For those of you who have been following us over the year, you might remember Mayor James helped us out at the Market Master's House excavation last spring and wrote a blog post: (http://bladenarch.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-9-very-special-guest-field-tech-and.html).
Here are a couple of photos from this morning's visit. Thanks again for visiting, Mayor James!


Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Indian Queen Excavation, Day 8: "Thanks to our Volunteers/ A couple artifacts from today"

Posted by Chrissie Sheckells, from the SHA, who has been volunteering at the site this week:

I am an environmental analyst at the Maryland State Highway Administration Headquarters in Baltimore. I write documents to make sure our projects comply with the National Environmental Policy Act. Cultural resources review and archeology are a big component of my documents but I have never experienced an actual dig before. I was excited to be able to get out from behind my desk and help out on the site.

Today I have been wet screening because the soil is too wet or has too much clay in it to be dry screened. Wet screening involves putting the soil in a screen and basically spraying it down with a hose so the artifacts can be seen more easily. My fellow volunteers and I have found many different types of artifacts. There were pieces of glass and pottery/ceramics. I love to find the pieces of ceramics in all different colors. There are whites, blues, greens, purples, yellows and many different patterns. Sometimes the pieces are extremely small but they are usually easy to see because of their colors. We have also found many nails in the screens. These are usually very corroded but easy to identify. Animal bones of all shapes and sizes as well as numerous oyster shells have also frequently turned up in our screens. Some of the more rare items that we have seen today are pipe stems, two intact cut nails which looked like they had been burned and a very small pin. We also found an animal tooth.


Another activity that took place today included recording the stratigraphy of the site. The archeologists record the different layers of soil they see in the walls of the pit they have dug and this can help them determine the time period and activities of that layer. This is my third day on the site and it is amazing to see all of the progress that has been made since last week.
It has been really interesting to learn about the methods of digging and cataloging (lots of counting) all of the artifacts. I have never really put much thought into archeology and it is fascinating to think that we are finding things that can tell us about activities that occurred at this site over 200 years ago. I am sad that this is my last day to be on site and I hope I have the opportunity to volunteer at another dig in the future!

And now an artifact from today:


This is one of the largest pieces of tin-glazed earthenware we have found at this site, in fact from any site many of us have worked at! (The piece on the right is about 3 inches across) It is also the oldest of the ceramic types we have been finding out here, being common on Maryland sites from the first years of European settlement through the third quarter of the 18th century. The piece is hand-painted in several different colors. (see: http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/Historic_Ceramic_Web_Page/Historic%20Ware%20Descriptions/tin_glazed.htm20Descriptions/tin_glazed.htm for more info)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Indian Queen Tavern, Day Seven: "Some Help Drying Things Out/ Time is Getting Tight!"

Posted by recent University of Maryland graduate Zac Singer:
Today (Tuesday March 25th) we continued excavations in the new units we started yesterday while Rick and Tom continued work on unit 1. Units 3, 4, and 5 were still inundated with water so we called in the big guns! The state highway’s administration brought us an industrial-sized water pump to allow us to transform units 3, 4, and 5 from bathtubs to workable, albeit very muddy, archaeological units.

Lisa tried to continue to excavate the recently drained unit 3 but found only mud. After working in unit 3 Lisa continued to excavate unit 7. She excavated 19th century deposits and a post mold. The most exciting artifacts excavated from her unit today were buttons made of bone, glass, and metal.

Julie had a bit more luck excavating unit 4 after it was drained. Battling the mud, Julie managed to uncover a brick footing. The brick footing contained some tin-glazed ceramic which suggests that the footing is from the 18th century. Another interesting aspect of the brick footing is that one of the bricks was marked with an “X” on one side.

Draining the water also allowed Mike and Molly to continue to excavate unit 5, which contains an 18th century foundation made of rock. Today they excavated a feature in the center of the unit and discovered that it was an intrusion from the 19th century. Disappointing! After excavating the feature in unit 5, Mike and Molly started an adjacent unit in order to learn more about the stone foundation. While excavating the upper levels of unit 10, Mike and Molly found a toy tea-cup from the mid 19th century.

Frank joined me in unit 9 today. Unit 9 yielded many 20th and late 19th century artifacts including a clay marble, pipe-stems, a glass insulator, and a belt buckle. Yesterday, Janet mentioned that I had come across some rocks in the Eastern third of unit 1. Today, more rocks appeared leading me to believe that there is a rock wall feature in the eastern third of unit 1. After excavating two strata, unit 1 was closed so that more help could be provided to other units.

Jenn continued to excavate unit 6. Some key artifacts found today include: a worked bone needle, a button that says “Treble Standard” on the back, and some tin-glazed earthenware. While excavating unit 6, Jenn uncovered a 19th century post-hole feature that is exactly 8 feet from the posthole feature in unit 7. Unit 6 also contains part of a 19th century structure that has been found in other units. The South West corner of the unit contains a lot of architectural debris, including brick and mortar. Charcoal and ash have been found in the southeast corner. The north half of the unit has different levels of fill. Tomorrow Jenn hopes to gain more insight into the fill in unit 6.





Janet continued excavating late 19th century deposits in unit 8. Today, she excavated two features. One feature was a thin oyster midden. The other feature was in the center of the unit and contained pockets of pure sand. This sandy feature also had an iron rod in it. Janet’s interesting finds today include lots of pearlware and some Staffordshire ceramic, an 18th century variety.

Rick and Tom continued to excavate in Unit 1. They spent most of the day excavating through early to mid 19th century deposits that included like flow blue, white ware, and some pearlware. During this time, they noticed that the artifacts located underneath the floor feature in their unit were different from the artifacts excavated outside of the floor feature. At the end of the day, Rick and Tom had excavated into a level containing artifacts from the late 18th century artifacts. Julie exclaimed “Welcome to the 18th century!” The 18th century deposits include scratch-blue stoneware sherds, creamware, and increasing amounts of pipe stems.

There is still plenty of excavating left to do tomorrow and Thursday so please wear your pajamas inside out and ask for good weather for the rest of the week!
P.S. I want to thank all of the screeners who have been screening buckets of dirt for artifacts all week. We would not be nearly as productive without your help!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Indian Queen Excavation: Day Six "After the Rain...."

Posted by archaeologist Janet Donlin, University of Mayland graduate and veteran of the Market Master's House excavation:

Welcome back! Hopefully you all had a nice weekend. I know I enjoyed the break from the sun and the dirt, but I’m glad to come back to work. After all the exciting things we found last week I could only imagine what would be in store for us this week. We began our second week on the job bailing rainwater that accumulated over the weekend from the units. Unfortunately, units 3 and 4 are pretty much flooded and will probably stay that way for awhile. However, this meant we got to open up some more units today! We opened up four more – units 7, 8, 9, and 10. Three are in trench 3: unit 7, which Lisa got started on, unit 9, which Zac started, and unit 10, which Molly and Mike moved to after their unit (unit 5) became too inundated with water to continue. Janet (the humble archaeologist who is writing this now) began unit 8 in trench 1. We’ve all barely scratched the surface, but we’ve already got some awesome artifacts coming out of our units.

The most exciting thing to come out of my unit today is a round brass button with an eagle crest on the front. This was found among other late 19th-century artifacts, including a lot of whiteware, which leads us to believe it may be Civil War-era, maybe even as early as the War of 1812. I’ve only gotten through one strat so far, but I’ve already come across two features—a circular pocket of yellowish sand in the center of the unit, and a concentration of oyster shells in the NW corner. Tomorrow I will begin on these features to see what information I get out of them.

In unit 7, Lisa also found a concentration of shells, but hers were clam shells. The curious thing is that her concentration is almost directly north of mine, separated by the wall between the trenches. She also found a concentration of coal ash in the SE part of her unit with a brick inside, which she plans to excavate tomorrow.

Zac is still in the 20th-century in his unit, which is directly north of unit 1. He has found a large amount of plate glass in his, and he has recently come down on some large flat stones in the eastern side of his unit. We are still waiting to see if these may be associated with the brick floor in unit 1.

Molly and Mike began unit 10, which is to the west of unit 5, their other unit. In the eastern part of their unit is a rock footing which may be a continuation of the footing found in unit 5. They also had an exciting find today. They uncovered a large fragment of flow blue ironstone that was obviously part of a large vessel, possibly with handles. They also have another large piece of ironstone waiting to be excavated.

As for our older units, Rick and Tom have finally gotten through the brick floor and the clay supporting it and are into the early 19th-century/late 18th-century in unit 1. The artifacts coming out of their unit include pieces of flow blue, transfer print, and shell-edge whiteware and pearlware. They have dated the brick floor to the second or third quarter of the 19th-century. Frank is finishing up unit 2, having hit what he believes to be subsoil. His unit is getting a little flooded as well, so we’ll all have to hope for clear skies tonight and maybe a little drainage for our flooded units.



Friday, May 21, 2010

Posted by Molly Russell, graduate student from the University of Maryland, Department of Anthropology:

What a day! What a week! A lot has been going on around here at the Indian Queen Tavern. Dirt is piled high all around the site – dirt that has been chock full of interesting information!

Mike and I have been digging for the past three days in Trench 3, Unit 5. Let me tell you, this is one confusing unit. Yesterday we thought we had evidence of two different post holes from the 18th century. Post holes are formed when a small hole is dug, a wooden post is placed in the hole, and the wooden post rots to leave a dark stain in the soil. So when an archaeologist comes across dark circles in the soil, post-holes seem like a likely explanation. However, the farther down we dug the less they looked like post holes because the dark soil veered off in a different direction the deeper we went. It seemed as if the investigation of these post holes would not be an open-and-shut case – that would have made our day too easy! Mike was digging one of these post holes out and found ceramics dating back to the 19th century. That could possibly help explain the mystery of the amorphous post hole. These 19th century artifacts may have been part of a later intrusion that cut into the initial 18th century post hole. Only time (and more digging!) will tell if this theory is correct.

In our unit we also found some interesting artifacts. There were a few sherds of some beautifully decorated blue and white Chinese porcelain dating back to the mid 18th century. Mike, however, truly had the find of the day. He had been digging through a lot of mud when pulled out a mysterious brass object. Modern technology (i.e. a cell phone with the internet) confirmed that this object was most likely a cask-tap from the 18th century. Talk about an artifact that truly speaks of the site’s tavern past!

Jenna and Jen opened up a new unit today. So far they are finding a lot of building materials, glass, and ceramic that date back to the late 19th and 20th century. They have been working through the heat to learn more about the information that these artifacts and the soil contain.

Nicole is working in a mucky mess! Her’s is the unit farthest west in the first trench. So far you can see a brick footing for a former outbuilding, but the high water table is making it difficult to dig through the mud and water.

Lisa, in the unit right next to Nicole’s, has found evidence of some post holes (remember those?). As I am typing this, though, the dug out holes resemble small ponds rather than features. Water has interfered yet again!

The soil in Frank and Janet’s unit has not been dug down as far as Lisa and Nicole’s unit, so a lot of their artifacts date back to the mid-18th century. They too have some post holes, and they too have encountered water during their excavation. Maybe next week we’ll all have some drier conditions.

Rick has continued to take up the brick layers that line his unit. We are hoping that once he is able to get down past these we will be able to gather some useful information about the transformation of the site over the past few centuries.
Finally, we would like to thank all of the volunteers who have been working hard over the past few days! They have been digging, screening soil, and generally getting very dirty! They have been a huge help, and we are all very appreciative of their work.

Thanks for checking in, and check back next week to see what we’re doing over here in Bladensburg.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Posted by Richard Ervin, Senior Archeologist,

Maryland State Highway Administration:



Day 2 of excavations with a full crew: Thursday. After our rainout on Tuesday, and mild cloudy weather on Wednesday, we had full sun and temperatures in the 80s today – enough to get a good sunburn if you don’t watch it!

Tom and I are working in Test Unit 1 at the far east end of Trench 1. Although we are mired in the 20th century (possibly the late 19th by the end of the day today), we are finding some interesting material. Yesterday afternoon we came down on a brick surface, (see photo above) and by the end of the day it was apparent that it covers most of the floor of our 5-by-5. Today, we found that a second course of bricks lies under the top layer – and that we appear to have some sort of structure floor. It’s also possible that it may represent a paved work area or drive.

The stratum above the bricks in TU 1 contains mostly early 20th century diagnostic artifacts – a crown bottle cap, wire staples, a .22 cartridge, a molded glass tumbler, and ceramics that appear to 20th century, or late 19th at the earliest. We also found two clay marbles and 3 blue glass beads – each of which was found as two separate half-spheres. Were they manufactured in two pieces, or were they all split while I was troweling? I didn’t think I was being that heavy-handed! However, we’ll have to see if we can find any information on such beads.

We left one quadrant of the bricks in place and took out the rest of the upper course of bricks. Mixed into spaces between the brickwork, we found a copper rivet, a stud clothing fastener manufactured of milk glass, undecorated and polychrome whiteware, along with various nails, window glass, and the like. After taking some record photos and completing our paperwork, we started removing the lower course of bricks from three quadrants of the unit. Here, we started to find what appears to be earlier 19th century material (probably around mid-century) including one blue transfer print whiteware and one piece that may be annular ware. At the end of the day, under the lower brick course, we found a small figurine. Was it placed here intentionally? At this point we can’t say.

Frank and Janet have gotten down into the 18th century in TU 2 immediately to our west – some creamware, Rhenish blue stoneware, white salt-glazed stoneware, and tin-glazed earthenware. They also have some interesting features in their unit – in particular, a postmold that lies just west of our brick floor. The posthole and postmold feature contained later material, generally late 19th century artifacts that appear to match well with the brick structure. Perhaps the brick floor and post feature are related.

Lisa found the biggest honkin’ piece of delftware we’ve seen, although they may have found something larger at Londontown ... also a piece of Whieldon Ware. One postmold was excavated – unfortunately nothing was recovered in the fill, but there are several areas of brick and mortar that appear to indicate other structural features in the unit. The good news is that they are finding lots of pipe fragments and wine bottle glass – both very much what would be expected in a tavern assemblage!

Julie was working at the far west end of Trench 1, in TU 4. She has another feature, an a brick pile or foundation. As expected at this depth at the west end of Trench 1, she has early artifacts – a clay marble, Rhenish and white salt glazed stoneware, tin-glazed earthenware, and creamware, along with some nice pieces of bone.

In Trench 3, excavated to the north parallel to the first trench, Mike and Molly have been working on a strange configuration of rocks that, at the end of the day, was starting to look like a stone foundation. (see photo below) The artifacts from the inside of the structure all date to the 18th century stuff: tin-glazed earthenwares, nicely hand-painted in polychromatic flowers and stripes. Early stuff! This probably dates to the earliest days of Bladensburg’s history. We’ll see what tomorrow brings...

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Indian Queen Tavern: Day Three, "Bits and Pieces of the Picture"

Today we began excavating test units in the trench we opened on Monday, and also had the Gradall dig a second trench parallel to the first. These trenches are five feet wide and about twenty five feet long, and are also stepped; that is, they were excavated in levels, so the first unit starts in the 20th century, the unit in the middle begins in the 19th century, and at the end we’re starting at a depth that corresponds with the early 19th or late 18th century. This allows us to sample three centuries of site occupation simultaneously.

In Unit 1, Rick and Tom found artifacts representative of the early 20th century (and maybe a few things from the late 19th century). These artifacts included a huge piece of broken window glass, several small glass beads, glass bottles, ceramics, two clay marbles, and architectural debris (brick fragments, mortar, and nails). At the end of the day, they discovered an articulated brick floor!

Janet and Frank excavated Unit 2, which has arguably been the most interesting and productive unit so far today. The artifacts dated, for the most part, to the mid-to-late 19th century. Everyone’s favorite artifact of the day was found here: a ceramic lid depicting a cow and bearing the legend “Genuine Beef Marrow Pomatum.” This was essentially the Spam of the late 19th century (the lid dates to around 1870). In addition to the Pomatum lid, Unit 2 yielded a ceramic marble, several large ceramic fragments, numerous pipestems and bowls, and an assortment of other items.

Lisa excavated Unit 3, which offered an assortment of early 19th century and late 18th century artifacts. There were a variety of ceramic types represented here: Tin-Glazed Earthenware, Nottingham, English Brown Stoneware, and a number of patterns on Pearlware, Creamware and Whiteware. Animal bone was also present, as well as lamp glass, wine bottle glass, a large quantity of nails and bricks, and quite a lot of oyster and clam shells.

Mike and Molly began the day excavating Unit 4 in Trench 1, but Unit 4 needed a bit more time to dry out after Tuesday’s rain, so they moved to Unit 5 in Trench 3. A number of large, possibly architectural stones have been found, which may indicate that Mike & Molly are working at the site of the stable or possibly another outbuilding from the mid-to-early 19th century. They have also found a number of ceramics, including a fragment of “Scratch Blue” and a small piece of Nottingham-type pottery.
Each test unit excavated today represented a different use of the site, from the earliest to the latest historic occupation. The only major concern is that we may have only scratched the surface of the Indian Queen Tavern period – where are all the pipestems and liquor bottles? With any luck, we’ll start turning them up in the next day or so!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Indian Queen Tavern: Day Two, "One for the archaeologists, one for the rain"

Today the weather did not cooperate with our excavation plans. Pouring rain filled our trenches. Luckily we laid down plastic the day before to protect the soil. For any of you who followed our Market Master's house excavation this may sound very familiar!

We decided to make the best of our time, so the crew headed to the University of Maryland archaeology lab to wash and examine our finds from yesterday. (See picture of L - R: Molly Russell, Lisa Krauss and Nichole Sorenson-Mutchie) Despite the cold wet weather and lost field time, looking over the artifacts from yesterday reignited our excitement to start digging. A close examination of the artifacts confirmed what we had hoped for the day before: the site seems to be largely intact.

Below the gravel we found artifacts from the early twentieth century including colorful printed and gilded dinner plates, liquor bottles and milk glass cold cream jars. Below that we found artifacts from the late nineteenth century including slightly more subdued plate fragments, medicine bottles, and porcelain tchotchkes (see photograph). A few inches below that we found even older ceramics, brass decorative elements that might be related to a cabinet/ coffinmaker that occupied the lot (more on that in an upcoming blog post!). Finally down at the bottom of the trench we found the kinds of ceramics that definitely identify the mid to late 18th century including white salt-glazed stoneware and scratch blue. At the moment the weather is looking up for tomorrow. We are hoping to get a great start on four test units placed along the length of our first trench, and excavate a second trench parallel with our first one. Our team will expand to a group of nine. More to come tomorrow!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Indian Queen Tavern Excavation: Day 1

After a year, we're out in the field again in Bladensburg. It was a good feeling despite the rainy, cool weather we had today. Julie Schablitsky, Mike Roller, and I (Nichole Sorensen-Mutchie) spent the day monitoring the backhoe excavation of two trenches in the gravel parking lot of the George Washington House. The first trench located north of the GW House, was placed based on ground penetrating radar results. Multiple anomalies were found in that area, perhaps related to the tavern or associated kitchen, shed, and stable. After the compact gravel was removed, we found wonderfully intact deposits from the 20th, 19th, and 18th centuries. Artifacts found included oyster shell, porcelain, nails, bottle glass, and scratch blue stoneware. Three units were placed in the trench, ready to be dug tomorrow.













A second trench was dug perpendicular to the first. About twenty complete bottles were found, likely dating to the early to mid 20th century. A horse shoe was also found, perhaps associated with the stable. Trench 2 had to be filled back in because we hit the water table.
All in all, it was a very good day. We weren't sure there would be anything left from the 18th and 19th centuries and now we know that there are! Tomorrow should be exciting as we start to dig units and hopefully find features related to the tavern.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Brief History of the Indian Queen Tavern

Tavern Definition: A house that offered alcoholic drink, food, and overnight accommodation for a price.

Around 1763 a tavern was built on the north half of Lot 6 by Jacob Wirt and his wife Henrietta. Jacob was a Swiss immigrant and Henrietta emigrated from Germany. They raised their three sons and three daughters in this tavern. In 1774, Jacob Wirt died and left this property, including the brick store (George Washington House), tavern, stable, and counting house before the tavern door, to his heirs.

Although the tavern was still owned by the Wirt heirs, it was rented out. By 1798, the tavern was being operated by Richard Ross. The tax records described the tavern as a two story, framed dwelling house measuring 46 ft by 28 ft. The property also supported a 12 ft by 16ft framed kitchen, a 26 ft by 20 ft framed stable, and a 26ft by 9ft shed.

Perhaps the most significant mention of the tavern came in a letter dated March 26, 1797 from George Washington to Elizabeth Willing Powell. In the letter he noted that although Spurrier’s Tavern in Jessup was popular with travelers, “the lodging is bad-the eating tolerable…better for lodging than eating. At Bladensburg nine miles beyond a good house is kept by one Ross (sign of the Indian Queen). We believe that Washington was likely referring to Richard Ross’ tavern.*

The last known tavern keeper was Patrick Daugherty who took over the operation in 1802 and may have kept the Ross name for his business. Ross’ Tavern is not mentioned again until 1814. Joshua Barney’s daughter, Mary, reports that after the Battle of Bladensburg, Commodore Barney was taken to Ross’ Tavern at his request. Here he oversaw the capture and parole of 80 wounded American soldiers. Additionally, a letter written from Ross’ Tavern about the Battle of Bladensburg from Henry Thompson to Brig. Gen. Stricker also suggests the use of the tavern as a head quarters following the battle. This is the last known reference to the tavern. Based on the chain of titles, it appears that the property ceased to support a tavern by the 1830s.

By 1861, a German cabinet maker, Ernst Franz (Francis) Gasch, operated a cabinet shop on this property where he also made coffins and served as a local mortician. Although Francis and his wife, Sophia, moved across the street in 1895, they continued to operate the funeral home at this location until 1902. By 1939, the property is vacant.

The Indian Queen Tavern archaeological excavation will begin May 17th, 2010.


*A tavern believed to be the Rossborough Inn is noted on an 1802 map as the Indian Queen Tavern in College Park. It is believed Richard Ross built and operated this inn after leaving his Bladensburg establishment in 1802.