So, the theory has been for quite some time now that Melwood was originally built as a 4-bay post and ground heavy timber framed house. The dendrochronology done by Oxford Laboratories in 2008 indicated that the timbers in the roof of this part of the house dated to the spring of 1714 suggesting a construction date of that time. Later during a upgrading and expansion of the original farm house to a Georgian inspired Planter's dwelling the frame was encased in brick on the south side of the house. It has always been thought that just those two events occurred.

With the current archaeological quest in addition to documenting the condition of the foundations around the house we wanted to find out, if possible, if there was indeed just these two construction events. After all, Melwood Park, the property was in the hands of several owners before the Digges family purchased it in 1729 and in fact was owned by the Darnall family from as early as 1683 until 1729...some 46 years.

The archaeological work at the back of the house seems to indicate that there was one additional expansion to the house done between the 1714 date and the 1768 date...when we do not know. So, I wondered if there would be evidence of another in between building episode on the west side of the house.

I choose a spot along the south wall of the house towards the west corner as a likely candidate to reveal a construction joint, as well as a place where the western edge of a possible "in between" expansion whould have happened. It just so happens that there is a large structural crack in the 1768 masonry at this location...a suggestion of a joint below.



The excavation unit showed us a few things early on; a thin layer of soil from the 20th century, no 19th century soil and very little 18th century soils. We know this by the kinds of and density of artifacts recovered...which were minimal at best. Once through the top 6" or so a builder's trench appeared towards the east (photo right) and a larger deposit appeared on the west (photo left), the intersection of these is directly below the masonry crack.


What seems to become clear to us was a post! It appeared to be a confirmation of what many of us studying Melwood suspected, that it was indeed a post in ground building...


Hmmm.....odd, I decided while the archaeologist dug to go under the house and photograph the opposite side of the wall being examined. It is clearly revealed that there is a construction joint. In the photo above is that joint, slight left of the center of the photo. You can see a large plate resting on the brick with the floor joist bearing on that plate. This area (2/3s of photo right) is the western most expansion of the house built in 1768. To the left of that is the in between expansion of unknown date. Oddly the expansion was not constructed in a similar fashion to the east expansion of unknown date . In other words, the joists in that expansion are not encased in the south wall masonry but rather sit on an outboard plate similarly to the 1768 work.

After finishing our first excavation unit we moved onto the second. I had the archaeologist place this one on the east side of the house and asked that we capture the eastern wall, north face of the chimney and a portion of the east face as well. The thinking was that by capturing all of the corners we could see if the builder revised his methods along the way by building the inner and outer corner of the structure differently.


We ended up making a good decision. It turned out that the unit was large enough and placed in the correct spot to shown not only the differences in the construction of the wall verses the chimney but we also uncovered the post hole for one of the scaffolding poles used when the 1768 expansion was built.


The photo above shows the top of the layer where the scaffold post hole is revealed. The post is the dark rectangular spot above the trowel. Outlined around the post is the post hole that was dug to bury the scaffold post. Just above that feature is the edge of the builder's trench for the east wall of the house. There is no clear builder's trench at this point around the chimney base almost suggesting that the chimney was built separately from the wall.


The photo above shows one of the other oddities of the chimney base. At this point it looks like the base of the chimney stops short of the base of the wall by several brick courses. There is also on the south face of the wall a very odd and random course of brick that appears to not be attached to the wall. As we explored this oddity we realized that the builder might have made a mistake in his initial layout of the wall. To correct the problem he added this odd course to support the additional width of wall needed above. The outlined areas are indications of possible builder's trenches for the chimney.

The post hole and post were profiled by Matt Palus, the archaeologist. The photo below shows that profile. The post itself, or its shadow is the dark material and the post hole fill is adjacent to it.


Next order of business is the excavations along the south wall of the house. The plan is to excavate along the two areas where I believe that expansions occurred. Along this facade we will explore the west side of the south wall to see if there is a early to mid 18th century addition like that discovered on the north west side of the house. Stay tuned...

The second day our the archaeological exploration of Melwood Park's foundations was fruitful. The area where I had suspected a distinct foundation system for three different building episodes was revealed and confirmed by the excavation unit.

Long awaited archaeology has begun at Melwood Park! Over the next several weeks Ottery Group will be working with Michael Vallen, Project Manager for Melwood Parke Foundation searching for answers to questions about Melwood's past. Personally, I can't tell you how excited I am about this! I am hopeful that many of the questions that have lingered about Melwood's construction history will be revealed.

So here is exactly what we are doing.

Above is Peter, he's beginning the first excavation unit at the rear of the house on the eastern side.

Back in late 2009 I had the ground under Melwood tested for bearing capacity; essentially determining the amount of weight per square foot that the ground under Melwood can safely support. It turned out to everyone's surprise that Melwood's ground is extremely poor with a bearing capacity of 400 lbs./sq. ft....the minimum building standard is 1,500 lbs/sq.ft.!!! So, I knew we were in real trouble.

The trouble lead me to completely rethink many things about the house. What was most apparent is that Mary (Carroll) Digges had a real reason for leaving the money she left in her will for the repairs to Melwood...the house had been on the move from at least during her lifetime. So, if the house had been moving (sinking) for so many years aside from the poor soils what else could be contributing to the movement I asked myself. Water has certainly been a culprit, the roofs between the main house and the north ell (both the 18th and 19th century versions leaked), the gutters and downspouts were removed before the Great Depression, and the condition of the foundation was at the very least questionable.

In all of my research I could only find one tiny shred of evidence that discussed the foundation of Melwood. It was a photograph taken during the 1989 Phase I field study by MAAR. The photograph shows a small excavation unit at a point between the oldest part the house and the newer part of the house. The unit was dug down to a depth of the bottom of the masonry wall...just 3 brick courses below grade. No foundation was revealed in that photograph and nothing in the field notes by the researchers said anything about a foundation...in fact they stated that the brick simply sat directly on top of subsoil! This is not good.

Working with the Maryland Historic Trust and the Historic Preservation Division of the Prince George's Office of Planning (MNCPPC) we developed a plan for an archaeological investigation that would investigate the condition of the foundations around the entire perimeter of the house. As well we plan to investigate the interior areas under the East Parlor (Drawing Room). We hope with the work on the exterior we will be able to pin point the various construction activities that have taken place at Melwood. With the interior work we hope to confirm the locations of the various eastern walls of the house. I personally believe that the east wall of Melwood changed at least 3 times and possibly 4 times. My thinking is that the earliest Melwood Park was built sometime in the 1690s then expanded in 1714, modified again sometime between 1714 and 1768 and then expanded to its current width in 1768.

Yesterday we started an excavation unit on the northeast side of the house, at a point were I expected to find evidence of three construction periods.

This image shows the beginnings of the evidence of those three construction periods. On the left is the 1768 work, in the middle where the brick extends away from the wall forming a kind of footing is the work between 1714 and 1768 and to the right is the work of 1714 or earlier.

This image shows a small builder's trench (outlined in the dirt as a squiggly line) along side the 1768 work where it joins (photo right) the earlier work. It seemed odd to all of us on site yesterday that this trench was so small. After looking at the trench carefully, and after removing most of its contents it was determined that the trench actually represented a small trench dug after construction, perhaps to do some masonry repointing or repair. It seems that a much larger builder's trench is present...but yet to be completely revealed. The builder's trench for the middle period and earliest work has not revealed itself yet as the excavation so far is only about 15 centimeters in depth.


All in all it was a really exciting day filled with lots of discovery and interest. Best of all is that it looks like one of my theories is being confirmed...that the 1714 Melwood has a small addition made to it on the east at some time before the larger expansion of 1768!

I plan to blog on the progress of this work over the next several weeks detailing the discoveries as we go along. If anyone is interested I'm happy to have you come out to observe. Simply contact me via email at michael.vallen@melwoodparke.org to set up a time to come out.

Stay tuned!

Hello everyone, and welcome to spring (almost)!  I hope that you all enjoyed the record-setting snowfall of the past winter, and are as anxious as we are to push forward into some warmer (and more pleasant) weather. 

Unfortunately, I must start with some unsettling news.  The boxwoods, which have lined the walkway between the front of the house and the head of the driveway for well over 100 years, didn’t fare so well during the storms.  They were huge, and some had reached 10+ feet, but due to significant damage, they have all been pruned to approximately 5 feet.

                   

There is, however, an upside.  Because they have been pruned so significantly, the lower areas of the shrubs will see actual sunlight after having been shielded for so many years, allowing them to grow fuller and faster.  And, we will be able to train them as they grow to line the walk once again, as was the original intent. 

Fortunately, the house itself, and the roof, came out unscathed.  It was a beautiful sight with all of the snow, but it sure did make a mess!

We’ll be blogging more frequently through the spring and summer, and we’ll look forward to keeping you updated!

 

We wanted to send out a quick update on progress with the front door.  Per an earlier post (November 2009), the door and front hall window were removed and transported to WEI in Baltimore for restoration.   Several new developments have occurred since then!

Paint analysis was performed in March 2009, which concluded that the front door was painted a typical red-brown on the exterior and was perhaps grained on the interior. In November 2009 we asked that the original samples be re-examined by our historic preservation consultant to see if there was additional information to be had, considering the findings made after the initial cleaning.

The results of her findings are as follows:

A light colored wood (maple or pine?) graining pattern is confirmed as first finish (FF) on the exterior side of the door. This layer was initially disregarded as a primer for the red brown that was [previously] determined to be the FF. Upon closer examination, the graining is purposeful/intentional and is the FF below the red brown. 

          

Also, the earlier study concluded that the interior side of the door was grained. However, while gently cleaning the interior side of the door with mineral spirits, a distinct green color appeared most strongly along cracks in the existing finish. This made us curious as to what would cause this appearance of color since this side of the door had not been shown to be finished in a green. We theorized that if the door had been initially painted with the same emerald green that the rest of the woodwork in the room had been painted then it would be the copper salts present in that first finish that was interacting with the mineral spirits and becoming “re-energized” and visible to the naked eye. Again we consulted with our historic preservation consultant and asked that the earlier samples taken from the door be re-examined to determine if indeed the emerald green first finish of the rest of the room was present on the door.

The results of her findings are as follows:

On the interior side of the main door, the FF is emerald green finish.  Following the green layer is light blue from the 1820-40 period, possibly applied by the Pumphrey family. Following this are 8 layers of machine mixed finishes, indicating continued use of this door through the early-mid 20^th Century. So—the exterior side of the main door was initially grained to resemble a less expensive/less desirable wood of pine or maple and the interior side of the main door was painted green to mach the rest of the first floor stairhall woodwork.

          

The door is missing the lower 10”, which will be recreated with walnut to match the original door, but the balance of the door is sound and will remain.  Rather than strip the door of its exterior finishes, we hope to keep the original graining and restore it. There are two approaches we can take in this work.

The first approach is to simply stabilize the original graining, cover it with a reversible varnish and then proceed with a new finish that would simulate the first graining patterns as we know them and interpret what the missing areas may have been. We would use the same colors as the original finish.

The second approach is to stabilize and clean the original finish so that the original color is as apparent as possible. The technique to accomplish this would be similar to those used in the conservation and restoration of oil paintings. There are significant areas of finish remaining on the door and the restoration of these areas offers a unique opportunity to view such a unique original finish. The missing areas of finish would be in filled with modern material that will closely resemble and yet be distinct from the original so as to not be mistaken for the original. 

  

          

It is our desire to remove the finishes from the interior side of the door and to eventually return its original finish through re-creation. In the meantime we intend to leave a sample of the finish, a small area on the upper right corner of the right (interior facing) raised panel. We will prime the door to protect the wood for the time being until we are able to have the entire interior of the Central Hall original finish recreated. This of course will happen after the building is restored.

We will keep you posted with any new developments or findings!

Greetings!  I hope that this finds everyone enjoying the change in season, the crispness of the air, and the beautiful fall foliage surrounding us!  It’s been a few weeks since we’ve posted an entry, and we have a lot to cover!

First, the Inaugural BBQ, held on Saturday, October 17, was a great success!  Granted, it wasn’t completely issue-free – four days of rain prior to and during the event made it a bit cold, wet, and muddy.  But several people from the Melwood Parke community, the Historic Preservation groups, and the new Mary Digges Lee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution came, ate lots of food (thank you Matt Steele, our master griller!), enjoyed tours of the Melwood Parke Manor (thank you Michael Vallen!), and were greeted, entertained, and face-painted (a very special thanks to Gary Cleek, master face-painter, and our amazing volunteers Lynn Cleek and Tony McNeal!!!).  Our plan is to hold this event once a year, and we’ll definitely plan it earlier to take advantage of our great late-summer weather (we’ll hope for no rain but will schedule a rain date, just in case!).

 This is an incredibly beautiful time at Melwood Parke Manor.  The leaves are falling, and we are in fact swimming in them on various areas of the property. 

All of the small branches will be gathered for compost for spring planting.  We will use this for next year’s vegetable garden and for existing plants, trees, and shrubs currently on the property.  In addition, we currently have approximately 60 dead trees throughout the property tagged for removal (making the property much safer), which will be run through a chipper and be used as mulch, as well as creating split log firewood which we will sell next season and for the foreseeable future (as long as we have trees requiring removal, that is!). Melwood Parke is also deeply committed to the environment.  Our goal:  No Trash = Zero Landfill.  Every possible item on this property that can will be reused or recycled!  

Once again, I hope that everyone is enjoying fall so far.  I invite you to share our blog with all of your friends so they too can share in the beauty of Melwood Parke Manor!

Greetings everyone, and welcome to fall!  We are very excited to announce our Inaugural Community BBQ, to be held on Saturday, October 17 at Melwood Parke Manor!

Below you will find the invitation with all of the information.  Please RSVP to Scott Dano and join us for what promises to be a very fun event! 

The window and door removal at Melwood Parke went perfectly. We had the work performed by Worcester Eisenbrandt, Inc., Baltimore Maryland on September 2, 2009. And wow did we discover some really great stuff and cool new things!

The entire operation was fully documented with photos, many of which are included in this entry. Each photo includes a caption detailing exactly what is being shown.

The craftsmen, Matt Hankins (workshop Foreman) and Stuart Knight (Restoration Craftsman and Site Supervisor) from WEI managed to remove all of the original materials without causing any additional damage to the house or the woodwork…which was great! We were fearful that the window frame, which is tabbed at the head and sill beams, was going to be a real bear to get out of the masonry wall. The Maryland Historic Trust and the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, Prince George’s County gave us permission to remove what we believed to be the “key” bricks at the head and sill beams from the exterior. This would make it possible to remove the frame from the exterior rather than interior, all in the hopes of not having to remove the interior panelings.

Well, fortunately the “key” brick idea was correct, and in fact the removal process was easier than anticipated. It turns out that Matt realized they only needed to remove the key brick from one side of the window and that that would give them enough room to remove the entire frame as an assembly by tilting and sliding it out of the opening! Bravo to that, team. The brick at the arched head of the window was destroyed, likely many years ago due to the shifting of the building and the fact that the arch had already partially failed. The bricks at the sill were in fine shape and have been retained in place in the wall until they can be properly catalogued and stored for future re-installation.

 

Unfortunately, there will be no way to keep the interior paneling assemblies in place. Our stabilization efforts are clearly going to be much too significant to keep the paneling in the house. It will be removed by our craftsmen, restored, kept in storage and then re-installed after the exterior walls are repaired. This, of course, does not mean that we are planning to dip and strip all of the panels and remove the history held within the work. Instead, we hope to remove the material in one piece, as much as possible, and take it to WEI’s workshop in Caton, Maryland for restoration. We intend to leave as much of the original finishes as possible and to leave in place as much of the original joinery, nails, wedges etc.

 

As we do this work it will be fully documented, and from time to time we will show our audience the progression.

As an aside, is there anyone out there reading our blog who has information about the local Maryland families that lived at or near Melwood Parke?  If so, could you please contact us? We are looking specifically for descendants of the Crowley family, who actually lived in Baltimore but owned Melwood for 62 years, as well the Traband family, specifically descendents of John Traband, Jr. who was responsible for building the Traband House on Old Marlboro Pike, which is another national register building. There are a couple of other families we hope to track down the descendents of as well: the Edlavitch family, who were merchants in Upper Marlboro on Main Street and likely sold the owners of Melwood windows, doors and hardware; the Nicholson family, specifically Arthur Nicholson, an architect who practiced in Laurel, Upper Marlboro for a time, and later Baltimore; and finally, Benjamin Wesley Cranford and family, as he was a prolific contractor in the area, as was his son. If you know of any of the descendents of these families, please contact me at michael.vallen@melwoodparke.org

Well, our first attempts at gardening proved to be very successful, as evidenced by the massive amount of pumpkins seen here!  Unfortunately, we're about a month early!  But, we learned some valuable lessons of the land, and next year we'll do it even better!

On behalf of everyone at the Melwood Parke Foundation, I hope you all had a wonderful summer!