Chiles Homesite, Douglas Point

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The Chiles Homesite is located on the Potomac River within the Douglas Point Special Recreation Management Area in Charles County, Maryland. The site consists of the ruins of a small farmhouse constructed ca. 1790 as a single-story framed house with double brick chimneys. The structure evoked earlier hall-and-parlor homes common in the 17th century but also had some 18th-century neoclassical interior elements. It was purchased in 1841 by Reverend William J. Chiles, pastor of the Nanjemoy Baptist Church, who later added a two-story addition with cellar. The house was documented by historians in the 1950s and 1970s prior to its demolition in 1976. BLM acquired the property in 2002. In 2005 the William and Mary Center for Archaeological Research performed excavations at the site and determined it was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Today the only visible surface remains include the 1790s foundation and chimneys, the brick cellar from the 1850s addition, and a brick-lined well.