Ruins of the Simpson Mill. Photo courtesy of Lee Preston.

People and nature have long flourished beside the Middle Patuxent River.  Over 12,000 years ago, Native Americans hunted deer and gathered acorns and other wild food in the woods and waters. People from Woodland Indian cultures settled nearby about 2,000 years ago, leaving traces of their lives in the earthenware pottery and stone tools they left behind.

By the mid-18^th century, the river was attracting settlers of European origin. A water-powered grist mill and saw mill appears on 19^th century maps of the area, as well as a woolen factory, wheelwright shop, blacksmith shop, and nine houses.  The town became known as Simpsonville, named after its first postmaster, Charles Simpson.

The Simpsons, Warfields, Owings, and other families lived in the Simpsonville for generations. In the 1920s and 1930s, mill owner John Iglehart kept detailed ledgers of purchases at his mill store. The Saumenigs, who owned the future Robinson property, shopped at the Iglehart store as early as 1926. Simpsonville remained a hub for the local economy until undermined by the declining milling industry and the Great Depression.

Lee Preston led Atholton High School students to conduct the first archeological excavations around Simpsonville in 1984. Over 42,000 artifacts have been recovered through decades of investigations, including machine parts, clothing, bottles, window glass, and two millstones. Primary documents, including wills, deeds, letters, and photographs, provide further insights into life and work in historic Simpsonville.

The Simpsonville Mill Archaeological and Historic District is one of the few professionally-studied mill sites in Maryland. Research at the site continues to reveal more about the roles of small industrial and commercial communities in Maryland’s early economy.