The January 2026 Archeological Society of Maryland Newsletter (ASM Ink) contained the following article about CCASM, but it lacked captions on the photos. (Yes, there are photos toward the end.)
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The ASM Chapter in Charles County
Carol Cowherd
I was asked to write something about the Charles County Chapter of ASM, so here goes.
Since we are also the 501(c)3 non-profit organization Charles County Archeological Society of Maryland, Inc, I will refer to us as CCASM. CCASM like the other ASM Chapters is made up of people with the desire to learn about local archaeology and/or history and to interact with others also interested in learning. Our members include a mix of avocational archaeologists, one professional archeologist, and several newer members with no previous experience in archaeology. Most of our members live in Charles County, but we also have members from other parts of Maryland as well as in other states – South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New York. Since CCASM was incorporated in 2010, our membership seems to stay in the low thirties with the number of active members currently being around ten.
But what does CCASM do?
Our main priorities are meetings, outreach activities, and volunteering for archeology projects in the field and in the lab. You can check out almost everything we have been doing for the past fifteen years by going to the CCASM blog ccarchsoc.blogspot.com/ .
Here is a brief overview.
CCASM meets monthly September through April on the third Thursday of the month in LaPlata and has a potluck meeting in May. We have been lucky that many archeologists in Southern Maryland as well as others have agreed to talk at our meetings. One of our members lets us use his Zoom account so the speaker does not always have to travel to LaPlata. This also allows members who cannot attend in person to hear the talk. I should mention, we are still learning to conduct Zoom meetings.
For outreach CCASM attends at least four events during the year. We have four displays and a number of hands-on activities so we can tailor the display and the activities to use at a given event. Three of the displays are felt covered, and we can modify or change what’s on the display easily. Also the number of activities keeps growing. Here is a photo from the Charles County Public Schools History, Industry, Technology, and Science (HITS) Expo that occurs in March of each year.
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| CCASM at 2025 Charles County Public Schools HITS Expo |
And, of course, many of our members like to volunteer in the lab and in the field. CCASM members as a group (and sometimes individually) have volunteered with a number of archaeologists for various grants. CCASM members mainly volunteer with Esther Doyle Read, the County Archaeologist for Charles County Planning and Growth. Esther holds a Monday Public Archaeology Lab in Historic Port Tobacco in two buildings owned by the Society for Restoration of Port Tobacco and leased by Charles County Tourism. Most Mondays volunteers process artifacts retrieved from Charles County sites. Some Mondays and weekends volunteers are in the field on various Charles County sites investigating the site or doing rescue archaeology or documenting graveyards. Actually, being able to volunteer locally has contributed to CCASM membership. Most people volunteering for Monday Lab tend to join CCASM.
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| Washing at Burch House |
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| Cataloging at PT Courthouse |
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| In the Field |
In 2024 the Charles County Historic Preservation Commission presented CCASM with a Preservation Service Award in recognition of outstanding achievement in and support for furthering the aims of historic preservation in Charles County.
There are a few other things I could add, but that is all for now. If you want to contact us, the CCASM email is ccasm2010@gmail.com.
