Hager House (Hagerstown, Maryland)

Last updated
Hager House
Hager House.jpg
USA Maryland location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Hagerstown, Maryland
Coordinates 39°38′22″N77°43′50″W / 39.63944°N 77.73056°W / 39.63944; -77.73056 Coordinates: 39°38′22″N77°43′50″W / 39.63944°N 77.73056°W / 39.63944; -77.73056
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Builtc. 1740 (1740)
Built byHager, Jonathan
NRHP reference No. 74000974 [1]
Added to NRHPNovember 5, 1974

The Hager House is a two-story stone house in Hagerstown, Maryland, United States that dates to c. 1740. The house was built by Jonathan Hager, a German immigrant from Westphalia, who founded Hagerstown. The basement contains two spring-fed pools of water, providing a secure water source. [2] Hager sold the property, then known as Hager's Fancy to Jacob Rohrer. The house remained in the Rohrer family until 1944, when it was acquired by the Washington County Historical Society. The restored house was given to the City of Hagerstown in 1954 and opened to the public in 1962 as a historic house museum. [3]

Contents

The Hager House is located off Key Street in Hagerstown City Park, and is open for visits from April through December. Tours, on the hour, go from 10am to 4pm. The Hager House is the site of many activities throughout the year as well, including annual Fall Fest, Doll House Tours, Ghost Tours, and Archaeological Dig-It Tours.

History

On June 5, 1739, Jonathan Hager purchased 200 acres of land in the Great Appalachian Valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains in Maryland. This land is now part of Hagerstown City Park and downtown Hagerstown. Hager built the flagstone house on top of two freshwater springs and named the property, Hager's Fancy. The house was added to the National Historic Registry in 1974. [4]

Structure

Spring outflow at Hager House Hager House spring.jpg
Spring outflow at Hager House

The Hager House is built in a German Colonial style with a single chimney in the middle of the house. The central chimney allowed more heat to fill the home, rather than escape through the outside walls like an English Colonial. In the summer, if the kitchen fireplace radiated too much heat, families used the Summer Kitchen located in the much cooler basement. The house rests atop two freshwater springs that naturally run 40 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. The springs not only regulated the room's temperature, but also served as drinking water and preserved food like a modern-day refrigerator. Near the springs, the fireplace served many uses as well. While it was used to cook in the summer, the rest of the time Hager likely would have used it for blacksmithing. The walls of the basement are constructed of 17-inch thick stone, offering protection from attacks and the elements. Separating the springs from the other half of the basement is a large wall with an embrasure used for protection. This embrasure, similar to a Medieval castle's arrowslit, could be used to attack an incoming intruder while keeping Hager out of site. This other half of the basement was used to store animals in bad weather or come winter time. It kept the animals safe, and their body heat helped heat the home. The animals were brought in through a large Double Dutch Door. The top half of the door could be left open for light or fresh air. To enter the basement without using the double Dutch door, there once was a trapdoor in the kitchen. The modern-day Hager House now has stairs that come from the former pantry. The first floor is divided into four rooms: the kitchen, parlor, hall, and trading post. Upstairs, the hall leads to two rooms, with a third branching off the Master Bedroom. This room eventually was used for children or girls of the home, so that they could be under their parents' constant watch. Finally, another staircase leads to an attic, which was once used as a bedroom by renters of the home. Outside there once was a barn, but it was torn down during renovation on the property. Now a Museum, with a small upstairs residence, stands in its place. [5]

Related Research Articles

Margaret Esherick House

The Esherick House in Philadelphia, is one of the most studied of the nine built houses designed by American architect Louis Kahn. Commissioned by Margaret Esherick, it was completed in 1961.

Jonathan Hager is the founder of Hagerstown, Maryland, United States. He was born in Germany and fought in the French and Indian War serving out of Fort Frederick.

Gordon House (Silverton, Oregon) United States historic place

The Gordon House is a residence designed by influential architect Frank Lloyd Wright, now located within the Oregon Garden, in Silverton, Oregon. It is an example of Wright's Usonian vision for America. It is one of the last of the Usonian series that Wright designed as affordable housing for American working class consumers, which—in 1939—were considered to have an annual income of $5,000–6,000. The house is based on a design for a modern home commissioned by Life magazine in 1938.

Ten Chimneys United States historic place

Ten Chimneys was the summer home and gentleman's farm of Broadway actors Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt, and a social center for American theater. The property is located in Genesee Depot in the Town of Genesee in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States.

William S. Simmons Plantation United States historic place

The William S. Simmons Plantation, also known as the Wesley House, is a Greek Revival brick home located in Cave Spring, Georgia, United States, North America. The home was built in the 1840s, prior to the American Civil War, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Schifferstadt (Frederick, Maryland) Historic house in Maryland, United States

Schifferstadt, Also known as Scheifferstadt, is the oldest standing house in Frederick, Maryland. Built in 1758, it is one of the nation's finest examples of German-Georgian colonial architecture. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016.

Suntop Homes

The Suntop Homes, also known under the early name of The Ardmore Experiment, were quadruple residences located in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and based largely upon the 1935 conceptual Broadacre City model of the minimum houses. The design was commissioned by Otto Tod Mallery of the Tod Company in 1938 in an attempt to set a new standard for the entry-level housing market in the United States and to increase single-family dwelling density in the suburbs. In cooperation with Frank Lloyd Wright, the Tod Company secured a patent for the unique design, intending to sell development rights for Suntops across the country.

Hagerstown City Park Historic district in Maryland, United States

Hagerstown City Park is a public urban park just southwest of the central business district of Hagerstown, Maryland, United States. The park is located at the junction of Virginia Avenue, Key Street, Walnut Street, Prospect Street, and Memorial Boulevard.

Hagerstown, Maryland City in Maryland, United States

HagerstownHAY-gərz-town is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area was 269,140. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's sixth-largest incorporated city and is the largest city in the Panhandle.

Jackson Blood Cobblestone House United States historic place

The Jackson Blood Cobblestone House is located on South Main Street in Lyndonville, New York, United States. It is a Greek Revival house built in the middle of the 19th century.

Le Roy House and Union Free School United States historic place

The Le Roy House and Union Free School are located on East Main Street in Le Roy, New York, United States. The house is a stucco-faced stone building in the Greek Revival architectural style. It was originally a land office, expanded in two stages during the 19th century by its builder, Jacob Le Roy, an early settler for whom the village is named. In the rear of the property is the village's first schoolhouse, a stone building from the end of the 19th century.

Barnett–Criss House United States historic place

The Barnett–Criss House is an Italianate style house constructed on the much traveled National Road a few miles east of New Concord, Ohio. The house was placed on the National Register on 1978-12-08.

Stephen Hogeboom House United States historic place

The Stephen Hogeboom House is located on NY 23B in Claverack, New York, United States. It is a frame Georgian-style house built in the late 18th century.

H. R. Stevens House United States historic place

The H.R. Stevens House is located on Congers Road in the New City section of the Town of Clarkstown, New York, United States. It is a stone house dating to the late 18th century. In the early 19th century, it was expanded with some wood frame upper stories added later. The interior was also renovated over the course of the century.

Ezra Clark House United States historic place

The Ezra Clark House is located on Mill Road in the Town of North East, New York, United States. It is a brick house built in the late 18th century.

Janelia United States historic place

Janelia or Janelia Farm is a mansion and former farm near Ashburn, Virginia, built in 1936 for artist Vinton Liddell Pickens and her husband Robert Pickens, a journalist. The farm property has become the Janelia Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which surrounds the house.

Clagett House at Cool Spring Manor Historic house in Maryland, United States

The Clagett House at Cool Spring Manor is a historic house in Prince George's County, Maryland, built around 1830 by William Digges Clagett on the family's Cool Spring Manor property. Constructed in a style more typical of the Deep South, it is a hip roofed wood frame dwelling standing on a brick foundation.

Enoch Hall House United States historic place

The Enoch Hall House is a historic house on Bean Road in Buckfield, Maine. Probably built in the 1790s, this house is notable as the home of one of Buckfield's early settlers, Enoch Hall, a politically active man who helped draft the Maine State Constitution in 1819. The house is also notable for the murals drawn on the walls of the second floor hallway and bedrooms probably around 1830; the artist is unknown. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Judge Sebron G. Sneed House

The Judge Sebron G. Sneed House is a historic former limestone plantation house in Austin, Texas, commissioned by Judge Sebron Graham Sneed. It was likely designed by architect and general contractor, Abner Hugh Cook, co-owner of the sawmill where Sneed had purchased lumber for the construction of the house. Cook is most notable for designing the Texas Governor's Mansion in Austin.

Mathew H. Ritchey House Historic home in Missouri

Mathew H. Ritchey House, also known as Mansion House and Belle Starr House, is a historic home located in Newtonia, Newton County, Missouri. It was built about 1840, and is a two-story, brick dwelling with a two-story rear wing built using slave labor. The house rests on a sandstone block foundation and has a side-gabled roof. It features a one-story front portico and interior end chimneys. Also on the property is the contributing Ritchey family cemetery, outbuildings, and a well. During the American Civil War, the site saw fighting during both the First and Second Battles of Newtonia, which required its use as a hospital after the battles. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and is a contributing property in the First Battle of Newtonia Historic District. The building was damaged by a tornado in 2008.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Ann Hill and Pamela James (August 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Hager House" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  3. "The Hager House". General Information. The City of Hagerstown. 2008-07-10.
  4. "1739 – Hager's Fancy | Historic City Park" . Retrieved Aug 29, 2019.
  5. Professional Tour Guide of the Hager House; Hagerstown Parks and Recreation Department