The First Settlements in Howard County

 The indigenous peoples and their many tribes were complex and at the time of Captain John Smith’s 1612 map the Powhatan Confederacy, made of perhaps dozens of Algonquin People’s tribes which includes the Piscataway tribe, was prominently featured as well as the Susquehannock, an Iroquoian People’s tribe.*

There is still academic debate over some of these grouping because historic documents did not focus on indigenous peoples and certainly not from their viewpoint when the topic was written about.

It is generally accepted that Howard County is on the territorial lands of the Susquehannock and Piscataway Tribes.** In 2012 The State of Maryland recognized the Piscataway Indian Nation “stretching from the Appalachian Mountains to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.”*** In 2020, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, located less than two miles from Howard County, offers the following land acknowledgement that we would like to share as we believe it to also be applicable to Howard County and this book.

UMBC was established upon the land of the Piscataway and Susquehannock peoples. Over time, citizens of many more Indigenous nations have come to reside in this region. We humbly offer our respect to all past, present, and future Indigenous people connected to this place.” ****

While it is difficult to determine the exact boundaries applicable to a 1652 treaty between the Susquehannock and the Maryland Colonial Government, it extended along the Chesapeake western shore between the Patuxent River and Garrett Island in the Susquehanna River near Havre de Grace.[v]  Did it extend into Howard County?  We just don’t have an absolute understanding of the extent of the lands including how far upstream they went or whether it included both sides of the Patuxent.  

Long before this land was colonized, archaeological evidence from Site  18HO277 along the Little Patuxent River, shows this area was a crucial strategic location used repeatedly by ancestral Native Americans for thousands of years.*****

A Multi-Period Timeline:  Excavations at the site confirmed evidence of occupation during two major prehistoric eras:

• Archaic Period (Early, Middle, & Late): The oldest evidence of life here. Groups of mobile hunters and gatherers used the terrace as a short-term camp as far back as 6,000 years ago.

• Woodland Period (Early, Middle, & Late): The most intense use of the site. Evidence points to the location being used as an intact prehistoric base camp.

What the Archaeologists Found: The artifacts and features tell the story of a settled, structured life near the river:

• Evidence of Long Stays: Archaeologists discovered intact pit features (used for storage or cooking) and even possible postmolds, which indicate the presence of temporary structures. This suggests the site was occupied for extended periods of time.

• Dated History: Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from the intact deposits confirms the site was actively used during the Early Woodland Period (around 387–202 BC) and again in the Middle Woodland Period (around AD 653–860).

• Technology: The recovery of Mockley and Accokeek-like ceramic sherds shows these groups were processing and storing food using pottery, a key technological shift during the Woodland period.

• Stone Tools: The vast majority of the over 2,200 prehistoric artifacts recovered were stone tools, flakes, and cores, primarily made of quartz, but also including local rhyolite, chert, and quartzite.

Honoring Their Legacy

The archeological data from 18HO277 is more than just ancient history; it is a vital part of the history of Howard County.  The State of Maryland recognized the significance of this site, determining it was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This determination was made because the site has the potential to continue to yield important information about the lifeways of the ancestral Native Americans who called the Little Patuxent home.   

* Maryland State Archives, “Maryland at a Glance, Native Americans”, 2022. https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/native/html/01native.html
 

** Maryland State Arts Council, “Land Acknowledgements”, 2023. https://msac.org/resources/land-acknowledgements
 

*** The State of Maryland, Executive Order 01.01.2012.02. “Recognition of the Maryland Indian Status of the Piscataway Indian Nation”, 2012.

[iv] University of Maryland Baltimore County. “Land Acknowledgment Resources”, Office of Equity and Inclusion, 2020. https://oei.umbc.edu/land-acknowledgement-statement/

**** Fern Shen, “A 1652 treaty opens up the story of the first ‘Baltimoreans’”, Baltimore Brew. December 10, 2019. https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2019/12/10/a-1652-treaty-opens-up-the-story-of-the-first-baltimoreans/.

*****https://apps.mht.maryland.gov/synthesis/pdf/18HO277.pdf