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Waters House

Waters House
12535 Milestone Manor Lane
Germantown, MD 20876
301-515-2887
Galleries, offices, and museum shops are open Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. or by appointment.

The Waters House is the oldest house in Germantown. It is located on Pleasant Fields, which includes a 1790s dwelling and barn that represent farm life in the mid-1800s. Operated by the Montgomery County Historical Society, the Waters House features changing exhibits and is available to rent for special events.

History

The Waters House was built in parts, the oldest dating to the mid-1790s. Basil Waters, who built the small brick section of the house and named the farm Pleasant Fields, had inherited 200 acres of land (in the area now known as Germantown) from his father, William Waters, of Brookeville, Md. Basil’s brothers, Zacariah, and William, were also given land and established farms and homes nearby. A fourth brother, Ignatius, inherited the family home, Belmont, in Brookeville. Although many descendants of the Waters brothers still live in this area, only Basil’s house, Pleasant Fields, still stands.

In 1799 Basil Waters married Anne Pottinger Magruder, daughter of Revolutionary War hero Zadok Magruder. Basil and Anne had six children. Upon Basil’s death, the plantation (now about 656 acres) was inherited by Basil’s youngest son, Zacariah.

Zacariah Waters married his cousin, Eliza Waters (daughter of Basil’s brother, Ignatius). They had one son Bazil. Sometime before 1858, Zacariah added the brick and frame, two-story addition that is now the center section of the house. Zacariah’s son, Bazil, died shortly before him and the house and farm were left to Eliza.

Eliza Waters sold Pleasant Fields to her brother, Dr. William Alexander Waters in 1882. Dr. Waters built the third section of the house to accommodate his growing family in the 1890s. This large, three-story frame addition includes a magnificent spiral staircase in the center hallway that extends to the roof. Porches and ornamental details in the Victorian Italianate style, such as carved brackets and scrolls, were added to unify the exterior.

Dr. Water’s son, Charles Clark Waters, was a horseman who raised and bred standard-bred horses at Pleasant Fields. His most famous stud horse was a record-setting trotter named Kinster. The Pleasant Fields Stock Farm was well known in racing circles at the turn-of-the-century. Before 1920, Charles and his son, William, shifted their business from horses to automobiles and opened a Buick dealership in Gaithersburg. The business faltered in the late 1920s near the start of the Great Depression. In 1932, the Waters’ house and 988 acres were sold at public auction to pay the family’s debts.

A small family burial plot now on Hawk’s Nest Lane is the final resting place of Basil and Anne Waters, their children, Susannah, Robert, Zacariah, and Mary, as well as Zacariah’s wife, Eliza, and son, Bazil. Dr. William Waters are also buried there.

Date of last update: July 28, 2008