Union Mills Homestead Historic District
Encyclopedia
Union Mills Homestead Historic District is a national historic district
at Westminster
, Carroll County
, Maryland
, United States
. It comprises a dwelling house, a grist mill, and a Bollman-design bridge. The Shriver Homestead was built in 1797 by Andrew and David Shriver and has been continually occupied by the family. The mill, also built 1797, is a large brick structure, built of locally manufactured brick laid in both Flemish bond
and common bond. On June 30, 1863, General J.E.B. Stuart
of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia camped at Union Mills and was hosted by part of the Shriver family. On the following day, General James Barnes of the 5th Corps of the Army of the Potomac
arrived on the site and welcomed and entertained by other members of the family.
Union Mills was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1971.
The Union Mills Homestead was home to the Shriver family for 6 generations. It is currently an historic landmark located in Westminster, Maryland
, about 17 miles south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
. The Homestead is now a museum of American culture, operated by the Union Mills Homestead Foundation, a non-profit foundation with all proceeds dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the Union Mills Homestead Complex.
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
at Westminster
Westminster, Maryland
Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV...
, Carroll County
Carroll County, Maryland
Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 167,134. It was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton , signer of the American Declaration of Independence. Its county seat is Westminster....
, 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 comprises a dwelling house, a grist mill, and a Bollman-design bridge. The Shriver Homestead was built in 1797 by Andrew and David Shriver and has been continually occupied by the family. The mill, also built 1797, is a large brick structure, built of locally manufactured brick laid in both Flemish bond
Brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
and common bond. On June 30, 1863, General J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia camped at Union Mills and was hosted by part of the Shriver family. On the following day, General James Barnes of the 5th Corps of the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
arrived on the site and welcomed and entertained by other members of the family.
Union Mills was added to 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 1971.
The Union Mills Homestead was home to the Shriver family for 6 generations. It is currently an historic landmark located in Westminster, Maryland
Westminster, Maryland
Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV...
, about 17 miles south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
. The Homestead is now a museum of American culture, operated by the Union Mills Homestead Foundation, a non-profit foundation with all proceeds dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the Union Mills Homestead Complex.
The building of the Shriver homestead
The following passage is excerpted from "Union Mills: The Shriver Homestead Since 1797" by Frederic Shriver Klein, first published in The Maryland Historical Magazine in December 1957, and reprinted by the Union Mills Homestead Foundation.
"The Shriver brothers bought a large tract of land along Big Pipe Creek, about seven miles north of WestminsterWestminster, MarylandWestminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV...
and along early roads leading into Littlestown and Pennsylvania's roads toward the west. The junction of Pipe Creek and Deep Run furnished a strong flow of water for a mill in the wide valley, and gentle slopes on either side provided land for grazing, farming or settlement. Heavy stands of black oak would furnish tanbark for a tannery, and the Shrivers knew a good bit about tanning leather. At this time, Andrew Shriver was operating a store and tavern in Littlestown, PennsylvaniaLittlestown, PennsylvaniaLittlestown is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,434 at the 2010 census.Originally laid out by Peter Klein in 1760, the town was first named "Petersburg". German settlers in the area came to call the town "Kleine Stedtle"...
, and David was practicing as a civil engineer in Maryland.
The original mill contract shows that on January 25, 1797, the two brothers completed arrangements with John Mong, a Frederick CountyFrederick County, MarylandFrederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....
millwright to construct "a set of mills," a grist mill and a saw mill. On March 13, Jacob Keefer and John Eckert contracted "to mould and burn a kiln of brick" for the mill, "providing 100,000 brick or more, to be paid for at the rate of one French crown for every thousand brick." The brick kiln was constructed near the creek, known in previous years as Pipeclay Creek.
The house had its origin on January 26 of the same year, when a contract was made with Henry Kohlstock of York County, PennsylvaniaYork County, PennsylvaniaYork County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 434,972. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania....
, for building a small double house as a residence for the two brothers. Kohlstock, a joiner, agreed "to finish two small houses 14 by 17 feet each, to be connected by a porch and passage about 10 feet wide." Each house had one upper and one lower room, with a connecting center hallway and a small porch in front, twelve by eight feet. The carpenter's bill for labor gives an interesting idea of costs in 1797:
Lower floors for small house 5 dols.
Upper floor, rough 3 dols.
Windows, casing, frames and sash 2 dols. each
Doors, casings, etc. 2 dols.each
Weatherboarding, stairs, porch, cornice seats, washboards 3 dols.
Painting 6 dols.
The total labor costs for the house came to eighty-six dollars!"
External links
- Union Mills Homestead Historic District, Carroll County, including photo from 2002, at Maryland Historical Trust
- Boundary Map of the Union Mills Homestead Historic District, Carroll County, at Maryland Historical Trust
- Union Mills Homestead
