Historical Archaeology
Volunteers in Archaeology Excavate at the Soccerplex in Germantown, MD.First expanding into the Piedmont in the seventeenth century, land speculators carved out large tracts along our creeks, so important for farming and milling. Thus, our stream valley parks are among the oldest settled areas.
Eventually, over-cultivation of tobacco wore out the land. It only recovered when farmers switched to growing grains and cerals in the 1840s. In the twentieth century, the emphasis changed to dairying. Early in those times, Montgomery County was the third largest agricultural producer in the nation. Our Parks contain reminders of all those peoples who used the land before us and built: mills, farmsteads, slave cabins, Civil War forts, tenant farms, Reconstruction-era villages, dairy farms, quarries, and even gold mines.
Oakley Cabin.
Volunteers make digs possible.