GERMAN COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN
FREDERICK COUNTY:
THE MILL POND HOUSE — DEARBOUGHT —
THE HESSIAN BARRACKS
buildings and their sites . Mill Pond House,
Dearbought Farm, and the Hessian Barracks
. are of special interest to the author for their
architectural as well as historical qualities;
many more examples throughout the county
are waiting to be discovered and admired.
All three buildings exist today in their origi-
nal location: Mill Pond House, located be-
tween between Frederick and Walkersville on a
tract of land called "Broadview Acres"
near Harmony Grove along the
Monocacy River, unfortunately has
been allowed to deteriorte and is in
ruins. Nearby Dearbought Farm, the
fate of which is uncertain, is in need
of immediate restoration and protec-
tion. The Hessian Barracks represent
historical preservation at its best and
are listed on the National Register of
Historical Places. The buildings, lo-
cated in the southeastern part of
Frederick, are in excellent condition.
They have been used by the Mary-
land School for the Deaf for many
years and are well maintained.
Historical Overview
Daniel Nead writes, that "... it was
not until the coming of the German
settlers, who by their thrift and indus-
try showed the possibilities of the fer-
tile fields, that the colony began to
make rapid strides forward..." (The
Pennsylvania German). The major im-
petus for German immigration to
Frederick County came in 1732,
when Lord Baltimore offered two
hundred free acres to prospective set-
tlers at a rent of one percent per year,
starting after three years. German
families from southeastern Pennsylva-
nia moved into the area along the
Monocacy to cultivate the land that was offered
to them. Many Germans also left Pennsylvani-
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History leaves behind many records; they
can be in writing, illustrations and pho-
tographs, artifacts, or buildings. This survey
will focus on examples of colonial architecture
left behind by German settlers in Frederick
County.
Frederick County is the only region in Mary-
land which abounds in German colonial (and
German colonial style) architecture. Three
The Mill Pond House.Photo courtesy of Bridgitte Voelkel Fessenden.
German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County
a's back counties because they provided little
protection from Indian attacks. Pennsylvania's
legislature, with a Quaker majority, refused to
provide defense funds.
One of the first recorded German settle-
ments in Maryland was called Village of Mono-
cacy . It was settled in 1729 in the area which
would later become Frederick. Houses were
constructed from logs, as was a small church
which is considered to be the mother church
of the Lutheran and German Reform
denominations in Maryland (replaced by a
brick building in 1834). Families sometimes
lived one or two decades in such simple log
dwellings before they had accumulated
enough wealth to construct the "mansion" of
their dreams. Two distinctive types of building
methods and materials were used by Maryland-
Germans in the construction of their homes:
medieval half-timber work with wattles (Mill
Pond House) and solid stone (Dearbought,
Hessian Barracks). Although Mill Pond House
was the only known medieval house to survive
into the twentieth century, several stone
houses from the colonial period, including
Dearbought and the Hessian Barracks, are still
standing in Frederick County. It is the stone
houses built by the second generation of Mary-
land-Germans which are generally referred to
as "German Colonial" and which radiate
strength and permanence, simplicity, sincerity
and, above all, prosperity of their owners who
had fully assimilated "im neuen Land" (in the
New World) and intended to stay.
The major characteristics of both building
styles are: large, vaulted cellars (generally lo-
cated directly below the kitchen and accessible
from there); four-room arrangements with a
central hall [Hausflur], the stair (located on
one side of the hall near the front door), the
kitchen [Küche], and a small chamber [Kam-
mer] for sleeping or storage purposes directly
behind it. The rest of the chambers are situ-
ated to the rear of the house and upstairs.
Chimneys are massive and in the center of the
house; the fireplace services the kitchen. High
pitched roofs frame spacious, vented attics cov-
ered with thatched roofs at first, later with shin-
gles and then tin.
MILL POND HOUSE
This house no longer exists as a recognizable
structure and is physically only evidenced by
fragmented ruins and its cellar, but it was nev-
ertheless the only known surviving Maryland
example of half-timber, wattle-and-daub con-
struction, popular in German countries and
England from the middle ages up to the nine-
teenth century. The land called the "Mill
Pond" was conveyed by Daniel Dulaney to the
miller Jacob Stoner (Steiner) in 1746, and it
can be assumed that the house was built shortly
thereafter. A mill which had probably been
constructed in the 1730's was already operat-
ing nearby. The house fronted on the old
Annapolis road which once connected the
Frederick-Woodsboro Turnpike and the Fred-
erick-Emmitsburg Turnpike.
H. Chandlee Forman describes the Mill
Pond House in his book In Tidewater Maryland
complete with detailed plans. His drawings
show a structure measuring approximately 30
feet by 40 feet, two and one-half stories in
height, with a four-bay facade on the south
side. The first floor and the foundation were
built of native stone, the second floor and the
east- and west-end gables above the second
floor of the house were of half-timbered con-
struction with a wattle-and-daub filling (a type
of basketwork made up of evenly spaced
saplings interwoven on both sides with split
branches, over which are daubed layers of mud
mixed with chopped straw to hold the mud to-
gether) Early on this part was covered on the
exterior with clapboards in order to protect
the plaster from the elements. A central chim-
ney served one large cooking fireplace in the
kitchen and the master chamber directly
above; a second chimney was added later in the
southwest corner of the house. The roofing,
probably originally wooden shingles, had been
replaced with slate.
Mill Pond House's interior followed the
so-called "Quaker Plan," which featured a
good sized Kueche (main or keeping room)
with a large fireplace and a partition with a
door near the center of the house, leading to
two rooms beyond: a Stube (parlor) and a Kam-
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German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County
Drawings by H. C. Forman. Courtesy of the Estate ofH. C. Forman
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German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County
Drawings by H. C. Forman. Courtesy of the Estate ofH. C. Forman
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German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County
mer (bedroom) the Stube being the larger room
of the two. The size of the Kueche was 22 feet, 6
inches by 27 feet, 6 inches, and represented
one of the largest residential rooms in Mary-
land (before the addition of wattle-and-daub
partitions which divided the spaces into four
sections). Five additional bedrooms were lo-
cated on the second floor and could be
reached by a circular staircase which wound
around a pole made of one piece of wood ap-
proximately 23 feet tall. Wide floor joists had
layers of clay and straw between them, and
large summer beams 6 1/2 inches by 9 inches
ran longitudinally from one end of the house
to the other on both floors. A vaulted cellar 14
feet wide located under the eastern end of the
building and accessible by an outside cellarway
with stone steps as well as from the inside via a
stepladder, was used for storing perishable
goods.
While it is unfortunate that Mill Pond House
was allowed to deteriorate, Mr. Forman's re-
search and drawings are unique and offer de-
tailed, clear information on the half-timbered
building technique which marks the transition
from all-timber to masonry construction and
which was practiced by early German settlers in
Maryland.
DEARBOUGHT FARM
Situated on over 300 acres near Ceresville,
just south of the former Frederick-Woodsboro
Turnpike (the present-day Maryland Route
26), on a tract of land that was part of the Du-
laney Lands and bought by Sebastian Derr, a
barrel maker, in 1755. A house of log and
stone was built during the same year and repre-
sents one of the oldest houses in the county. A
second house for one of Sebastian's sons was
built in 1775, as well as several smaller struc-
tures, including a cooper's house, serving vari-
ous purposes. Passing from one generation to
the next, the property is still owned by the
same family and run as a dairy farm, although
the original houses have not been occupied for
quite some time and are in poor condition.
The Dearbought Farm houses are another
fine example of German colonial architecture.
The two and one-half story first house, which
was built by Sebastian Derr in 1755, is con-
structed out of log and stone with clapboard
siding added later to all but the western wall.
Different quality stone was used, with the front
facade receiving better treatment. Two two-
story, same-height additions feature some brick
in the gable section on the south wall. These
Dearbought Farm,
1755, West Side.
Photos courtsey of
Brigitte Voelkel
Fessenden.
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German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County
additions are attached to the main house on its
south wall and cover only a little bit more than
half of its depth.
Measuring approximately 40 feet by 40 feet,
the main house has a three-bay facade, with the
main entry door to the side, and two windows
with a semi-circular brick arch topping the win-
dow openings on the first floor. The front
porch, a nineteenth-century addition,
stretches from the center of the west wall
across the north wall and along the east wall. A
Dearbought's original interior layout prob-
ably consisted of a "Küche" which took up
about half the space on the first floor and a
central chimney serving the kitchen and the
room above the kitchen, similar to the layout
in the Mill Pond House. Two rooms behind the
"Küche," partitioned off by a wattle-and-daub
wall, functioned as parlor and chamber. It is
possible that the location of the staircase was
different from the present; the access area to
the cellar might provide clues as to the original
Dearbought Farm, 1755, NorthSide. Photos courtsey ofBrigitte VoelkelFessenden.
back door on the eastern side of the house
is located exactly opposite the main entry
door on the west wall, as are the windows on
the second floor directly above those doors.
The roofs original wooden shingles were
replaced with tin; its steep pitch and the
delicately carved brackets under the roof
overhang in the north wall and around two
small gable windows contribute to the Ger-
manic character of the house. The original
central chimney has been replaced by two
chimneys, one each on the north and south
walls, built probably during the middle of
the nineteenth century. Both additions
have their chimneys in the original location
on the south wall.
location. The second floor most likely con-
tained four chambers.
While the first addition to the original build-
ing could be accessed from the older main
house on both the first- and the second-floor
level, the second addition was accessible from
the first-floor level only. Both additions con-
sisted of one room on the first and second
floor and have an eastern orientation; further
research is needed to determine their func-
tion and purpose.
Dearbought Farm is unique in that all of the
additions and accessory buildings have sur-
vived the current day and are still owned by
the same family. One can only hope that a
faithful restoration will take place in the near
future.
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German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County
Dearbought Second House, 1755.
Photos courtsey ofBrigitte Voelkel Fessenden.
DearboughtFarm, 1755,
West. Photos courtsey of
Brigitte Voetkel Fessenden.
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German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County
Hessian Barracks, 1777. Photos courtsey of Brigitte Voelkel Fessenden.
Landgraf of Hessen-Kassel to help subdue the
revolution in the American colonies. Some
sources insist that the Hessian prisoners built
the barracks, but the official version credits
Abraham Faw, a local builder, with contracting
and building the Barracks. Records show that
he received 1500 pounds currency in June of
1777 and 1000 pounds in November of the
same year. It is most likely that local labor was
used first and that the prisoners helped with
the construction and the completion of the
project after their arrival in May
of 1777. Maryland-German regi-
ments under Captain Brown were
ordered to act as the Hessian's
guards, which surely must have
caused some conflict among those
Germans.
The Barracks were used to
house English and Hessian prison-
ers from 1777 to 1783 and French
prisoners during the undeclared
naval war with France in 1799.
After that time the buildings func-
tioned as a public arsenal, being
the main arms depository in west-
ern Maryland, and as an army in-
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THE HESSIAN BARRACKS
Built in 1777 as a military post, the Hessian
Barracks (also called 'The Old Revolutionary
Barracks") consisted of two "L"-shaped, two-
story, stone buildings with the short arms of
the "L's" facing each other. Situated on an emi-
nence at the south end of Frederick, the bar-
racks were first occupied by a large number of
Germans captured as prisoners of war at Ben-
nington and Saratoga. The prisoners had been
rented out to George III of England by the
Hessian Barracks, 1777. Photos courtsey ofBrigitte Voelkel
German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County
specter's office. During the Civil War, the Bar-
racks were used by both armies as a hospital.
Since 1867 the Barracks have been home to
the Maryland School for the Deaf.
The West Barracks Building was torn down
in 1874 to make room for a new large main
building, with the remaining Barracks being
put to various uses, such as storage and living
quarters for employees of the School. An ex-
tensive renovation took place in 1971, which
restored the building to its colonial character.
Today the Barracks are in excellent condition
and are used as a museum, depicting the his-
tory of the Hessian Barracks from 1777 until
1868.
The Hessian Barracks represent another
good example of German Colonial architec-
ture and are probably the only non-residential
colonial building left in Maryland. Despite the
removal of one of the two twin structures, the
historic atmosphere of the site has been re-
tained and serves its educational purpose.
Nearly one hundred years of American history
can be learned by studying the history of the
Hessian Barracks.
. Brigitte Voelkel Fessenden
Baltimore, Maryland Hessian Barracks, 1777. Photos courtsey of
Brigitte Voelkel Fessenden.
Hessian Barracks, 1777. Photos courtsey of Brigitte Voelkel Fessenden.
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German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County
REFERENCES
Cunz, Dieter. The Maryland Germans: A History.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
1948.
Dörnach, Rudolf. Süddeutsche Bauernhäuser.
Frankfurt am Main: Umschau Verlag, 1987.
Forman, H. Chandlee. In Tidewater Maryland.
Cambridge, MD: Tidewater Publishers, 1968.
McCanner, Hazel. The Hessian Barracks: A Wit-
ness to History. Frederick, MD: Maryland
School for the Deaf, 1976.
Nead, Daniel Wunderlich. The Pennsylvania
German in the Settlement of Maryland. Lan-
caster, PA: Pennsylvania German Society,
1914.
Kessel, Elizabeth. The Social World of Frederick
County. Maryland Germans. Paper presented
at the 41st Conference in Early American
History of the Institute of Early American
History and Culture, April 30 - May 2,1981
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