The saylor house at kiwanis park, hagerstown
The History
- In 1790, Peter Sailor (1753-1836) inherited land from his father, Mathias Saylor, and began collecting adjacent parcels. By 1799, Peter had accumulated 231 acres. His estate’s inventories included farming implements and livestock. He was a farmer.
- In 1841, Joseph Emmert bought the property and added five acres. This 236-acre parcel belonged to several members of the Emmert family over time and, in 1877, was acquired by Joseph Loose (pronounced LOW-s) and remained in that family until 1965.
- The 1850 agricultural census describes the property as being in Election District 3, while owner Joseph Emmert was listed in Election District 1, indicating the farm had become a rental.
- The next owner, Loose, was married to Henrietta Bachtell, whose father was a “gentleman, who belonged to an old county family (and) was an extensive landowner,” according to TJC Williams’ “History of Washington County Maryland.”
- Loose became the executor of Bachtell’s estate and began to deal in real estate. The small stone house near Antietam Creek was not the Loose family home, but was used by the tenant farmers who rented the land. As such, it probably received marginal care, and, after the land was sold to ADCO Inc. in 1965, it probably was not used at all.
The History
- In 1790, Peter Sailor (1753-1836) inherited land from his father, Mathias Saylor, and began collecting adjacent parcels. By 1799, Peter had accumulated 231 acres. His estate’s inventories included farming implements and livestock. He was a farmer.
- In 1841, Joseph Emmert bought the property and added five acres. This 236-acre parcel belonged to several members of the Emmert family over time and, in 1877, was acquired by Joseph Loose (pronounced LOW-s) and remained in that family until 1965.
- The 1850 agricultural census describes the property as being in Election District 3, while owner Joseph Emmert was listed in Election District 1, indicating the farm had become a rental.
- The next owner, Loose, was married to Henrietta Bachtell, whose father was a “gentleman, who belonged to an old county family (and) was an extensive landowner,” according to TJC Williams’ “History of Washington County Maryland.”
- Loose became the executor of Bachtell’s estate and began to deal in real estate. The small stone house near Antietam Creek was not the Loose family home, but was used by the tenant farmers who rented the land. As such, it probably received marginal care, and, after the land was sold to ADCO Inc. in 1965, it probably was not used at all.
The History
- In 1790, Peter Sailor (1753-1836) inherited land from his father, Mathias Saylor, and began collecting adjacent parcels. By 1799, Peter had accumulated 231 acres. His estate’s inventories included farming implements and livestock. He was a farmer.
- In 1841, Joseph Emmert bought the property and added five acres. This 236-acre parcel belonged to several members of the Emmert family over time and, in 1877, was acquired by Joseph Loose (pronounced LOW-s) and remained in that family until 1965.
- The 1850 agricultural census describes the property as being in Election District 3, while owner Joseph Emmert was listed in Election District 1, indicating the farm had become a rental.
- The next owner, Loose, was married to Henrietta Bachtell, whose father was a “gentleman, who belonged to an old county family (and) was an extensive landowner,” according to TJC Williams’ “History of Washington County Maryland.”
- Loose became the executor of Bachtell’s estate and began to deal in real estate. The small stone house near Antietam Creek was not the Loose family home, but was used by the tenant farmers who rented the land. As such, it probably received marginal care, and, after the land was sold to ADCO Inc. in 1965, it probably was not used at all.
The History
- In 1790, Peter Sailor (1753-1836) inherited land from his father, Mathias Saylor, and began collecting adjacent parcels. By 1799, Peter had accumulated 231 acres. His estate’s inventories included farming implements and livestock. He was a farmer.
- In 1841, Joseph Emmert bought the property and added five acres. This 236-acre parcel belonged to several members of the Emmert family over time and, in 1877, was acquired by Joseph Loose (pronounced LOW-s) and remained in that family until 1965.
- The 1850 agricultural census describes the property as being in Election District 3, while owner Joseph Emmert was listed in Election District 1, indicating the farm had become a rental.
- The next owner, Loose, was married to Henrietta Bachtell, whose father was a “gentleman, who belonged to an old county family (and) was an extensive landowner,” according to TJC Williams’ “History of Washington County Maryland.”
- Loose became the executor of Bachtell’s estate and began to deal in real estate. The small stone house near Antietam Creek was not the Loose family home, but was used by the tenant farmers who rented the land. As such, it probably received marginal care, and, after the land was sold to ADCO Inc. in 1965, it probably was not used at all.
Abandon
- In 2007, planning for a new business park began in Hagerstown. The 29-acre parcel slated for development stands along Jefferson Boulevard, east of Eastern Boulevard from where Diamond Drive and Professional Court lead. Antietam Creek curls around the eastern margins of this section, its banks choked in weeds and scrub brush.
- A large bank barn stood to the south, hidden in vegetation. Logs from a fallen house lie near the stream, and a small stone house, empty for half a century, stood engulfed in scrub on a small rise above Antietam Creek.
- As David Lyles began planning Hagerstown Light Business Park, with concern for preserving the county’s history, he alerted the preservation community to the structures that stood in the area.
Still Standing
- Despite more than 50 years of neglect, the little house still stands, its quoined corners straight and true, its metal roof, though pierced, still protecting its framing. Its interior walls are now decorated with a great, painted marijuana leaf and other graffiti, its doors and windows missing. The house still has sturdy 2-by-7-inch rafters supported by 7-inch-square summer beams. On the second floor, 2-by-4-inch studs, placed with their long sides parallel with the wall, an 18th-century technique, hold remains of plaster.
- The main block of the small house contains two rooms on each level. A room with a fireplace and three windows fills the southwest corner of the first floor. North of that is a rectangular room with one window on its north wall and one on the west. A hall extends the length of the east side, with steep winder stairs rising in the northeast corner.
- The wing on the house is a detached summer kitchen built just slightly above ground level, with its west wall attached to the house just east of the main house’s north window. A windowless room on the north side of the kitchen was a smokehouse. The kitchen’s service fireplace sits in the northwest corner and probably supplied the smoke for the smokehouse, but no holes in the separating wall are clearly evident. There is no wall on the east side, leaving the area between the house and the kitchen open to the outside on its east side.
Our Partners
- The Saylor House project has received financial support from many sources and individuals. Support for the ongoing restoration has been received from the City of Hagerstown Open Space Funds, the Maryland Heritage Area Authority, the Mary K Bowman Fund of the Community Foundation of Washington County; Preservation Maryland, the Funkhouser Foundation; the Community Foundation of Washington County, the Rotary Foundation of Washington County,Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area; the Washington County Gaming Commission; National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution; Limeworks USA; Catoctin Roofing; Restorations Unlimited and numerous individuals.
- Many other organizations support the work of WCHT in restoring the Saylor House through volunteer efforts and Letters of Support. These include the Conococheague Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution; Antietam-Conococheague Watershed Alliance; Visit Hagerstown; Washington County Historical Society; the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area; Preservation Maryland; the Community Foundation of Washington County and the City of Hagerstown.
- Your continued support is crucial. Please contact us to join the effort to return this fine example of early Washington County buildings to use as a three-season classroom and event space.
Help save the saylor
Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our goals and save this small, but important historic structure.
