DEC 7 1994

 

Mr. J. Rodney Little

State Historic Preservation Officer

Director of Historical and

Cultural Programs

Department of Housing and Community

Development

100 Community Place, Third Floor

Crownsville, Maryland 21032‑2023

 

Dear Mr. Little:

 

Thank you for forwarding the nomination for Mount Aventine, Charles County, Maryland, to the National Register of Historic Places. During our review of the nomination, Ms. Bonnie Bick petitioned the Keeper and requested a substantive review of the nomination pursuant to 36 CFR Part 60.6(t). As part of her petition Ms. Bick submitted the nomination form that was the subject of her earlier appeal and requested that an alternative boundary for Mt. Aventine be considered during the review of this nomination.

 

At issue is establishing an appropriate boundary for Mt. Aventine. Ms. Bick's nomination form includes 630 acres historically associated with the estate; the nomination you submitted includes 185 acres. After carefully reviewing the entire record in this matter I have sustained Ms. Bick's appeal. It appears to me, based upon the information available at this time and as documented in the nomination form prepared by the appellant, that the 630 acre property known as Mt. Aventine seems to meet National Register Criterion C for its significant collection of architecturally important resources dating from the 19th through the early 20th centuries, and National Register Criterion D for its potential to yield information important in history. Although not checked on the form, Mt. Aventine also appears to meet National Register Criterion i1 for its significant historical associations with the important Maryland Chapman family and for its association with the developing agricultural patterns in Charles County. I am returning the nomination you submitted and requesting that you promptly process Ms. Bick's nomination for consideration by the State Historic Preservation Review Board pursuant to 36 CFR Part 60.

 

While the 185 acre parcel, which you define as the core of the historic Mt. Aventine plantation, does contain a concentration of historic resources, I find that the entire 630 acre parcel appears to embody the historical and architectural qualities of significance which qualify it for listing in the National Register. Using the historic boundary associated with the property to define the nominated area is consistent with guidance provided in National Register Bulletin 16A: How to Complete the National Register Registration Form and is a practice routinely followed in preparing nominations where the integrity of the area has been maintained.

 

The nomination form submitted by Ms. Bick clearly appears to establish the importance of the Mt. Aventine property, a rare surviving example in the region of a Potomac River plantation retaining most of the land within its original patent boundaries. The 630 acres are the major portion of the 17th century patent to the property on the Potomac River shoreline known originally as Gryme's Ditch. Approximately 100 acres of the original patented land is now covered with modern residential development and is excluded from the nominated area. In 1805 the plantation was resurveyed and physically defined by a system of boundary ditches and markers (although the original name of the property, Gryme's Ditch, indicates that the ditches may predate the 1805 resurvey); large sections of this uncommon property delineation system remain and these ditches are included in the nomination. It is clear that this boundary delineation system (which is rarely found in National Register properties) is an historically important manifestation of early land demarcation practices. While no systematic study of this type of marking system has been done, a study of boundary ditches at Mt. Aventine may advance our understanding of the practice.

 

Within the boundary defined by this ditch system the Chapman family developed Mt. Aventine as a Potomac River plantation estate. Historically the landscape at Mt. Aventine consisted of the manor house, a changing pattern of open fields and wood lots, farm buildings, most likely slave quarters and other structures, and road traces. This pattern of development and use continued into the early 20th century. While the estate is not actively farmed today, the landscape still conveys the significance of Mt. Aventine as an important 18th and 19th century plantation through its buildings, structures, sites, road traces, woodlots, fields, and boundary ditches. While reforestation has reclaimed some of the fields (the exact extent of which is unknown) it has not destroyed the integrity of Mt. Aventine.

 

The physical development of Mt. Aventine from the 18th through the early 20th centuries reflects many important historical and architectural trends in Charles County. The main 19th century Mt. Aventine house is considered one of the county's most important examples of antebellum architecture and recalls the property's development under the prominent Chapman family. Evidence indicates that the original 18th century Chapman residence survives as an historical archeological site with the potential to yield important information on colonial architecture. The nominated area also includes the site of the major fishery established and operated by the Chapmans, the site of Chapman's Landing (a ferry landing and steamboat wharf), the Chapman family cemetery, historic roadbeds, historic outbuildings, two large tobacco barns, a secondary 19th century dwelling complex, and ruins of agricultural buildings associated with the long development of Mt. Aventine. While the period of significance is defined in the nomination as ending in 1900, the nomination justifies extending this period to include the tobacco barns (which may date to the early 20th century), associated with the continued agricultural development of Mt. Aventine.

 

Mt. Aventine appears to be eligible for listing under Criterion D as a historical archaeological property. This is consistent with the nomination which describes known and expected archeological sites, including the original plantation home. Archaeological study of Mt. Aventine is likely to yield important information on the earliest European settlement of this region of the Potomac River and Maryland; contact between early European settlers and local Native Americans occupying the upper reaches of the Potomac River; economic and social interaction of Virginians and Marylanders during the colonial period; the extensive, but little‑documented, Potomac River fishing industry; and early historic transport on the Potomac River. Comparative archaeological study of Mt. Aventine and other Chapman properties, such as Chapman's Mill and Meadowland at Thoroughfare Gap in Prince William County, Virginia, is likely to yield important information on the settlement and early life and accomplishments of one of America's prominent early families.

As noted in the text of the nomination, there is a high probability that important prehistoric archaeological sites are located within the bounds of the Mt. Aventine estate. Recent archaeological studies of surrounding lands support this conclusion. If future archaeological investigations at Mt. Aventine identify important prehistoric sites, then the nomination should be amended to extend the period of significance of this property back into prehistoric times.

 

The record indicates that the nomination for Mt. Aventine was presented to the State Historic Preservation Review Board, but that the board did not vote on the area delineated in the nomination. As stipulated in 36 CFR 60.12(c)(2) I am requesting that you promptly process the nomination pursuant to 36 CFR 60.6, and that the nomination be submitted to the National Register for final action. The final decision on Mt. Aventine will be made based upon my review of the nomination formally submitted to the National Register, after the revisions we have suggested have been made. If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Andrus of the National Register staff at (202) 343‑9519.

 

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

 

Sincerely,

 

Carol D. Shull

 

Carol D. Shull
Keeper of

 the National Register of Historic Places Interagency Resources Division