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Thomas Cresap's Fort
February 27th, 2026
Our next Chapter meeting will be on
Friday, February 27, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Location:
Old Canada Hose Company Firehouse
400 North Mechanic Street St
Cumberland, MD
This will be the best opportunity to hear the latest updates on this important site directly from the archaeologist who lead the investigation.
In 2024, the Archeology Society of Maryland hosted its annual Tyler Bastian Field Session in Oldtown, Maryland. This 10-day excavation focused on the c. 1740s fort of Thomas Cresap, one of the first English settlers in Western Maryland. Maryland's Chief Archeologist Matt McKnight led the archeological investigation and will be the speaker at our February meeting. Come hear preliminary analysis & results and learn about the early frontier history of Allegany County. (Posts from earlier excavation are below)
All meetings are open to the public.
With the assistance of Western Maryland Chapter of ASM members, the Maryland Historic Trust conducted a dig in the Oldtown, Maryland area from October 16-19, 2023.
Test excavations were done at a site in Allegany County believed to be Colonel Thomas Cresap's fortified home called "Skipton" or "OldTown." These test units were done to ground-truth two large cellar-like anomalies identified during a tri-partite remote sensing survey conducted by MHT and the Western Chapter of the Archeological Society of Maryland (ASM) in November of 2020.
It is likely that the 2024 ASM field session will done at this site so stay tuned for exciting news about what was found and plans for future work at this site.
Appalachian Folk Festival
This event was held September 16th at Frostburg State University
The Western Maryland Chapter booth displayed artifacts and printed material on the archaeology of our area. There was a steady stream of visitors who were interested and stopped to talk about archaeology. A number of new members and visitors attended the September chapter meeting where a presentation about Bone Cave was done. 45 people attended.
Over the past 5 summers the wigwamin the Rocky Gap State Park camping area has served as a focal point for youth programs on Native American Lifeways.
Not just a Chapter President - a roofing contractor:
Repairs and maintenance work being done in July 2022.
For more information, contact the Chapter
wmdasm@yahoo.com
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Membership Dues for 2023:
Payment of dues, $12 per household, will once again be collected for 2024.
Payment can be made at Chapter meetings or mailed to:
Krista Morris, Treasurer
524 Welch Ave
Cumberland MD 21502
Make check payable to WMD Chapter ASM.
(Please include EMAIL, so that we may send your newsletter electronically
rather than postal mail, to reduce postage cost.)
January begins the new Membership year.
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Meeting Cancellations:
Meeting cancellations will be announced on
WCBC 1270 AM, by email or you may call Chapter members when in doubt.
wmdasm@yahoo.com
Visit our website
The Western Maryland Chapter of the Archeological Society of Maryland was established to educate and encourage amateur archeologists by conducting field sessions, weekend digs and hosting guest speakers on a wide range of archeological topics. Projects such as the excavation of the Late Woodland sites in Cresaptown and Barton's in Allegany County and Sang Run in Garrett County have created a growing interest in our local cultural resources.
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