Ongoing Projects
In Progress
Waters Barn Feasibility Study - more info
This study was reviewed on May 15, 2008 by the MC Planning Board. It was "Approved with Conditions."
On the Horizon
Projects you can look forward to:
Woodlawn Manor & the Underground Railroad Experience Trail
Seneca Stone Barn Stabilization
Zeigler Log House Rehabilitation & Interpretation
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Riley Farm)
Darby Store Stabilization & Darby House Maintenance
Red Door Store (Holland Store)
Joseph White House
Seneca Stone Barn Stabilization
The Department of Parks issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in November 2007 to stabilize this historic structure located in Woodstock Equestrian Park. Work to stabilize the structure should begin in spring 2008.
When the work is completed, the barn will be interpreted to its original use as a horse stable, with hikers and equestrians able to stop by and learn more about the area’s agricultural heritage.
Zeigler Log House Rehabilitation & Interpretation
Members of the Park Planning and Stewardship Division have moved their offices into the historic Zeigler Log House within Little Bennett Park. The house will be open for public interpretive tours seasonally (four times a year) and will feature a permanent exhibit about the Zeigler family and their farming and milling activities.
The Zeigler House is a log and frame structure that was the home of David A. Zeigler, a miller and farmer of 300 acres. The house was built in two campaigns. The rear section, constructed of logs, is the earliest part of the house. The Greek Revival/Italianate front section dates from the mid-19th century. The family’s saw and bone mill once stood at the bottom of the nearby hill on Prescott Road. Zeigler and his wife Eleanor Hyatt married in 1835 and raised ten children in the house. In an 1850 census, Zeigler was also listed as an ‘Innkeeper.’ The property also contains a frame bank barn and a concrete-block dairy barn.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Riley Farm)
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a Montgomery County landmark of international repute. It is the only standing structure in the United States associated with the life of Josiah Henson, the former slave whose autobiography was the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s seminal novel,Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission has commissioned a Historic Structures Report on this highly significant property. A team of architects, historians, scholars on African-American history, dendrochro-nologists, archaeologists, paint experts and others are working to unravel all the details of the house and grounds.
The final report will include information about the site’s history and significance, the biographical history of Josiah Henson and the Riley family, archaeology, tree ring analysis of the logs, and landscape history. The public will be engaged in a series of meetings and through our website to help plan for the permanent opening of this heritage site. In the meantime, the property will be open on special occasions.
Darby Store Stabilization & Darby House Maintenance
This pair of structures located in Beallsville represents the prominence of the local merchant in a rural turn-of-the-century farming community. Although stores such as the Darby Store were once found throughout Montgomery County, few remain today.
M-NCPPC is developing stabilization plans for the store which is currently in poor repair. If funding is received, the actual stabilization will be undertaken in 2008. M-NCPPC also expects to soon release a Request for Proposals to rehabilitate and occupy both the house and store in return for a low-to-no rent lease. It is hoped that a successful contract can be signed in 2008 as well.
Red Door Store (Holland Store)
Like the Darby Store, the Red Door Store is an example of the dwindling number of corner, rural stores in the county.
Located at a key intersection in the Sandy Spring region of the county, the structure is believed to have been constructed in the late 18th or early 19th century by Isaac Holland, a master stone mason. M-NCPPC will soon be releasing an RFP to rehabilitate and occupy the store. It is hoped that a successful contract can be signed in 2008.
Joseph White House
Built in the 1820s, this house is one of the finest early 19th-century buildings to enter the County’s park system. The Federal style house sits on a rise and commands a fine view over a portion of the county that remains rural and devoted to equestrian use.
M-NCPPC will soon be releasing an RFP to rehabilitate and occupy the house. It is hoped that a successful contract can be signed in 2008.
Date of last update: April 03, 2008
