Early Wooden Houses in Fell’s Point was researched and produced by Stacy Patterson for Baltimore Heritage in 2006.
Introduction
Once a staple of the Baltimore landscape, wooden houses of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are now an endangered resource in Baltimore. The neighborhood of Fell’s Point is one of the few places in Baltimore where eight of these houses are found still fully intact and several others are covered or altered, while a few others are scattered about the City. While many of Baltimore’s wooden homes built at the turn of the nineteenth century have disappeared with time, there are many brick houses from this era which remain intact and in use. Thus, the remaining late eighteenth and early nineteenth century wooden houses in Fell’s Point are a special resource which must be maintained so future generations can understand the early history of the City of Baltimore as it relates to the way early Americans lived in an active shipping port and what changed Baltimore from a city of wooden houses to one of brick. Even with only a few late eighteenth and early nineteenth century wooden houses remaining Fell’s Point, the concentration of wooden houses makes the neighborhood a central component in understanding how wooden houses looked throughout Baltimore in that time period.
The history of Fell’s Point explains why wooden houses were common in the early Baltimore area and why such a relatively large quantity of wooden houses remain in the neighborhood. In 1726, Edward Fell surveyed the area then known as Fell’s Prospect, and mentioned the presence of wooden houses in the area. In the 1763, Edward Fell laid out the town of Fell’s Point on a piece of land he inherited from his father William Fell. He used a grid system to plot his parcel of land which lay east of Baltimore Town and south of Jonestown, on the edge of the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River.[3] When Edward Fell died, his wife, Ann, took over as executrix of Fell’s Point and proved a shrewd businesswoman in her efforts to turn Fell’s Point into a town rivaling nearby Baltimore Town and Jonestown. In order to promote fast and substantial development of the area, as well as increase her profit, Ann Fell included a covenant in the sale of each Fell’s Point property which said “each new landowner in this area was required to build within 18 months a house covering not less than 400 square feet on his acre lot in order to secure title,” thus assuring Mrs. Fell a return on the property.[5] This covenant stood alongside the required ground rent for each property, a practice rooted in English tradition.[6] Following the Revolutionary War, Baltimore Town, now the third largest town in the new nation, took over the majority of the shipping business that previously occurred in Annapolis. As a result of its prime location on the Baltimore Harbor, Fell’s Point developed into a “major locust of maritime activity” with facilities such as wharves, docks and warehouses for shipping and shipbuilding. With the growth of Baltimore as a major port, Fell’s Point reaped the benefits of the late eighteenth century industrial boom and became the ship building center of Maryland. Throughout the late eighteenth century pieces of Fell’s Point became part of Baltimore Town. When Baltimore Town was officially annexed as a city on December 13, 1796, Fell’s Point was included as a part of Baltimore City. This came despite protest from Fell’s Point residents who wished to remain autonomous and independent.Despite their interests, Fell’s Point from then on was a part of the new Baltimore City.
After its absorption into Baltimore City, Fell’s Point maintained its character as it moved into the nineteenth century. In 1798, the Fell’s Point Tax Assessors Records showed Fell’s Point houses as predominantly wooden, counting 626 houses total, two-thirds of which were wooden. That same year, the City of Baltimore passed an ordinance outlawing the construction of new wood frame structures within the city center; however, this ordinance did not include Fell’s Point at that time. Fell’s Point’s early residents were of a variety of classes and occupations; however, their residences were intermingled. Furthermore, many of the properties in the area were owned by one person and rented out on a regular basis. When industrialization hit Baltimore in the 1830′s, Fell’s Point was passed over for industrial development. Thus the “domestic scale of earlier construction managed to survive to meet needs for small stores, shops, and residences” in Fell’s Point in the nineteenth century. By the late 19th century, most large-scale development in Fell’s Point happened along the waterfront, while inland alterations and rehabilitations were more popular treatments for properties. In 1880 there were still over 280 wooden houses in what is now the Fell’s Point Historic District and in the surrounding areas, such as Oldtown. The presence of wooden structures in and around Fell’s Point is even apparent in the 1910′s photographs of T.C. Worthington. Though it was not overhauled in favor of industrialization, the architectural character of Fell’s Point clearly shifted from a predominantly wooden town in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to one of mostly brick, formstone, and other materials, such as stucco and vinyl siding by the end of the twentieth century.
The characteristics of early wooden houses in Fell’s Point demonstrate the simple nature of the earliest residences in the Baltimore area. Early Frame Vernacular Homes ranged from tiny, single room dwellings, to larger more spacious structures as the area evolved from a small town to a major commercial shipping center. The simplest houses were one to one and a half stories, two bays wide with gable roofs, and dormer windows. Houses were often sided with beaded edge board, a plank which protected other boards from breaking if one needed to be removed for replacement. On the inside, there was typically one room on the ground floor and a loft or garret for sleeping. These houses were twelve to fourteen feet wide, with small windows and panes of green glass. Larger houses, spanning three or four bays, often had dormers and tall gambrel or broken pitch roofs to allow for more sleeping space in the loft area or on a second floor. Between the 1760′s and 1770′s the gambrel roofs fell out of favor and were converted into a second story and a gable roof with or without dormers. Houses were often built in rows of seven, or at least as part of a pair. These styles were typical of early eighteenth century wooden houses in the Southeast region of England. Similar wooden homes were common in early American towns such as Philadelphia, Charleston, and throughout the New England seaport towns. In 1764 the exteriors of “the wooden houses were reported as painted blue and white, and some yellow,” while the interiors had low ceilings, whitewashed walls and white sand floors. Wallpaper was not used; however, chair rails were sometimes used, as well as built in corner cabinets. Though the houses were small and simple, they provided the foundation for the growing areas of Fell’s Point, Baltimore Town, and Jonestown in the mid eighteenth century through the early nineteenth century.
There were numerous factors involved in the change from wood to brick constriction throughout the region; however, one significant factor was the threat of fire to cities in that period. Fires were a major problem for cities worldwide, and wooden houses literally added fuel to this problem. Before 1799, half the structures in Baltimore were wood frame. After devastating fires in London and Philadelphia, cities took precautions by enacting ordinances prohibiting the construction of wooden buildings. In 1774 London produced the Building Act of 1774 which outlawed projecting exterior woodwork. Baltimore followed several decades later with the “Ordinance to Prevent the Erection of Wooden Buildings within Certain Limits of the City of Baltimore.” On June 11, 1799, the City of Baltimore passed this legislation which maintained that “no wooden mansion-house, shop, warehouse, carriage-house, stable, nor any other wooden building, excepting fire engine houses, shall be erected…” All newly constructed buildings within the city limits had to comply or they faced a penalty of one hundred dollars plus twenty dollars for each month the illegal structure remained standing. Workers were also fined one dollar per day they worked on the construction of a wooden building. Such hefty fines discouraged further construction of wooden buildings in the City of Baltimore. Though Fell’s Point did not fall into the limits placed by the 1799 ordinance, it seems likely that, given the problems with fires, they followed the ordinance as well. It is also likely that a later ordinance expanded the 1799 boundaries to include Fell’s Point. The difficulty of insuring a wooden house against fires also contributed to the decrease in wooden houses in the following decades. Equitable Insurance Company, a local insurer, would not insure wooden houses and placed a higher premium on masonry houses located next to wooden ones. Thus, constructing wood buildings or living in them would be costly. Finally, it is likely that fire was one of the causes of loss of wood frame structures in Baltimore, as several devastating fires swept through Baltimore.
Alongside this threat of fire came the emergence of brick in the area. Baltimore had high quality clay available, thus Baltimore became a city of brick. Brick houses were a symbol of permanence for a growing city, “emblematic of regularity, standardization, durability, and modernity.”
Wooden Houses
1627 Aliceanna Street
1627 Aliceanna Street is one of the larger remaining wooden homes and played a prominent role in Fells Point from its earliest days. Built in the 1790s by Nicholas Leeke, a schoolmaster from Annapolis, Leeke moved to Fell’s Point in 1794 and opened a school for boys in the building, known as Leeke’s Academy. His daughter Mary Leeke married Captain Henry Dashiell, who’s mansion stood on the other corner of Aliceanna Street, at its intersection with Broadway. The Dashiells had two children, Alice Anne Dashiell and Dr. Nicholas Leeke Dashiell, who became a prominent physician in Baltimore. The 1804 Baltimore City Directory lists Elizabeth Parker, a widow, as the resident of the building, which may indicate the site was rented, as many houses were in that era. The directory also lists several sea captains living on the same block, including Captain Henry Dashiell. The building at 1627 Aliceanna was owned by the decedents of the Leeke, Marine, and Dashiell families until the 1980s. The structure is three bays wide and two stories tall, its first story measuring 8.3 feet and the second story 7.7 feet, totaling a height of twenty feet. The building has a tar pitched roof and is constructed from irregularly patterned wide plank beaded edge board over the wood frame. The beaded edge board is likely original, or else very well kept. The simple facade has an original cornice, wood entry steps, a wood lintel, no shutters, one over one window lights, one door panel and a plain entryway. The window frames are not original. A brick chimney is located on the west end of the building, which may not be original. The structure has an eight foot setback and provides cellar access at the street level. A brick fountain is also reportedly located on the property. The building is currently owned by Fell’s Point Museum & Cultural Programs, Inc. Though the structure has been stabilized to some extent, the building urgently needs more attention to prevent the loss of this important structure which played a role in the education of some of Baltimore’s oldest residents.
713 South Ann Street
713 South Ann Street is another example of a wood frame home in the Fell’s Point Neighborhood. The houses is associated with a larger row, spanning from 711-715 South Ann Street. The house was built around 1800 and the 1804 City Directory lists Patrick Travis, a sea-captain, as the resident of the house at the time. The earliest deed located for the property is from 1851 and shows the house being sold to Anna Maria White from John J. Roose on November 28th of that year. It is 2 and a half stories tall, with a wood frame and clapboard covering. The original clapboards have been replaced with newer boards from the mid to late nineteenth century. The original facade was also relatively simple with a wood cornice, brick steps, windows with wood lintels, and one over one window lights. Though the house has not had shutters on the windows for several decades, early photographs of the same block row show houses with shutters. There was one dormer window with one pediment above the second story. The door was pedimented with a rectangular overdoor and no secondary entrance. A flat cellar door provided cellar access. After it was covered by formstone for a number of years, owner and construction expert Glenn Henley restored the old wood facade in 2001. He replaced the one over one window lights with six over six lights, but retained most of the other original facade features. The house is currently owned by Jeffrey and Janyth Andrews and is in good condition following Glenn Henley’s restoration a few years ago.
717 South Ann Street
717 South Ann Street is a larger wooden structure along South Ann Street which was restored to its original appearance in the late twentieth century. The house was built between 1800 and 1804 by a shipwright named Edward Dickenson who leased the land from John Lee and Joshua Inloes in 1795. Originally listed as 26 Ann Street in the 1802 City Directory, the house was built on a larger lot, which was divided into three 20×80 parcels in 1795 creating the lots currently occupied by 717, 719 and 721. The building was two and a half stories tall with a wood frame and beaded edge board. The beaded edge board was replaced with a German style siding following the Civil War. The house has 3 bays, wood steps, one dormer, with a masonry foundation and no shutters. It is possible that the house had shutters at one point. The cornice on the house is original; however, the dormer is likely a later addition. While the window lights are currently six over six and also date from after the Civil War. The windows were likely one over one originally, as was the case with other similar houses in the area. The house is associated with its neighbor at 719 South Ann Street. The current owners of the house are Raymond Blank and Robert Rose. The house is in good condition after its restoration, and can be easily recognized because of the bright pink paint currently covering the exterior woodwork and the contrasting bright blue door.
719 South Ann Street
719 South Ann Street is another larger wood frame house on South Ann Street, which compliments its neighbor, 717. The house was built between 1800 and 1804 by James Wheedon who leased the land from John Lee and Joshua Inloes in 1795. The 1804 City Directory lists Richard Bishop, a sea captain, as the resident of 719. Originally 24 Ann Street, the house was built on the middle 20×80 lot south of 717 and is two and a half stories, with a masonry foundation and covered with beaded edge board. The beaded edge board on the west fascade has been replaced with a German style of wood siding dating to the time of the Civil War; however, the original boards are still in place on the North side of the house. The roof is covered by asphalt shingles, which are not original; however, it maintains the simple facade with no shutters (though it may have had shutters in an earlier period), wood entry stairs, the original wood bay cornice, no cellar doors, and no dormers. The window lights were originally one over one; however, they were changed to six over six following the restoration of the house by Myrna Poiter in 1985. The house was originally one room deep and maintains the original wooden floorboards in the kitchen and on the second floor, as well as the winder staircase leading to the third level. The house is currently owned by Jacques and Donna Skeen-Vieyra and is in good condition following its restoration. Much like its neighbor 717, the house is painted a distinctive color, yellow, with a bright pink door, so it stands out on Ann Street.
809 South Bond Street
809 South Bond Street is another simple wooden house of this era. The house is a two and a half story building with a pitched roof and a central dormer window. The house is two bays wide, with six over six lights, which were most likely one over one originally. The beaded edge board is relatively new, but likely a replica of the siding which existed previously. The house also has a set of shutters on the first floor window, which would not be original to the house, and the other windows have no shutters. Cellar access is available at street level. Deed research located the owners as far back as 1851, when the property was sold to John Fernandis and Maria Locke. The house is in good condition and currently owned by Karen Kahl. It is the only wooden house visible on Bond Street and is painted a light shade of gray with a maroon door and shutters.
707 South Regester Street
707 South Regester Street is one of the few remaining wooden houses where an owner has done a great deal of research into its history as well as the work to restore the house. The house was built between 1760 and 1780 when Regester was known as Argyle Alley. Deed research tracing back to 1814 shows the house was owned by Joseph Brown until he sold it to Issac Stansbury in October of 1814. It was originally free standing and may have been an outbuilding for a main house fronting on Ann Street. It is two and a half stories with wide cypress beaded edge boards. The house had a chimney with fireplaces in the living room on the first floor and the bedroom on the second floor. The roof was originally hand shaved shingles and there were no dormers. The house lies on a brick foundation with a basement underneath. The first and second floor are divided by a single board partition, and the house maintains its original winding staircase between the two levels. When Reverend Robert L. Young took on the restoration of the house in 1972, he found many original hand cut nails, which he reused in the rehabilitation. If Young had to replace a historic feature, he searched diligently for one that matched in both age and material. What Young found on the interior of the house was also telling. He found evidence of the original plaster in a few places, as well as the original blue paint and chair rails around the rooms. The interior woodwork has beading and backband molding typical of its era. Aside from a careful examination of the house and a report on his rehabilitation efforts, Young also completed extensive deed research, finding all of the home owners dating back to Issac Stansbury in 1814. Reverend Young’s work on the house was an important step in preserving this house. The building is currently owned by James Austin and can be distinguished by its bright red paint and green shutters and the unpainted cypress boards on the north and south sides of the house. (figure 29) This house is also significant because it is an alleyhouse, which is another vanishing breed in the city of Baltimore.
612 & 614 South Wolfe Street
612 and 614 South Wolfe Street are perhaps the best known wooden houses in the Fell’s Point area as they are two of the smallest wooden homes remaining. Ann Bond Fell Giles, widowed wife of Edward Fell, inherited both properties following the death of her first husband. After she remarried and had several more children, she passed away and the Wolfe Street properties ended up in the hands of her youngest daughter Susannah Giles Moore and her husband Phillip Moore until Phillip died bankrupt and in debt in 1833 or 1834. The houses were built somewhere between February of 1798 and February of 1801, though likely closer to the latter. 612 and 610 South Wolfe Street were connected as properties in the earliest days, and were rented to Edward Callow in 1801. (This lease agreement indicates that the property was already built in 1801.) 614 South Wolfe Street was also rented out by the owners to Patrick Morrison. The houses are commonly known as the “Two Sisters Houses” after sisters Mary Leeke and Eleanor Marine Dashiell, the previous owners and descendants of the Leeke, Marine, and Dashiell families. The houses are sometimes also referred to as the “Flounder Houses.”
The houses are each two bays and one and a half stories, totaling 192 square feet of living space. Originally part of a larger block of seven small houses, the Wolfe street houses represent the smallest type of wooden dwelling built in the eighteenth century. They were likely built as speculative housing with the intention of building something larger at a later point, thus their continued existence is even more phenomenal. Each house has several sets of windows, including dormers on the loft level, in the front and rear to allow for light and air circulation. The house at 604 South Wolfe Street, now covered with vinyl siding, and the former 602 South Wolfe Street, which was demolished in the past ten years, were similar wooden houses, part of the larger row of seven stretching from 602 to 614 South Wolfe Street. The exterior of each house is milled weatherboard with wooden shingles covering the roofs, the original cornice, and a single door for entry. The current wooden shingles on the roof are not original, though the earliest shingles on the house would have been wooden. Unlike some of the other old wooden houses, these two have shutters on the windows, which also appear in historic photographs. The interiors had handsplit lath and plaster covering the walls, with fireplaces for heating and cooking, angled cupboards, corner winding stairs, chair rails, and wainscoting, some of which may have been added in a later period. Exposed timbers revealed that much of the bark remained on the beams when they were used in the construction.
Later, additions were built on the back side of each house, nearly doubling the total square footage of the houses.The houses, like many of the others were covered by brick or formstone for some time, but the original wood siding has been restored since that time. The houses were designated Baltimore City Landmarks in 1987 and are currently owned by the Preservation Society. Since these are some of the oldest of the wooden houses in Baltimore and they are unoccupied, the houses at 612 and 614 South Wolfe Street are in need of the most work. Though stabilization efforts have been made, the rear addition to 612 has collapsed and the roofs are also in need of repair. The houses can be identified by their height, as two of the smallest one the street and their olive green paint.
Hidden Wooden Houses
Other Wood Frame Houses Currently Covered
While the previous nine houses are intact wooden houses, there are several other wood frame houses in Fell’s Point which are currently covered by other materials or are only partially wooden. Two houses located at 2002 and 2004 Fountain Street are wood frame, but have been covered by formstone and stucco. As previously mentioned, 604 South Wolfe Street is a wooden house much like the ones at 612 and 614 South Wolfe Street, but it is currently covered by vinyl siding. Houses located at 506 and 508 Washington Street have a brick first story, but the second story is wooden. 506 Washington Street is currently covered with stucco, however, the wood siding is visible from the west side of the house. In the rear of 832 South Bond Street is half of a wooden house visible from Dallas Street.
310 South Wolfe Street lies the furthest north of all the remaining wooden houses in Fell’s Point, but it is unclear whether this house is original or not. It is two and a half stories tall and two bays wide. The house next to it, 308 South Wolfe Street, may have once resembled 310 before it was covered with formstone. Though the house has been modernized to a certain degree, it retains the wood siding and trim. The third story is an addition, the first story window has been converted to a bay window, and the exterior of the first story is covered by an asphalt tiled awning. The house has a chimney, no dormers, and has two small steps up to the doorway, all typical of the other remaining wooden houses in the area. 308 and 310 also set back further than the other houses in the row, suggesting a potential link between the two houses. 310 South Wolfe Street is in fair condition as many of the historic features have been altered and can be distinguished by its tan paint and dark brown trim. The house is currently owned by Gary Mahrenholz, and the Secretary of Housing was the former owner until 1994.
830 – 832 South Bond Street
Though these houses require further investigation into their age of construction and the remains of their wood frame structure, they are also important to consider in a survey of wooden houses. Several other houses that were once part of a row of wooden houses, such as those on South Ann Street (711, 715, and 721), are wood frame and covered by formstone or other materials. Since many of the houses which are now wooden have been restored after years of being covered by other materials, it is possible that many of these formerly wooden homes can be brought back to their original exterior appearance.
Preservation Notes
As there are only eight remaining wooden houses in Fell’s Point along with those that are covered or altered, and few others still standing and in tact throughout the rest of the City, it is crucial that these places are protected. By working with the owners, residents, local and city preservation groups, preservation experts, and other interested parties, these structures can be preserved. Through documentation of exterior and interior conditions, extensive research into the history and construction of the houses, stabilization and rehabilitation efforts where necessary, and landmark designation, these parties can protect the few remaining wooden houses in Fell’s Point and the inner city of Baltimore. Expedient and organized action is essential, as some of these places are in great need of repair. So little remains of Baltimore’s earliest housing and the houses face numerous threats, thus, but protecting these wooden houses and properly caring for them, the lessons they teach about historical architecture in Baltimore can remain for generations to come.
1627 Aliceanna Street
1627 Aliceanna Street is one of the larger remaining wooden homes and played a prominent role in Fells Point from its earliest days. Built in the 1790s by Nicholas Leeke, a schoolmaster from Annapolis, Leeke moved to Fell’s Point in 1794 and opened a school for boys in the building, known as Leeke’s Academy.[36]His daughter Mary Leeke married Captain Henry Dashiell, who’s mansion stood on the other corner of Aliceanna Street, at its intersection with Broadway.[37] The Dashiells had two children, Alice Anne Dashiell and Dr. Nicholas Leeke Dashiell, who became a prominent physician in Baltimore.[38]The 1804 Baltimore City Directory listsElizabeth Parker, a widow, as the resident of the building, which may indicate the site was rented, as many houses were in that era. The directory also lists several sea captains living on the same block, including Captain Henry Dashiell.The building at 1627 Aliceanna was owned by the decedents of the Leeke, Marine, and Dashiell families until the 1980s[39]. The structure is three bays wide and two stories tall, its first story measuring 8.3 feet and the second story 7.7 feet, totaling a height of twenty feet.[40] The building has a tar pitched roof and is constructed from irregularly patterned wide plank beaded edge board over the wood frame. The beaded edge board is likely original, or else very well kept.[41] The simple facade has an original cornice, wood entry steps, a wood lintel, no shutters, one over one window lights, one door panel and a plain entryway.[42]The window frames are not original.[43] A brick chimney is located on the west end of the building, which may not be original. The structure has an eight foot setback and provides cellar access at the street level. A brick fountain is also reportedly located on the property.[44] The building is currently owned by Fell’s Point Museum & Cultural Programs, Inc. Though the structure has been stabilized to some extent, the building urgently needs more attention to prevent the loss of this important structure which played a role in the education of some of Baltimore’s oldest residents.
713 South Ann Street
713 South Ann Street
713 South Ann Street is another example of awood frame home in the Fell’s Point Neighborhood. The houses is associated with a larger row, spanning from 711-715 South Ann Street. The house was built around 1800 and the 1804 City Directory lists Patrick Travis, a sea-captain, as the resident of the house at the time.[45] The earliest deed located for the property is from 1851 and shows the house being sold to Anna Maria White from John J. Roose on November 28th of that year. Itis 2 and a half stories tall, with a wood frame and clapboard covering. The original clapboards have been replaced with newer boards from the mid to late nineteenth century.[46] The original facade was also relatively simple with a wood cornice, brick steps, windows with wood lintels, and one over one window lights.[47] Though the house has not had shutters on the windows for several decades, early photographs of the same block row show houses with shutters.(figure 16) There was one dormer window with one pediment above the second story. The door was pedimented with a rectangular overdoor and no secondary entrance. A flat cellar door provided cellar access.[48] After it was covered by formstone for a number of years, owner and construction expert Glenn Henley restored the old wood facade in 2001.[49] He replaced the one over one window lights with six over six lights, but retained most of the other original facade features. The house is currently owned by Jeffrey and Janyth Andrews and is in good condition following Glenn Henley’s restoration a few years ago.
717 South Ann Street
717 – 719 South Ann Street (2006)
717 South Ann Street is a larger wooden structure along South Ann Street which was restored to its original appearance in the late twentieth century. The house was built between 1800 and 1804 by a shipwright named Edward Dickenson[50]who leased the land from John Lee and Joshua Inloes in 1795.[51] Originally listed as 26 Ann Street in the 1802 City Directory, the house was built on a larger lot, which was divided into three 20×80 parcels in 1795 creating the lots currently occupied by 717, 719 and 721.[52] The building was two and a half stories tall with a wood frame and beaded edge board.The beaded edge board was replaced with a German style siding following the Civil War.The house has 3 bays, wood steps, one dormer, with a masonry foundation and no shutters. It is possible that the house had shutters at one point. The cornice on the house is original; however, the dormer is likely a later addition.[53]While the window lights are currently six over six and also date from after the Civil War.[54] The windows were likely one over one originally, as was the case with other similar houses in the area. The house is associated with its neighbor at 719 South Ann Street. The current owners of the house are Raymond Blank and Robert Rose. The house is in good condition after its restoration, and can be easily recognized because of the bright pink paint currently covering the exterior woodwork and the contrasting bright blue door.
719 South Ann Street
719 South Ann Street is another larger wood frame house on South Ann Street, which compliments its neighbor, 717. The house was built between 1800 and 1804 by James Wheedon who leased the land from John Lee and Joshua Inloes in 1795.[55] The 1804 City Directory lists Richard Bishop, a sea captain, as the resident of 719.[56] Originally 24 Ann Street, the house was built on the middle 20×80 lot south of 717 and is two and a half stories, with a masonry foundation and covered with beaded edge board.[57] The beaded edge board on the west fascade has been replaced with a German style of wood siding dating to the time of the Civil War; however, the original boards are still in place on the North side of the house.(figure 21)[58] The roof is covered by asphalt shingles, which are not original; however, it maintains the simple facade with no shutters (though it may have had shutters in an earlier period), wood entry stairs, the original wood bay cornice (figure 22), no cellar doors, and no dormers.[59] The window lights were originally one over one; however, they were changed to six over six following the restoration of the house by Myrna Poiter in 1985.[60] The house was originally one room deep and maintains the original wooden floorboards in the kitchen and on the second floor, as well as the winder staircase leading to the third level.[61] The house is currently owned by Jacques and Donna Skeen-Vieyra and is in good condition following its restoration. Much like its neighbor 717, the house is painted a distinctive color, yellow, with a bright pink door, so it stands out on Ann Street.
The only wooden house visible on Bond Street
809 South Bond Street (figures 24-26)
809 South Bond Street is another simple wooden house of this era.The house is a two and a half story building with a pitched roof and a central dormer window. The house is two bays wide, with six over six lights, which were most likely one over one originally. The beaded edge board is relatively new, but likely a replica of the siding which existed previously.[62] The house also has a set of shutters on the first floor window, which would not be original to the house, and the other windows have no shutters. Cellar access is available at street level. (figure 26) Deed research located the owners as far back as 1851, when the property was sold to John Fernandis and Maria Locke. The house is in good condition and currently owned by Karen Kahl. It is the only wooden house visible on Bond Street and is painted a light shade of gray with a maroon door and shutters.
707 South Regester Street
707 South Regester Street is one of the few remaining wooden houses where an owner has done a great deal of research into its history as well as the work to restore the house. The house was built between 1760 and 1780 when Regester was known as Argyle Alley. Deed research tracing back to 1814 shows the house was owned by Joseph Brown until he sold it to Issac Stansbury in October of 1814. It was originally free standing and may have been an outbuilding for a main house fronting on Ann Street.[63] It is two and a half stories with wide cypress beaded edge boards.[64]The house had a chimney with fireplaces in the living room on the first floor and the bedroom on the second floor. The roof was originally hand shaved shingles and there were no dormers.[65] The house lies on a brick foundation with a basement underneath. (figure 30)[66] The first and second floor are divided by a single board partition, and the house maintains its original winding staircase between the two levels.[67] When Reverend Robert L. Young took on the restoration of the house in 1972, he found many original hand cut nails, which he reused in the rehabilitation. If Young had to replace a historic feature, he searched diligently for one that matched in both age and material.[68] What Young found on the interior of the house was also telling. He found evidence of the original plaster in a few places, as well as the original blue paint and chair rails around the rooms.[69] The interior woodwork has beading and backband molding typical of its era.[70] Aside from a careful examination of the house and a report on his rehabilitation efforts, Young also completed extensive deed research, finding all of the home owners dating back to Issac Stansbury in 1814.[71] Reverend Young’s work on the house was an important step in preserving this house. The building is currently owned by James Austin and can be distinguished by its bright red paint and green shutters and the unpainted cypress boards on the north and south sides of the house. (figure 29) This house is also significant because it is an alleyhouse, which is another vanishing breed in the city of Baltimore.
612 & 614 South Wolfe Street
612 – 614 South Wolfe Street (before)
612 and 614 South Wolfe Street are perhaps the best known wooden houses in the Fell’s Point area as they are two of the smallest wooden homes remaining. Ann Bond Fell Giles, widowed wife of Edward Fell, inherited both properties following the death of her first husband. After she remarried and had several more children, she passed away and the Wolfe Street properties ended up in the hands of her youngest daughter Susannah Giles Moore and her husband Phillip Moore until Phillip diedbankrupt and in debt in 1833 or 1834.[72] The houses were built somewhere between February of 1798 and February of 1801, though likely closer to the latter.[73] 612 (figure 33) and 610 South Wolfe Street were connected as properties in the earliest days, and were rented toEdward Callow in 1801. (This lease agreement indicates that the property was already built in 1801.) 614 South Wolfe Street (figure 34) was also rented out by the owners to Patrick Morrison.[74] The houses are commonly known as the “Two Sisters Houses” after sisters Mary Leeke and Eleanor Marine Dashiell, the previous owners and descendants of the Leeke, Marine, and Dashiell families. The houses are sometimes also referred to as the “Flounder Houses.”[75]
The houses are each two bays and one and a half stories, totaling 192 square feet of living space.[76] Originally part of a larger block of seven small houses, the Wolfe street houses represent the smallest type of wooden dwelling built in the eighteenth century. They were likely built as speculative housing with the intention of building something larger at a later point, thus their continued existence is even more phenomenal.[77]Each house has several sets of windows, including dormers on the loft level, in the front and rear to allow for light and air circulation.[78] The house at 604 South Wolfe Street, now covered with vinyl siding, and the former 602 South Wolfe Street, which was demolished in the past ten years, were similar wooden houses, part of the larger row of seven stretching from 602 to 614 South Wolfe Street. (figures 38 & 39)[79] The exterior of each house is milled weatherboard with wooden shingles covering the roofs, the original cornice (figure 37), and a single door for entry. (figure 35)[80] The current wooden shingles on the roof are not original, though the earliest shingles on the house would have been wooden.[81] Unlike some of the other old wooden houses, these two have shutters on the windows, which also appear in historic photographs. (figures 31, 32, 36 & 39) The interiors had handsplit lath and plaster covering the walls, with fireplaces for heating and cooking, angled cupboards, corner winding stairs, chair rails, and wainscoting, some of which may have been added in a later period.[82] Exposed timbers revealed that much of the bark remained on the beams when they were used in the construction.[83]
Later, additions were built on the back side of each house, nearly doubling the total square footage of the houses.[84] The houses, like many of the others were covered by brick or formstone for some time, but the original wood siding has been restored since that time. The houses were designated Baltimore City Landmarks in 1987 and are currently owned by the Preservation Society.[85] Since theseare some of the oldest of the wooden houses in Baltimore and they are unoccupied, the houses at 612 and 614 South Wolfe Street are in need of the most work. Though stabilization efforts have been made, the rear addition to 612 has collapsed and the roofs are also in need of repair. The houses can be identified by their height, as two of the smallest one the street and their olive green paint.
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Early Wooden Houses in Fell's Point
Early Wooden Houses in Fell’s Point was researched and produced by Stacy Patterson for Baltimore Heritage in 2006.
Introduction
Once a staple of the Baltimore landscape, wooden houses of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are now an endangered resource in Baltimore. The neighborhood of Fell’s Point is one of the few places in Baltimore where eight of these houses are found still fully intact and several others are covered or altered, while a few others are scattered about the City. While many of Baltimore’s wooden homes built at the turn of the nineteenth century have disappeared with time, there are many brick houses from this era which remain intact and in use. Thus, the remaining late eighteenth and early nineteenth century wooden houses in Fell’s Point are a special resource which must be maintained so future generations can understand the early history of the City of Baltimore as it relates to the way early Americans lived in an active shipping port and what changed Baltimore from a city of wooden houses to one of brick. Even with only a few late eighteenth and early nineteenth century wooden houses remaining Fell’s Point, the concentration of wooden houses makes the neighborhood a central component in understanding how wooden houses looked throughout Baltimore in that time period.
The history of Fell’s Point explains why wooden houses were common in the early Baltimore area and why such a relatively large quantity of wooden houses remain in the neighborhood. In 1726, Edward Fell surveyed the area then known as Fell’s Prospect, and mentioned the presence of wooden houses in the area. In the 1763, Edward Fell laid out the town of Fell’s Point on a piece of land he inherited from his father William Fell. He used a grid system to plot his parcel of land which lay east of Baltimore Town and south of Jonestown, on the edge of the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River.[3] When Edward Fell died, his wife, Ann, took over as executrix of Fell’s Point and proved a shrewd businesswoman in her efforts to turn Fell’s Point into a town rivaling nearby Baltimore Town and Jonestown. In order to promote fast and substantial development of the area, as well as increase her profit, Ann Fell included a covenant in the sale of each Fell’s Point property which said “each new landowner in this area was required to build within 18 months a house covering not less than 400 square feet on his acre lot in order to secure title,” thus assuring Mrs. Fell a return on the property.[5] This covenant stood alongside the required ground rent for each property, a practice rooted in English tradition.[6] Following the Revolutionary War, Baltimore Town, now the third largest town in the new nation, took over the majority of the shipping business that previously occurred in Annapolis. As a result of its prime location on the Baltimore Harbor, Fell’s Point developed into a “major locust of maritime activity” with facilities such as wharves, docks and warehouses for shipping and shipbuilding. With the growth of Baltimore as a major port, Fell’s Point reaped the benefits of the late eighteenth century industrial boom and became the ship building center of Maryland. Throughout the late eighteenth century pieces of Fell’s Point became part of Baltimore Town. When Baltimore Town was officially annexed as a city on December 13, 1796, Fell’s Point was included as a part of Baltimore City. This came despite protest from Fell’s Point residents who wished to remain autonomous and independent.Despite their interests, Fell’s Point from then on was a part of the new Baltimore City.
After its absorption into Baltimore City, Fell’s Point maintained its character as it moved into the nineteenth century. In 1798, the Fell’s Point Tax Assessors Records showed Fell’s Point houses as predominantly wooden, counting 626 houses total, two-thirds of which were wooden. That same year, the City of Baltimore passed an ordinance outlawing the construction of new wood frame structures within the city center; however, this ordinance did not include Fell’s Point at that time. Fell’s Point’s early residents were of a variety of classes and occupations; however, their residences were intermingled. Furthermore, many of the properties in the area were owned by one person and rented out on a regular basis. When industrialization hit Baltimore in the 1830′s, Fell’s Point was passed over for industrial development. Thus the “domestic scale of earlier construction managed to survive to meet needs for small stores, shops, and residences” in Fell’s Point in the nineteenth century. By the late 19th century, most large-scale development in Fell’s Point happened along the waterfront, while inland alterations and rehabilitations were more popular treatments for properties. In 1880 there were still over 280 wooden houses in what is now the Fell’s Point Historic District and in the surrounding areas, such as Oldtown. The presence of wooden structures in and around Fell’s Point is even apparent in the 1910′s photographs of T.C. Worthington. Though it was not overhauled in favor of industrialization, the architectural character of Fell’s Point clearly shifted from a predominantly wooden town in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to one of mostly brick, formstone, and other materials, such as stucco and vinyl siding by the end of the twentieth century.
The characteristics of early wooden houses in Fell’s Point demonstrate the simple nature of the earliest residences in the Baltimore area. Early Frame Vernacular Homes ranged from tiny, single room dwellings, to larger more spacious structures as the area evolved from a small town to a major commercial shipping center. The simplest houses were one to one and a half stories, two bays wide with gable roofs, and dormer windows. Houses were often sided with beaded edge board, a plank which protected other boards from breaking if one needed to be removed for replacement. On the inside, there was typically one room on the ground floor and a loft or garret for sleeping. These houses were twelve to fourteen feet wide, with small windows and panes of green glass. Larger houses, spanning three or four bays, often had dormers and tall gambrel or broken pitch roofs to allow for more sleeping space in the loft area or on a second floor. Between the 1760′s and 1770′s the gambrel roofs fell out of favor and were converted into a second story and a gable roof with or without dormers. Houses were often built in rows of seven, or at least as part of a pair. These styles were typical of early eighteenth century wooden houses in the Southeast region of England. Similar wooden homes were common in early American towns such as Philadelphia, Charleston, and throughout the New England seaport towns. In 1764 the exteriors of “the wooden houses were reported as painted blue and white, and some yellow,” while the interiors had low ceilings, whitewashed walls and white sand floors. Wallpaper was not used; however, chair rails were sometimes used, as well as built in corner cabinets. Though the houses were small and simple, they provided the foundation for the growing areas of Fell’s Point, Baltimore Town, and Jonestown in the mid eighteenth century through the early nineteenth century.
There were numerous factors involved in the change from wood to brick constriction throughout the region; however, one significant factor was the threat of fire to cities in that period. Fires were a major problem for cities worldwide, and wooden houses literally added fuel to this problem. Before 1799, half the structures in Baltimore were wood frame. After devastating fires in London and Philadelphia, cities took precautions by enacting ordinances prohibiting the construction of wooden buildings. In 1774 London produced the Building Act of 1774 which outlawed projecting exterior woodwork. Baltimore followed several decades later with the “Ordinance to Prevent the Erection of Wooden Buildings within Certain Limits of the City of Baltimore.” On June 11, 1799, the City of Baltimore passed this legislation which maintained that “no wooden mansion-house, shop, warehouse, carriage-house, stable, nor any other wooden building, excepting fire engine houses, shall be erected…” All newly constructed buildings within the city limits had to comply or they faced a penalty of one hundred dollars plus twenty dollars for each month the illegal structure remained standing. Workers were also fined one dollar per day they worked on the construction of a wooden building. Such hefty fines discouraged further construction of wooden buildings in the City of Baltimore. Though Fell’s Point did not fall into the limits placed by the 1799 ordinance, it seems likely that, given the problems with fires, they followed the ordinance as well. It is also likely that a later ordinance expanded the 1799 boundaries to include Fell’s Point. The difficulty of insuring a wooden house against fires also contributed to the decrease in wooden houses in the following decades. Equitable Insurance Company, a local insurer, would not insure wooden houses and placed a higher premium on masonry houses located next to wooden ones. Thus, constructing wood buildings or living in them would be costly. Finally, it is likely that fire was one of the causes of loss of wood frame structures in Baltimore, as several devastating fires swept through Baltimore.
Alongside this threat of fire came the emergence of brick in the area. Baltimore had high quality clay available, thus Baltimore became a city of brick. Brick houses were a symbol of permanence for a growing city, “emblematic of regularity, standardization, durability, and modernity.”
Wooden Houses
1627 Aliceanna Street
1627 Aliceanna Street is one of the larger remaining wooden homes and played a prominent role in Fells Point from its earliest days. Built in the 1790s by Nicholas Leeke, a schoolmaster from Annapolis, Leeke moved to Fell’s Point in 1794 and opened a school for boys in the building, known as Leeke’s Academy. His daughter Mary Leeke married Captain Henry Dashiell, who’s mansion stood on the other corner of Aliceanna Street, at its intersection with Broadway. The Dashiells had two children, Alice Anne Dashiell and Dr. Nicholas Leeke Dashiell, who became a prominent physician in Baltimore. The 1804 Baltimore City Directory lists Elizabeth Parker, a widow, as the resident of the building, which may indicate the site was rented, as many houses were in that era. The directory also lists several sea captains living on the same block, including Captain Henry Dashiell. The building at 1627 Aliceanna was owned by the decedents of the Leeke, Marine, and Dashiell families until the 1980s. The structure is three bays wide and two stories tall, its first story measuring 8.3 feet and the second story 7.7 feet, totaling a height of twenty feet. The building has a tar pitched roof and is constructed from irregularly patterned wide plank beaded edge board over the wood frame. The beaded edge board is likely original, or else very well kept. The simple facade has an original cornice, wood entry steps, a wood lintel, no shutters, one over one window lights, one door panel and a plain entryway. The window frames are not original. A brick chimney is located on the west end of the building, which may not be original. The structure has an eight foot setback and provides cellar access at the street level. A brick fountain is also reportedly located on the property. The building is currently owned by Fell’s Point Museum & Cultural Programs, Inc. Though the structure has been stabilized to some extent, the building urgently needs more attention to prevent the loss of this important structure which played a role in the education of some of Baltimore’s oldest residents.
713 South Ann Street
713 South Ann Street is another example of a wood frame home in the Fell’s Point Neighborhood. The houses is associated with a larger row, spanning from 711-715 South Ann Street. The house was built around 1800 and the 1804 City Directory lists Patrick Travis, a sea-captain, as the resident of the house at the time. The earliest deed located for the property is from 1851 and shows the house being sold to Anna Maria White from John J. Roose on November 28th of that year. It is 2 and a half stories tall, with a wood frame and clapboard covering. The original clapboards have been replaced with newer boards from the mid to late nineteenth century. The original facade was also relatively simple with a wood cornice, brick steps, windows with wood lintels, and one over one window lights. Though the house has not had shutters on the windows for several decades, early photographs of the same block row show houses with shutters. There was one dormer window with one pediment above the second story. The door was pedimented with a rectangular overdoor and no secondary entrance. A flat cellar door provided cellar access. After it was covered by formstone for a number of years, owner and construction expert Glenn Henley restored the old wood facade in 2001. He replaced the one over one window lights with six over six lights, but retained most of the other original facade features. The house is currently owned by Jeffrey and Janyth Andrews and is in good condition following Glenn Henley’s restoration a few years ago.
717 South Ann Street
717 South Ann Street is a larger wooden structure along South Ann Street which was restored to its original appearance in the late twentieth century. The house was built between 1800 and 1804 by a shipwright named Edward Dickenson who leased the land from John Lee and Joshua Inloes in 1795. Originally listed as 26 Ann Street in the 1802 City Directory, the house was built on a larger lot, which was divided into three 20×80 parcels in 1795 creating the lots currently occupied by 717, 719 and 721. The building was two and a half stories tall with a wood frame and beaded edge board. The beaded edge board was replaced with a German style siding following the Civil War. The house has 3 bays, wood steps, one dormer, with a masonry foundation and no shutters. It is possible that the house had shutters at one point. The cornice on the house is original; however, the dormer is likely a later addition. While the window lights are currently six over six and also date from after the Civil War. The windows were likely one over one originally, as was the case with other similar houses in the area. The house is associated with its neighbor at 719 South Ann Street. The current owners of the house are Raymond Blank and Robert Rose. The house is in good condition after its restoration, and can be easily recognized because of the bright pink paint currently covering the exterior woodwork and the contrasting bright blue door.
719 South Ann Street
719 South Ann Street is another larger wood frame house on South Ann Street, which compliments its neighbor, 717. The house was built between 1800 and 1804 by James Wheedon who leased the land from John Lee and Joshua Inloes in 1795. The 1804 City Directory lists Richard Bishop, a sea captain, as the resident of 719. Originally 24 Ann Street, the house was built on the middle 20×80 lot south of 717 and is two and a half stories, with a masonry foundation and covered with beaded edge board. The beaded edge board on the west fascade has been replaced with a German style of wood siding dating to the time of the Civil War; however, the original boards are still in place on the North side of the house. The roof is covered by asphalt shingles, which are not original; however, it maintains the simple facade with no shutters (though it may have had shutters in an earlier period), wood entry stairs, the original wood bay cornice, no cellar doors, and no dormers. The window lights were originally one over one; however, they were changed to six over six following the restoration of the house by Myrna Poiter in 1985. The house was originally one room deep and maintains the original wooden floorboards in the kitchen and on the second floor, as well as the winder staircase leading to the third level. The house is currently owned by Jacques and Donna Skeen-Vieyra and is in good condition following its restoration. Much like its neighbor 717, the house is painted a distinctive color, yellow, with a bright pink door, so it stands out on Ann Street.
809 South Bond Street
809 South Bond Street is another simple wooden house of this era. The house is a two and a half story building with a pitched roof and a central dormer window. The house is two bays wide, with six over six lights, which were most likely one over one originally. The beaded edge board is relatively new, but likely a replica of the siding which existed previously. The house also has a set of shutters on the first floor window, which would not be original to the house, and the other windows have no shutters. Cellar access is available at street level. Deed research located the owners as far back as 1851, when the property was sold to John Fernandis and Maria Locke. The house is in good condition and currently owned by Karen Kahl. It is the only wooden house visible on Bond Street and is painted a light shade of gray with a maroon door and shutters.
707 South Regester Street
707 South Regester Street is one of the few remaining wooden houses where an owner has done a great deal of research into its history as well as the work to restore the house. The house was built between 1760 and 1780 when Regester was known as Argyle Alley. Deed research tracing back to 1814 shows the house was owned by Joseph Brown until he sold it to Issac Stansbury in October of 1814. It was originally free standing and may have been an outbuilding for a main house fronting on Ann Street. It is two and a half stories with wide cypress beaded edge boards. The house had a chimney with fireplaces in the living room on the first floor and the bedroom on the second floor. The roof was originally hand shaved shingles and there were no dormers. The house lies on a brick foundation with a basement underneath. The first and second floor are divided by a single board partition, and the house maintains its original winding staircase between the two levels. When Reverend Robert L. Young took on the restoration of the house in 1972, he found many original hand cut nails, which he reused in the rehabilitation. If Young had to replace a historic feature, he searched diligently for one that matched in both age and material. What Young found on the interior of the house was also telling. He found evidence of the original plaster in a few places, as well as the original blue paint and chair rails around the rooms. The interior woodwork has beading and backband molding typical of its era. Aside from a careful examination of the house and a report on his rehabilitation efforts, Young also completed extensive deed research, finding all of the home owners dating back to Issac Stansbury in 1814. Reverend Young’s work on the house was an important step in preserving this house. The building is currently owned by James Austin and can be distinguished by its bright red paint and green shutters and the unpainted cypress boards on the north and south sides of the house. (figure 29) This house is also significant because it is an alleyhouse, which is another vanishing breed in the city of Baltimore.
612 & 614 South Wolfe Street
612 and 614 South Wolfe Street are perhaps the best known wooden houses in the Fell’s Point area as they are two of the smallest wooden homes remaining. Ann Bond Fell Giles, widowed wife of Edward Fell, inherited both properties following the death of her first husband. After she remarried and had several more children, she passed away and the Wolfe Street properties ended up in the hands of her youngest daughter Susannah Giles Moore and her husband Phillip Moore until Phillip died bankrupt and in debt in 1833 or 1834. The houses were built somewhere between February of 1798 and February of 1801, though likely closer to the latter. 612 and 610 South Wolfe Street were connected as properties in the earliest days, and were rented to Edward Callow in 1801. (This lease agreement indicates that the property was already built in 1801.) 614 South Wolfe Street was also rented out by the owners to Patrick Morrison. The houses are commonly known as the “Two Sisters Houses” after sisters Mary Leeke and Eleanor Marine Dashiell, the previous owners and descendants of the Leeke, Marine, and Dashiell families. The houses are sometimes also referred to as the “Flounder Houses.”
The houses are each two bays and one and a half stories, totaling 192 square feet of living space. Originally part of a larger block of seven small houses, the Wolfe street houses represent the smallest type of wooden dwelling built in the eighteenth century. They were likely built as speculative housing with the intention of building something larger at a later point, thus their continued existence is even more phenomenal. Each house has several sets of windows, including dormers on the loft level, in the front and rear to allow for light and air circulation. The house at 604 South Wolfe Street, now covered with vinyl siding, and the former 602 South Wolfe Street, which was demolished in the past ten years, were similar wooden houses, part of the larger row of seven stretching from 602 to 614 South Wolfe Street. The exterior of each house is milled weatherboard with wooden shingles covering the roofs, the original cornice, and a single door for entry. The current wooden shingles on the roof are not original, though the earliest shingles on the house would have been wooden. Unlike some of the other old wooden houses, these two have shutters on the windows, which also appear in historic photographs. The interiors had handsplit lath and plaster covering the walls, with fireplaces for heating and cooking, angled cupboards, corner winding stairs, chair rails, and wainscoting, some of which may have been added in a later period. Exposed timbers revealed that much of the bark remained on the beams when they were used in the construction.
Later, additions were built on the back side of each house, nearly doubling the total square footage of the houses.The houses, like many of the others were covered by brick or formstone for some time, but the original wood siding has been restored since that time. The houses were designated Baltimore City Landmarks in 1987 and are currently owned by the Preservation Society. Since these are some of the oldest of the wooden houses in Baltimore and they are unoccupied, the houses at 612 and 614 South Wolfe Street are in need of the most work. Though stabilization efforts have been made, the rear addition to 612 has collapsed and the roofs are also in need of repair. The houses can be identified by their height, as two of the smallest one the street and their olive green paint.
Hidden Wooden Houses
Other Wood Frame Houses Currently Covered
While the previous nine houses are intact wooden houses, there are several other wood frame houses in Fell’s Point which are currently covered by other materials or are only partially wooden. Two houses located at 2002 and 2004 Fountain Street are wood frame, but have been covered by formstone and stucco. As previously mentioned, 604 South Wolfe Street is a wooden house much like the ones at 612 and 614 South Wolfe Street, but it is currently covered by vinyl siding. Houses located at 506 and 508 Washington Street have a brick first story, but the second story is wooden. 506 Washington Street is currently covered with stucco, however, the wood siding is visible from the west side of the house. In the rear of 832 South Bond Street is half of a wooden house visible from Dallas Street.
310 South Wolfe Street lies the furthest north of all the remaining wooden houses in Fell’s Point, but it is unclear whether this house is original or not. It is two and a half stories tall and two bays wide. The house next to it, 308 South Wolfe Street, may have once resembled 310 before it was covered with formstone. Though the house has been modernized to a certain degree, it retains the wood siding and trim. The third story is an addition, the first story window has been converted to a bay window, and the exterior of the first story is covered by an asphalt tiled awning. The house has a chimney, no dormers, and has two small steps up to the doorway, all typical of the other remaining wooden houses in the area. 308 and 310 also set back further than the other houses in the row, suggesting a potential link between the two houses. 310 South Wolfe Street is in fair condition as many of the historic features have been altered and can be distinguished by its tan paint and dark brown trim. The house is currently owned by Gary Mahrenholz, and the Secretary of Housing was the former owner until 1994.
830 – 832 South Bond Street
Though these houses require further investigation into their age of construction and the remains of their wood frame structure, they are also important to consider in a survey of wooden houses. Several other houses that were once part of a row of wooden houses, such as those on South Ann Street (711, 715, and 721), are wood frame and covered by formstone or other materials. Since many of the houses which are now wooden have been restored after years of being covered by other materials, it is possible that many of these formerly wooden homes can be brought back to their original exterior appearance.
Preservation Notes
As there are only eight remaining wooden houses in Fell’s Point along with those that are covered or altered, and few others still standing and in tact throughout the rest of the City, it is crucial that these places are protected. By working with the owners, residents, local and city preservation groups, preservation experts, and other interested parties, these structures can be preserved. Through documentation of exterior and interior conditions, extensive research into the history and construction of the houses, stabilization and rehabilitation efforts where necessary, and landmark designation, these parties can protect the few remaining wooden houses in Fell’s Point and the inner city of Baltimore. Expedient and organized action is essential, as some of these places are in great need of repair. So little remains of Baltimore’s earliest housing and the houses face numerous threats, thus, but protecting these wooden houses and properly caring for them, the lessons they teach about historical architecture in Baltimore can remain for generations to come.
1627 Aliceanna Street
1627 Aliceanna Street is one of the larger remaining wooden homes and played a prominent role in Fells Point from its earliest days. Built in the 1790s by Nicholas Leeke, a schoolmaster from Annapolis, Leeke moved to Fell’s Point in 1794 and opened a school for boys in the building, known as Leeke’s Academy.[36] His daughter Mary Leeke married Captain Henry Dashiell, who’s mansion stood on the other corner of Aliceanna Street, at its intersection with Broadway.[37] The Dashiells had two children, Alice Anne Dashiell and Dr. Nicholas Leeke Dashiell, who became a prominent physician in Baltimore.[38] The 1804 Baltimore City Directory lists Elizabeth Parker, a widow, as the resident of the building, which may indicate the site was rented, as many houses were in that era. The directory also lists several sea captains living on the same block, including Captain Henry Dashiell. The building at 1627 Aliceanna was owned by the decedents of the Leeke, Marine, and Dashiell families until the 1980s[39]. The structure is three bays wide and two stories tall, its first story measuring 8.3 feet and the second story 7.7 feet, totaling a height of twenty feet.[40] The building has a tar pitched roof and is constructed from irregularly patterned wide plank beaded edge board over the wood frame. The beaded edge board is likely original, or else very well kept.[41] The simple facade has an original cornice, wood entry steps, a wood lintel, no shutters, one over one window lights, one door panel and a plain entryway.[42] The window frames are not original.[43] A brick chimney is located on the west end of the building, which may not be original. The structure has an eight foot setback and provides cellar access at the street level. A brick fountain is also reportedly located on the property.[44] The building is currently owned by Fell’s Point Museum & Cultural Programs, Inc. Though the structure has been stabilized to some extent, the building urgently needs more attention to prevent the loss of this important structure which played a role in the education of some of Baltimore’s oldest residents.
713 South Ann Street
713 South Ann Street
713 South Ann Street is another example of a wood frame home in the Fell’s Point Neighborhood. The houses is associated with a larger row, spanning from 711-715 South Ann Street. The house was built around 1800 and the 1804 City Directory lists Patrick Travis, a sea-captain, as the resident of the house at the time.[45] The earliest deed located for the property is from 1851 and shows the house being sold to Anna Maria White from John J. Roose on November 28th of that year. It is 2 and a half stories tall, with a wood frame and clapboard covering. The original clapboards have been replaced with newer boards from the mid to late nineteenth century.[46] The original facade was also relatively simple with a wood cornice, brick steps, windows with wood lintels, and one over one window lights.[47] Though the house has not had shutters on the windows for several decades, early photographs of the same block row show houses with shutters.(figure 16) There was one dormer window with one pediment above the second story. The door was pedimented with a rectangular overdoor and no secondary entrance. A flat cellar door provided cellar access.[48] After it was covered by formstone for a number of years, owner and construction expert Glenn Henley restored the old wood facade in 2001.[49] He replaced the one over one window lights with six over six lights, but retained most of the other original facade features. The house is currently owned by Jeffrey and Janyth Andrews and is in good condition following Glenn Henley’s restoration a few years ago.
717 South Ann Street
717 South Ann Street is a larger wooden structure along South Ann Street which was restored to its original appearance in the late twentieth century. The house was built between 1800 and 1804 by a shipwright named Edward Dickenson[50] who leased the land from John Lee and Joshua Inloes in 1795.[51] Originally listed as 26 Ann Street in the 1802 City Directory, the house was built on a larger lot, which was divided into three 20×80 parcels in 1795 creating the lots currently occupied by 717, 719 and 721.[52] The building was two and a half stories tall with a wood frame and beaded edge board. The beaded edge board was replaced with a German style siding following the Civil War. The house has 3 bays, wood steps, one dormer, with a masonry foundation and no shutters. It is possible that the house had shutters at one point. The cornice on the house is original; however, the dormer is likely a later addition.[53] While the window lights are currently six over six and also date from after the Civil War.[54] The windows were likely one over one originally, as was the case with other similar houses in the area. The house is associated with its neighbor at 719 South Ann Street. The current owners of the house are Raymond Blank and Robert Rose. The house is in good condition after its restoration, and can be easily recognized because of the bright pink paint currently covering the exterior woodwork and the contrasting bright blue door.
719 South Ann Street
719 South Ann Street is another larger wood frame house on South Ann Street, which compliments its neighbor, 717. The house was built between 1800 and 1804 by James Wheedon who leased the land from John Lee and Joshua Inloes in 1795.[55] The 1804 City Directory lists Richard Bishop, a sea captain, as the resident of 719.[56] Originally 24 Ann Street, the house was built on the middle 20×80 lot south of 717 and is two and a half stories, with a masonry foundation and covered with beaded edge board.[57] The beaded edge board on the west fascade has been replaced with a German style of wood siding dating to the time of the Civil War; however, the original boards are still in place on the North side of the house.(figure 21)[58] The roof is covered by asphalt shingles, which are not original; however, it maintains the simple facade with no shutters (though it may have had shutters in an earlier period), wood entry stairs, the original wood bay cornice (figure 22), no cellar doors, and no dormers.[59] The window lights were originally one over one; however, they were changed to six over six following the restoration of the house by Myrna Poiter in 1985.[60] The house was originally one room deep and maintains the original wooden floorboards in the kitchen and on the second floor, as well as the winder staircase leading to the third level.[61] The house is currently owned by Jacques and Donna Skeen-Vieyra and is in good condition following its restoration. Much like its neighbor 717, the house is painted a distinctive color, yellow, with a bright pink door, so it stands out on Ann Street.
809 South Bond Street (figures 24-26)
809 South Bond Street is another simple wooden house of this era. The house is a two and a half story building with a pitched roof and a central dormer window. The house is two bays wide, with six over six lights, which were most likely one over one originally. The beaded edge board is relatively new, but likely a replica of the siding which existed previously.[62] The house also has a set of shutters on the first floor window, which would not be original to the house, and the other windows have no shutters. Cellar access is available at street level. (figure 26) Deed research located the owners as far back as 1851, when the property was sold to John Fernandis and Maria Locke. The house is in good condition and currently owned by Karen Kahl. It is the only wooden house visible on Bond Street and is painted a light shade of gray with a maroon door and shutters.
707 South Regester Street
707 South Regester Street is one of the few remaining wooden houses where an owner has done a great deal of research into its history as well as the work to restore the house. The house was built between 1760 and 1780 when Regester was known as Argyle Alley. Deed research tracing back to 1814 shows the house was owned by Joseph Brown until he sold it to Issac Stansbury in October of 1814. It was originally free standing and may have been an outbuilding for a main house fronting on Ann Street.[63] It is two and a half stories with wide cypress beaded edge boards.[64] The house had a chimney with fireplaces in the living room on the first floor and the bedroom on the second floor. The roof was originally hand shaved shingles and there were no dormers.[65] The house lies on a brick foundation with a basement underneath. (figure 30)[66] The first and second floor are divided by a single board partition, and the house maintains its original winding staircase between the two levels.[67] When Reverend Robert L. Young took on the restoration of the house in 1972, he found many original hand cut nails, which he reused in the rehabilitation. If Young had to replace a historic feature, he searched diligently for one that matched in both age and material.[68] What Young found on the interior of the house was also telling. He found evidence of the original plaster in a few places, as well as the original blue paint and chair rails around the rooms.[69] The interior woodwork has beading and backband molding typical of its era.[70] Aside from a careful examination of the house and a report on his rehabilitation efforts, Young also completed extensive deed research, finding all of the home owners dating back to Issac Stansbury in 1814.[71] Reverend Young’s work on the house was an important step in preserving this house. The building is currently owned by James Austin and can be distinguished by its bright red paint and green shutters and the unpainted cypress boards on the north and south sides of the house. (figure 29) This house is also significant because it is an alleyhouse, which is another vanishing breed in the city of Baltimore.
612 & 614 South Wolfe Street
612 and 614 South Wolfe Street are perhaps the best known wooden houses in the Fell’s Point area as they are two of the smallest wooden homes remaining. Ann Bond Fell Giles, widowed wife of Edward Fell, inherited both properties following the death of her first husband. After she remarried and had several more children, she passed away and the Wolfe Street properties ended up in the hands of her youngest daughter Susannah Giles Moore and her husband Phillip Moore until Phillip died bankrupt and in debt in 1833 or 1834.[72] The houses were built somewhere between February of 1798 and February of 1801, though likely closer to the latter.[73] 612 (figure 33) and 610 South Wolfe Street were connected as properties in the earliest days, and were rented to Edward Callow in 1801. (This lease agreement indicates that the property was already built in 1801.) 614 South Wolfe Street (figure 34) was also rented out by the owners to Patrick Morrison.[74] The houses are commonly known as the “Two Sisters Houses” after sisters Mary Leeke and Eleanor Marine Dashiell, the previous owners and descendants of the Leeke, Marine, and Dashiell families. The houses are sometimes also referred to as the “Flounder Houses.”[75]
The houses are each two bays and one and a half stories, totaling 192 square feet of living space.[76] Originally part of a larger block of seven small houses, the Wolfe street houses represent the smallest type of wooden dwelling built in the eighteenth century. They were likely built as speculative housing with the intention of building something larger at a later point, thus their continued existence is even more phenomenal.[77] Each house has several sets of windows, including dormers on the loft level, in the front and rear to allow for light and air circulation.[78] The house at 604 South Wolfe Street, now covered with vinyl siding, and the former 602 South Wolfe Street, which was demolished in the past ten years, were similar wooden houses, part of the larger row of seven stretching from 602 to 614 South Wolfe Street. (figures 38 & 39)[79] The exterior of each house is milled weatherboard with wooden shingles covering the roofs, the original cornice (figure 37), and a single door for entry. (figure 35)[80] The current wooden shingles on the roof are not original, though the earliest shingles on the house would have been wooden.[81] Unlike some of the other old wooden houses, these two have shutters on the windows, which also appear in historic photographs. (figures 31, 32, 36 & 39) The interiors had handsplit lath and plaster covering the walls, with fireplaces for heating and cooking, angled cupboards, corner winding stairs, chair rails, and wainscoting, some of which may have been added in a later period.[82] Exposed timbers revealed that much of the bark remained on the beams when they were used in the construction.[83]
Later, additions were built on the back side of each house, nearly doubling the total square footage of the houses.[84] The houses, like many of the others were covered by brick or formstone for some time, but the original wood siding has been restored since that time. The houses were designated Baltimore City Landmarks in 1987 and are currently owned by the Preservation Society.[85] Since these are some of the oldest of the wooden houses in Baltimore and they are unoccupied, the houses at 612 and 614 South Wolfe Street are in need of the most work. Though stabilization efforts have been made, the rear addition to 612 has collapsed and the roofs are also in need of repair. The houses can be identified by their height, as two of the smallest one the street and their olive green paint.