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Schifferstadt (Frederick, Maryland)
Encyclopedia
Schifferstadt, also known as Scheifferstadt, is the oldest standing house in Frederick, Maryland
.
) homesteader Daniel Dulany. Brunner named the property after Klein Schifferstadt
, his home town in the Rhineland-Palatinate
region of southwestern Germany
near Mannheim.
Maryland
. In Josef Brunner's time, a stone house reflected the family’s social and financial success and stability. The hand-hewn wood beams were pinned together with wooden pegs. Above the windows and doors on the first floor of the building are reinforced arches made of stone, supporting the outside walls above them. The roof is considered to be unusual with kick-up and flared eaves, and features a large "wishbone" chimney. Much of the original construction and detailing survives, showing particular examples of German influence. Schifferstadt is known to be the finest existing example of German colonial architecture in the United States.
Schifferstadt and today operates it as an architectural and local history museum.
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
.
History
The stone abode was completed in 1756 after the land it stands on was purchased by German immigrant farmer Josef Brunner (later alternately spelled 'Bruner' and 'Brooner') in 1746. Brunner purchased 303 acres (122.6 ha) of tract land known as "Tasker's Chance" from Frederick Town (current-day FrederickFrederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
) homesteader Daniel Dulany. Brunner named the property after Klein Schifferstadt
Schifferstadt
Schifferstadt is a town in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.It is situated approx. 12 km southwest of Ludwigshafen and 6 km northwest of Speyer.- History :...
, his home town in the Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
region of southwestern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
near Mannheim.
Architecture
The sandstone for Schifferstadt's two-foot-thick walls came from a local quarry near WalkersvilleWalkersville, Maryland
Walkersville is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,805 per the 2010 census.-History:Crum Road Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978...
Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. In Josef Brunner's time, a stone house reflected the family’s social and financial success and stability. The hand-hewn wood beams were pinned together with wooden pegs. Above the windows and doors on the first floor of the building are reinforced arches made of stone, supporting the outside walls above them. The roof is considered to be unusual with kick-up and flared eaves, and features a large "wishbone" chimney. Much of the original construction and detailing survives, showing particular examples of German influence. Schifferstadt is known to be the finest existing example of German colonial architecture in the United States.
Ownership, disrepair and restoration
The house was owned by Brunner's family and descendants until the mid-19th century when it was sold (along with 94 acres) to Frederick resident Christian Steiner for $7,130. In 1899 the Steiner estate sold Schifferstadt to Edward C. Krantz for $16,000, who in turn sold the property to Frederick B. Krantz in 1926. In 1963, the Frederick B. Krantz estate was willed by his widow to daughters Evelyn A. Krantz, Olive Dinterman and Elizabeth Kirschman. By 1972 much of the original acreage had been sold and the house had fallen into a state of disrepair and endangered by development, but in July 1974 was sold by the Krantz sisters to Frederick County Landmarks Foundation. The foundation subsequently restoredSchifferstadt and today operates it as an architectural and local history museum.
External links
- Scheifferstadt, Frederick County, including photo in 2004, at Maryland Historical Trust
- Schifferstadt Architectural Museum