WASHINGTON – Maryland’s oldest lighthouse, a one-time Western Maryland resort town and a law office that survived the Salisbury fire of 1886 now share a common factor with Graceland and San Simeon: They are in the National Register of Historic Places.
The National Register is the official list of the country’s properties that are significant because of their historical, architectural or cultural value.
Registered properties are eligible for federal tax incentives and other preservation assistance. The designation often gives property increased value and spurs local business and employment opportunities, according to the National Park Service.
POOLES ISLAND LIGHTHOUSEPooles Island Lighthouse, built in 1825, is the oldest lighthouse in the state and one of 32 remaining on the Chesapeake Bay.
The wooded island lies within the restricted boundaries of the Aberdeen Proving Ground Military Reservation, which is located on the northwest side of the upper Chesapeake Bay in Harford County.
The lighthouse, closed since 1939, is significant for its place in Maryland maritime history and for its design and construction, said architectural historian Pat Giglio.
“By placing it on the register … it has drawn a greater attention to it and gave it a larger recognition,” Giglio said.
The 40-foot lighthouse, 20 feet from the water’s edge, is a stone conical tower topped by a cast-iron lantern. The base measures 18 feet in diameter and the original mahogany door is still in place.
Archival documents show that the lighthouse was part of a complex that included a lightkeeper’s residence, boathouse and barn. The buildings were painted white and were surrounded by a white picket fence. None of the latter structures remain.
NEW WINDSOR HISTORIC DISTRICT
New Windsor, a 19th century summer resort town for city dwellers in Washington and Baltimore, was hailed for its sulphur spring, which was said to have medicinal qualities.
Two 18th century roads passed through the region: Monocacy Road connected the Monocacy River Valley to Baltimore and Buffalo Road connected Annapolis with Buffalo, N.Y.
In 1788, Isaac Richardson Atlee opened a small tavern at the intersection of the two roads and in 1797, the original 28 plots were created.
“Walking the streets of New Windsor you get a feeling for what the town was like for a 19th century visitor,” said Kenneth Short, a historic planner with the Carroll County Department of Planning.
New Windsor is historically significant for its reflection of Piedmont town development, local building practices and the influence of national architectural trends on these traditions, Short said.
It covers 98 acres and consists of 216 structures, including domestic, commercial, public, educational and religious buildings reflecting the development of the town from its founding in 1796 up to the World War II era.
The structures represent a range of architectural classifications, including mid-19th century, late Victorian/Queen Anne, late 19th century Revivals/Colonial Revival and early 20th century American/Bungalow.
Short said some of the more architecturally significant buildings include the Dielman Inn, established in the late 18th century, the former Blue Ridge College, three historic churches, three banks, the Fairfield Farms Dairy Creamery and the town hall and firehouse.
The Dielman Inn was advertised for the “medical qualities of the water, the utility of cold and warm bathing, the salubrity of the place and romantic country around it,” according to Short.
F. LEONARD WAILES LAW OFFICE
The F. Leonard Wailes Law Office at 116-118 East Main St. in the central business area of Salisbury is one of the last survivors of an October 1886 fire that leveled most of the city’s business district.
It is architecturally significant for its early 20th century law office design and incorporates neo-federal elements into an urban townhouse form, according to National Register documents.
The office, a two-story, four-bay brick building with a slate roof, was built in 1927 by Salisbury architect W. Twilley Malone. It stands across from the Wicomico County Courthouse in a line of early to mid-20th century commercial buildings.
JOHN ORENDORFF FARMThe John Orendorff Farm, north of Westminster in central Carroll County, dates to 1861 and has one of the largest farm houses in Carroll County.
“It is an extremely well-preserved example of mid-19th century farmhouse architecture,” Short said.
The 31-acre property consists of a brick house, outhouse and smokehouse and a frame barn, hog pen, wagon shed, two poultry houses and a feed house.
The land was originally purchased in 1813 and was acquired by John Orendorff in the late 1830s. Orendorff had a “substantial quantity” of livestock and owned three slaves, according to tax records found by Short.
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