Real Estate

135-Acre Maryland Farm Comes With A History Worth Noting

More than 300 years of agricultural and architectural history are represented at a 135-acre property in Clarksville, Maryland.

Known as Richland Farm, the spread about 25 miles outside of Baltimore has earned a spot in the National Register of Historic Places as a “farmstead which characterized rural Howard County from the late 18th century through the mid-20th century.”

The earliest remaining structure on the property is a log cabin attached to the central section of the manor house and dating to 1781. At the time it was built, the Revolutionary War was in full swing.

The 1800s saw the addition of a superintendent’s house, a bank barn, a stone springhouse and a smokehouse. A two-story expansion to the manor house in 1846 added the main level parlor and upper-level bedrooms. Farm education was on the rise and the American Farmer touted the latest news, gadgets and developments.

Other surviving outbuildings include the corn crib, the barracks barn and tractor and wagon sheds – all of which date to around 1900.

Noted residential architect Bayard Turnbull was commissioned in 1919 to renovate and enlarge the manor house. The two-story T-shaped addition on the back of the house included more rooms and bathrooms.

A period accurate restoration undertaken in 2005 also saw the addition of a modern kitchen and central heat and air conditioning. A circular stone fire pit and outdoor seating area was built in 2014.

A porch supported by columns wraps the house, which has nearly 7,000 square feet of living space including six bedrooms and five bathrooms. Pastoral views take in the fields and woods.

Painted white with green shutters, the home features ground-floor French doors that open to the porch. There are fireplaces in such rooms as the living room, the dining room, the study and several of the bedrooms. The log portion of the home has a stone hearth that was once used for cooking and heating.

Richard Watson of Long & Foster Real Estate is the listing agent for 4730 Sheppard Lane, Clarksville, Maryland. The asking price is US $4 million.


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