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You’ve probably driven by the roadside marker on Route 424, but are you ready to learn about the REAL STORY ?Linthicum Walks invites you to a special lecture on Tuesday March 24th from 6-8pm, where you will learn about the exciting discovery of Middle Plantation site in a tobacco field off Rossback Road, and see artifacts that are more than 365 years old.
Dr. Patricia Samford, Scott Strickland, and Jean Doepkens Wright will discuss the ground-breaking archaeological discovery of Middle Planation of the South River Hundred. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A, and Strickland will discuss some of the most compelling artifacts from the collection, how they are being conserved, and how they lend new insights into our historical knowledge. These artifacts have to date only been seen by the family and select professionals with the State!
The site was discovered by Wright’s father, William P. Doepkens, (son of a German immigrant, farmer, amateur archaeologist) in 1968. After decades in storage in the basement of the family home, the Doepkens family donated the entire collection to the State in 2025 to ensure that the assemblage was available for the public benefit in perpetuity.
Doepkens, a tobacco farmer by trade, became a self-trained archaeologist when he excavated and studied this 17th-Century site that changed local historians’ understanding of the earliest European settlement of Anne Arundel County, MD. His systematic excavation and exhaustive research resulted in a self-published 225-page book that details the archaeological process, and documents local land records and founding families of what would become known as Davidsonville in the 19th century.
SEATING IS LIMITED with only 35 seats available, so reserve your spot fast!
Linthicum Walks will also offer a pre-packaged “charcuterie in a bag,” to enjoy that evening (Pre-order in advance $20)
Presenter Biographies:
Dr. Patricia M. Samford is director of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum and has previously worked at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and North Carolina State Historic Sites.
Scott M. Strickland is the deputy director of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum and is an adjunct instructor of anthropology and environmental studies at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Jean Doepkens Wright is an educator, with over 35 years of teaching experience. She grew up in Davidsonville, and today hails from central Virginia. She and her family remain passionate about sharing their father’s work and discoveries to a new generation.
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Event Venue
Friends of Historic Linthicum Walks, 2295 Davidsonville Rd,Gambrills,MD,United States
Tickets
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