Middle Plantation (Davidsonville, Maryland)

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Middle Plantation
Middle Plantation (Davidsonville, Maryland)
General information
Location2621 Davidsonville, Road
Davidsonville, Maryland [1]
Coordinates 38°57.972′N76°39.813′W / 38.966200°N 76.663550°W / 38.966200; -76.663550
Construction startedcirca 1790 [1]

Middle Plantation is a historic house and plantation in Davidsonville, Maryland, originally owned by the Huguenot, Mareen Duvall. [1] [2] [3] [4]

History

The original 600-acre tract, near the confluence of the South River with its tributary the North River, was patented in 1664 to Mareen Duvall, an early Huguenot emigrant from Nantes. [4] [5]

The South River Hundred had been established after the 1650 erection of Anne Arundel County. As one of the five hundreds in the county in 1707, the South River Hundred was the area between the West River Hundred and the South River. [6] Just north of the South River Hundred in 1707, the Middle Neck Hundred contained the area between the South River and the Severn River. [6] [7] The Middle Plantation received its name because it was located in the Central Area of the Middle Neck Hundred i.e. the middle of the middle. [5] [7]

Middle Plantation was described shortly after it was built "as luxurious and courtly as any of the manors of the English gentry." [8]

The late-20th century farmer and avocational archaeologist William Doepkens excavated artifacts from time to time over several decades, leading to his 1991 publication of a book describing many of the finds, [2] and a follow-up newspaper article. [3]

Although the date of construction of the family home at Middle Plantation has been determined as 1665, Doepkens discovered manufacturer information embossed on the cames from its leaded glass windows that infer window installation in 1667 and 1686. [9] The 1667 date could indicates concerns about building settling or a later date of initial building completion, and the 1686 date infers possible repair, renovation or building expansion. [9]

The plantation is identified by a historical marker. [10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 ""Middle Plantation" Oakland, AA-193" (PDF). State Historic Inventory. Maryland Historical Trust . Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  2. 1 2 William P. Doepkens (1991). Excavations at Mareen Duvall's Middle Plantation of South River Hundred.
  3. 1 2 Arthur Hirsch (3 May 1991). "In Davidsonville, Farmer Works The Land For Artifacts 22 Years Of Digging Detailed In New Book". The Baltimore Sun.
  4. 1 2 Steiner, Bernard Christian (1910). Men of mark in Maryland ...: biographies of leading men of the ..., Volume 2. Baltimore: B.F. Johnson.
  5. 1 2 Duvall's Range – 600 acres. Located in the upper left corner of: Map of South River, Severn River, Middle Neck Hundred, and Broadneck Peninsula. c.1650–1720. Maryland Center for History and Culture. Accessed 17 October 2025.
  6. 1 2 Hundreds. Places. Anne Arundel County. MDGenWeb. Accessed 17 October 2025.
  7. 1 2 Land Grants of the Middle Neck Hundred of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, 1650 - 1704. By Robert W. Hall. Publisher: Heritage Books, Inc. MD. Publ. 05/22/2025. Accessed 17 October 2025.
  8. ↑ Richardson, Hester Dorsey (1903). Side-lights on Maryland History: With Sketches of Early Maryland Families. Baltimore, Maryland: Williams and Wilkins Company. pp.  96. ISBN   0-8063-0296-8. Anne Tasker Samuel Ogle.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  9. 1 2 Dated Window Leads from Colonial Sites in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. By Al Luckenbach and James G. Gibb. Maryland Archaeology. Vol. 30(2), September 1994, page 26.
  10. ↑ "Middle Plantation". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
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