Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Maryland Inventory of 1. Name of Property (indicate preferred name) historic other 2. Location street and number 16421 Aquasco Farm Road not for publication city, town Aquasco vicinity county Prince George's 3. Owner of Property (give names and mailing addresses of all owners) name Kenneth E. Richardson street and number PO Box 181 telephone city, town Aquasco state MD zip code 20608-0181 4. Location of Legal Description courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Prince George's County Courthouse liber 20027 folio 30 city, town Upper Marlboro tax map 178 tax parcel 30 tax ID number 08-0841684 5. Primary Location of Additional Data X Contributing Resource in National Register District Contributing Resource in Local Historic District Determined Eligible for the National Register/Maryland Register Determined Ineligible for the National Register/Maryland Register Recorded by HABS/HAER Historic Structure Report or Research Report at MHT Other: Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George's County Planning Department 6. Classification Category Ownership Current Function Resource Count district public agriculture landscape Contributing Noncontributing X building(s) X private commerce/trade recreation/culture 2 buildings structure both defense religion sites site X domestic social structures object education transportation objects funerary work in progress 2 0 Total government unknown health care vacant/not in use Number of Contributing Resources industry other: previously listed in the Inventory 2
7. Description Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Condition excellent good fair X deteriorated ruins altered Prepare both a one-paragraph summary and a comprehensive description of the resource and its various elements as it exists today. is located at 16421 Aquasco Farm Road, near Aquasco, Maryland. The two-and-a-half-story, fivebay building was built c. 1820 on part of a large tract of land known as Brook Court. The dwelling is situated on a 1.00-acre lot surrounded by dense forest. A long, winding, unpaved driveway leads to a small opening, were the dwelling is located. A small shed is located north of the building. DWELLING The two-and-a-half-story, five-bay dwelling, known as, was constructed c. 1820. The large building has a Georgian, center-hall plan. Set on a parged foundation, this wood-frame building has been reclad in asbestos siding. The side-gable roof is covered in asphalt shingles with a boxed cornice and overhanging eaves. The dwelling features two brick exterior-end chimneys with corbeled caps. The chimney on the south (side) elevation is shouldered. The chimney on the north (side) elevation is a large chimney with a two-story pent with an asphalt shingles roof. All windows are 6/6 and feature a square-edge wood surround with metal storm window frames. A one-story, one-bay addition is located on the north (side) elevation. The façade (west elevation) of is symmetrically balanced. Poured concrete steps lead to a centrally placed, replacement, single-leaf wood door with lights and a square-edged wood surround. Flanking the door to both sides are two 6/6 windows. Second-story fenestration consists of five 6/6 windows. The east (rear) elevation is symmetrically balanced. Poured concrete steps lead to a central, replacement, single-leaf vinyl door with lights and a square-edge wood surround. Flanking the door to both sides are two 6/6 windows. A metal exhaust fan is located to the south of the southern most bay. Rusted and leaching onto the asbestos siding below, the vent appears to have been installed in the mid-twentieth century. Second-story fenestration consists of five 6/6 windows. The south (side) elevation features a centrally located chimney. The first story is fenestrated by a 6/6 window located in the west bay and paired 4/4 windows in the east bay. The second story is fenestrated by two 6/6 windows, each flanking the Flemish-bond brick chimney. Upper-story fenestration consists of two 6/6 windows, each flanking the chimney. The north (side) elevation is dominated by a large chimney featuring a two-story pent clad in Flemish-bond brick. Fenestration consists of two 6/6 windows located on the second story, flanking the chimney. A onestory, one-bay addition is located on the north (side) elevation. Based on its form and materials, it appears this addition was constructed c. 1950, probably replacing an earlier addition of the same proportions. The concrete-block structure is capped by a front-gable roof covered with asphalt sheets. The roof includes a boxed cornice and overhanging eaves. The structure is partially clad in asbestos siding, leaving the bottom
Maryland Inventory of Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Number 7 Page 2 two courses of concrete block exposed. Fenestration consists of a single-leaf, paneled wood door with lights and a square-edge wood surround on the north elevation. The door is currently off its hinges, and the surround partially missing. has undergone multiple alterations. Based on photos from the Historic American Building Survey report in 1936, the structure was clad in random-width board siding. 1 The photographs document that fenestration has been completely changed. The dwelling originally had elongated, 9/9 windows. At the time of the 1936 on-site survey, the north (side) elevation had a single-leaf paneled wood door located west of the chimney and windows flanked the chimney on the second story. Furthermore, in 1936, there was a one-story, three-bay shed-roof porch with wood posts located on the façade (west elevation). This was not the original porch, as the ghosts of a one-story, full-width hip-roof porch is visible on the wood plank siding. The chimney caps have also been rebuilt, as evidenced by the different brick color. The small addition to the north (side) elevation, as shown in photographs from the 1936 on-site survey, was clad in random-width board siding and capped by a shed roof. SHED Located north of the dwelling is a small wood-frame shed. Based on its form and materials, it appears the shed was constructed in the mid-twentieth century. The shed is clad in vertical board siding and capped by a shed roof covered with standing-seam metal featuring overhanging eaves. Fenestration consists of a double-leaf wood door located on the south elevation. One leaf of the door is no longer extant. Additionally, portions of the exterior cladding are no longer extant. INTEGRITY retains a low level of integrity. Multiple alterations have affected the integrity of design, workmanship, materials, and feeling. The dwelling s integrity of association has been compromised due to the reduction of the property s original 297 acres to 1 acre. Of note are multiple other structures located on the same Tax Parcel as. These structures are located to the southeast of the dwelling, and as a result of subdivision, are no longer associated with. This has a negative effect on s integrity of setting. maintains its integrity of location as it remains in a small clearing, surrounded by dense forest. 1 Susan G. Pearl,, (PG: 87B-1) Maryland Historical Trust State Historic Sites Inventory Form (1985), 7:1.
Maryland Inventory of Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Number 7 Page 3 The shed associated with retains a low level of integrity of materials, workmanship, and design as pieces of the exterior cladding and door are no longer extant. The structure has lost its integrity of association and feeling as it is no longer functional as an auxiliary resource of. Located in close proximity to the dwelling, the shed retains its integrity of location and setting. Overall, and its associated resource retain an overall low level of integrity.
8. Significance Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Period Areas of Significance Check and justify below 1600-1699 agriculture economics health/medicine performing arts 1700-1799 archeology education industry philosophy X 1800-1899 X architecture engineering invention politics/government 1900-1999 art entertainment/ landscape architecture religion 2000- commerce recreation law science communications ethnic heritage literature social history community planning exploration/ maritime history transportation conservation settlement military X other: Local History Specific dates c. 1820 Architect/Builder Unknown Construction dates c. 1820, c. 1950 Evaluation for: National Register Maryland Register not evaluated Prepare a one-paragraph summary statement of significance addressing applicable criteria, followed by a narrative discussion of the history of the resource and its context. (For compliance projects, complete evaluation on a DOE Form see manual.) STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE, located at 16421 Aquasco Farm Road near Aquasco, Maryland, is one of a few extant wood-frame Georgian, center-hall dwellings built during the first half of the nineteenth century in Prince George s County. The vernacular farmhouse was constructed c. 1820 on what was a 297-acre parcel that has now diminished to 1 acre. Although the dwelling is a rare extant example of an early rural domestic form, as a result of several alterations, does not maintain sufficient integrity to convey its significance as an early-nineteenthcentury vernacular building with a Georgian center-hall plan. HISTORIC CONTEXT is located approximately two miles north of Aquasco, Maryland. Aquasco is a rural agricultural village located in southeastern Prince George s County. Aquasco Road (Maryland Route 381) serves as the major north-south transportation route in the community. The village s location between the Patuxent River on the east and Swanson s Creek on the west creates a fertile area of farmland, primarily used to grow tobacco. Historically, tobacco was an important commodity in the community. The area s proximity to the Patuxent River allowed access for the shipment of goods in and out of the community. By 1746, the production of tobacco was significant enough that a tobacco inspection warehouse was proposed for construction close to the community at Trueman s Point. Although the inspection station was never established, the landing was integral to commerce and trade. 2 This rural area today is primarily composed of agricultural fields. The dwelling at 16421 Aquasco Farm Road was constructed c. 1820 by James Somerville on a parcel of land known as. The parcel was part of a larger tract known as Brook Court Manor, which Somerville inherited from his father James, in 1815. 3 James Somerville had lived in a brick house on another part of the tract, known as the Brick House Lot. The property consisted of 235 acres and was conveyed to John D. Bowling by Thomas F. Somerville in 1840. 4 This brick house, set closer to the river, is no longer extant. 5 2 Susan G. Pearl, African-American Heritage Survey, 106. 3 Will TT 1:133, James Somerville to John Somerville. 4 Thomas F. Somerville to John D. Bowling, Prince George s County Land Records, JBB 1:239.
Maryland Inventory of Inventory No. PG: 87A-014 Number 8 Page 2 Following the death of John Somerville, the Tract, including the wood-frame dwelling, was conveyed in 1842 to James Somerville, Jr. 6 James Somerville, Jr. and his wife, Priscilla B. Somerville, conveyed the property to George Forbes in 1849. 7 Forbes, born c. 1794, is a major landowner in the area and listed as a planter with $28,000 in real estate holdings in the 1850 U.S. Federal Census. 8 Forbes had also purchased the Brooke Court Manor tract, containing 235 acres. 9 Martenet s Map of 1861 documents Colonel George Forbes as living on the property. 10 Forbes conveyed the property to William Worthington in 1861. 11 Worthington owned through the entirety of the Civil War (1861-1865), and was listed in the 1870 U.S. Census as a farmer with $20,000 in real estate holdings. 12 Unable to keep up with payments, he was ordered by the Equity Court to complete his payments in 1871; he died before the end of the year. 13 Consequently, the property was conveyed back to George Forbes. George Forbes and his wife, Mary E. Forbes, conveyed the property to their son, George F. Forbes in 1876. 14 Hopkins Atlas of 1878 confirms George Forbes living on the property. 15 George F. Forbes, born c. 1846, was listed as a farmer in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census. 16 Forbes and his wife, Frances, conveyed the property in 1882 to John Bowling, Henry W. Clagett, and Joseph K. Roberts, Jr., who were appointed as trustees to Frances Forbes. 17 In 1929, the property was conveyed in equal shares to George Frank Forbes, Mary E. Forbes Bowling, and 5 Susan G. Pearl,, (PG: 87B-1) Maryland Historical Trust State Historic Sites Inventory Form (1985), 7:1. 6 Thomas S. Alexander, trustee for the Estate of John Somerville, to James Somerville, Jr., Prince George s County Land Records, JBB 2:458. 7 James Somerville, Jr. to George Forbes, Prince George s County Land Records, JBB 5:563. 8 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Aquasco, Prince George's, Maryland, Series M432, Roll 295, Page 50, Image 363, George Forbes. 9 John D. Bowling to George Forbes, Prince George s County Land Records, JBB 1:239. 10 Simon J. Martenet, Atlas of Prince George s County, Maryland, 1861, Adapted from Martenet s Map of Prince George s County, Maryland (Baltimore: Simon J. Martenet C.E., 1861). 11 George Forbes to William Worthington, Prince George s County Land Records, CSM 4:32. 12 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Aquasco, Prince Georges, Maryland, Series M593, Roll 592, Page 236, Image 474, William Worthington. 13 Susan G. Pearl,, (PG: 87B-1) Maryland Historical Trust State Historic Sites Inventory Form (1985), 8:1. 14 George and Mary E. Forbes to George F. Forbes, Prince George s County Land Records, HB 12:28. 15 G.M. Hopkins, Atlas of Fifteen Miles Around Washington, Including the County of Prince George Maryland (Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins, C.E., 1878). 16 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Aquasco, Prince Georges, Maryland, Series T9, Roll 513, Family History Film 1254513, Page 177.1000, Enumeration District 128, Image 0355, George Forbes, Jr. 17 George and Frances Forbes to John Bowling, Henry W. Clagett, and Joseph K. Roberts, Jr., trustees to Frances Forbes, Prince George s County Land Records, JWB 1:240.
Maryland Inventory of Inventory No. PG: 87A-014 Number 8 Page 3 Elizabeth Forbes Edelen, heirs at law to George Forbes, Jr. 18 Of note, during the time of the 1936 on-site survey, the building was listed as dilapidated. 19 In 1938, George Frank Forbes, born c. 1880, and his wife, Eugenie Hall Forbes, conveyed their one-third interest in the property to Forbes sisters, Mary E. Forbes Bowling and Elizabeth Forbes Edelen. 20 The property was conveyed ten years later in 1948 to Vernon C. Richardson and his wife Marie L. Richardson. 21 The current owners, Kenneth E. and Krystyna Richardson, purchased the property, with 298 acres, in 2004. 22 Through subdivision, the property associated with has been reduced to 1 acre. 18 Marion Duckett, Caleb C. Magruder, Jr., and S. Marvin Peach, trustees of John Bowling, to Frank Forbes, Mary E. Forbes Bowling, and Elizabeth Forbes Edelen, Prince George s County Land Records, 352:102. 19 Historic American Building Survey/Historic American Engineering Record,, http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/query/d?hh:3:./temp/~ammem_vq9t:: (accessed January 31, 2008). 20 George Frank and Eugenie Hall Forbes to Mary E. Forbes Bowling and Elizabeth Forbes Edelen, Prince George s County Land Records, 483:171. 21 Elizabeth F. and George G. Edelen, C. Albert Bowling, George Forbes and Ella Maureen Bowling, and Sister Lenore (formerly Helen E. Bowling) to Vernon C. and Marie L. Richardson, Prince George s County Land Records, 819:267. 22 Richardson Family Limited Partnership to Kenneth E. and Krystyna Richardson, Prince George s County Land Records, REP 20027:603.
9. Major Bibliographical References Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 1850, 1870, 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. Subscription database. Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC. http://www.ancestry.com. Hopkins, G.M. Prince George s County, from Atlas of Fifteen Miles Around Washington. Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins, C.E., 1878. Martenet, Simon J. Martenet's Map of Prince George s County, Maryland. Baltimore: Simon J. Martenet, 1861. Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and Prince George s County Planning Department, Historic Sites and Districts Plan, 1992. Pearl, Susan G., (PG: 87B-1) Maryland Historical Trust State Historic Sites Inventory Form, 1985. 10. Geographical Data Acreage of surveyed property 1.00 Acreage of historical setting 297 Quadrangle name Benedict Quadrangle scale: 1:24,000 Verbal boundary description and justification is located off of a long, unpaved driveway stemmed from Aquasco Farm Road. The southern boundary is formed by the unpaved drive. The eastern, northern, and western boundaries are formed by a large stand of trees. has been associated with Parcel 30 as noted by Tax Map 178 since its construction c. 1820. 11. Form Prepared by name/title Paul Weishar, Architectural Historian organization EHT Traceries, Incorporated date March 2008 street & number 1121 5th Street NW telephone 202.393.1199 city or town Washington state DC The Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties was officially created by an Act of the Maryland Legislature to be found in the Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 41, Section 181 KA, 1974 supplement. The survey and inventory are being prepared for information and record purposes only and do not constitute any infringement of individual property rights. return to: Maryland Historical Trust DHCD/DHCP 100 Community Place Crownsville, MD 21032-2023 410-514-7600
Maryland Inventory of Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Number 9 Page 1 CHAIN OF TITLE PRINCE GEORGE S COUNTY LAND RECORDS Will TT 1:133 1815 Deed JBB 2:458 December 31, 1842 Deed JBB 5:563 March 17, 1849 Deed CSM 4:32 January 30, 1861 Deed HB 12:27 July 18, 1876 Deed HB 12:28 July 21, 1876 Deed JWB 1:240 August 21, 1882 Deed 352:102 November 12, 1929 Deed 483:171 January 5, 1938 Deed 819:267 April 16, 1948 James Somerville to John Somerville (Tract of land known as Brook Court). Thomas S. Alexander, Trustee, to James Somerville, Jr. (297 acres). James and Priscilla B. Somerville to George Forbes. George Forbes to William Worthington (297 acres and 235 acres Brook Court Manor ). Caleb C. Magruder, Trustee for Henrietta P. W. Worthington, William Worthington, and George Forbes to George Forbes (555 acres). George and Mary E. Forbes to George Forbes, Jr. George Forbes Jr. and Frances Forbes, to John Bowling, Henry W. Clagett, and Joseph K. Roberts, Jr., Trustees of Frances Forbes (552 acres). Marion Duckett, Caleb C. Magruder, Jr., and S. Marvin Peach, Trustees of John D. Bowling, to George Frank Forbes, Mary E. Forbes Bowling, and Elizabeth Forbes Edelen. George Frank Forbes and Eugenie Hall Forbes to Mary E. Forbes Bowling and Elizabeth Forbes Edelen (1/3 interest in 552 acres) Elizabeth F. Edelen, Edward G. Edelen, C. Albert Bowling, G. Forbes Bowling, and Sister Lenore (formerly Helen E. Bowling) to Vernon C. and Marie L. Richardson. Deed REP 20027:603 Richardson Family Limited Partnership to Kenneth E. and Krystyne Richardson (298 April 28, 2004 acres).
Maryland Inventory of Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Number 9 Page 2 Photo:, c. 1820, view of the façade (west elevation), looking southeast. (January 2008)
Maryland Historical Trust Maryland Inventory of Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Number 9 Page 3 Photo:, c. 1820, view of the east (rear) elevation, looking northwest. (January 2008)
Maryland Inventory of Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Number 9 Page 4 Photo:, c. 1820, view of the south (side) elevation, looking northeast. (January 2008)
Maryland Inventory of Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Number 9 Page 5 Photo:, c. 1820, view of the north (side) elevation, looking southeast. (January 2008)
Maryland Historical Trust Maryland Inventory of Number 9 Page 6 Photo: Shed, c. 1950, view of the south elevation, looking northwest. (January 2008) Inventory No. PG: 87B-001
Maryland Inventory of Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Number 9 Page 7 Photo:, c. 1820, view of the façade, looking northeast. (Historic American Building Survey, John O. Brostrup, October 13, 1936)
Maryland Inventory of Inventory No. PG: 87B-001 Number 9 Page 8 Photo:, c. 1820, view of the façade, looking southeast. (Historic American Building Survey, John O. Brostrup, October 13, 1936)