Sunnyside is a historic home located in Aquasco

Aquasco, Maryland

Aquasco is an unincorporated area in southeastern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located near Eagle Harbor and Charles County. It was home to the Aquasco Speedway....

, Prince George's County

Prince George's County, Maryland

Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....

, 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...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is a five bay

Bay (architecture)

A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...

 wide two-story frame house with a center hall and north and south parlors, facing east on a brick foundation. The building dates to 1844. The main block of the house is a fine example of a mid-19th century I-house

I-house

The I-house is a vernacular house type, popular in the United States from the colonial period onward. The I-house was so named in the 1930s by Fred Kniffen, a specialist in folk architecture who identified and analyzed the type in his 1936 study of Louisiana house types...

, and possesses a great deal of intact original fabric. The significance of the property is enhanced by the 18th century wing, in good repair and possessing its original hearth

Hearth

In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature...

 with iron fittings. The house and outbuildings are well preserved examples of vernacular

Vernacular architecture

Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...

 southern Maryland

Southern Maryland

Southern Maryland in popular usage is composed of the state's southernmost counties on the "Western Shore" of the Chesapeake Bay. This region includes all of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties and sometimes the southern portions of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties.- History...

 architecture dating from the 18th through the mid 19th century.

Sunnyside is also significant for its association with its builder, Dr. Michael Jenifer Stone (II) (1804-1877). Descendants of Dr. Stone inhabited the property through 1980. Dr. Stone, prominent in the Aquasco community and in Prince George's County, was the son of Michael Jenifer Stone, a member of the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, and nephew of Thomas Stone

Thomas Stone

Thomas Stone was an American planter who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a delegate for Maryland. He later worked on the committee that formed the Articles of Confederation in 1777...

, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence

United States Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...

.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1987.

External links

• Sunnyside, Prince George's County, Inventory No.: PG:87B-21, including photo in 1986, at Maryland Historical Trust website
• Sunnyside real estate listing, with photographs.
• M-NCPPC Inventory of Historic Sites (Prince George's County); Sunnyside (Michael Stone House), 87B-036-21, p. 196