Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory - Maryland


Maryland

Little Bennett Regional Park

Norwood Log Tobacco House

Norwood Log Tobacco House, Clarksburg, Montgomery County, Maryland (39.27952N; -77.28866W)


Felling Date: Spring 1884


Logs (6/7) 1883(8¼C), 1878, 1876(1+7 NM), 1874(+8¼C NM), 1873(+7C NM), 1873. Site Master 1785-1878 TBM (t = 6.82 WCM; 5.38 PA009; 5.36 ZLH; 4.4 FORES).


The log tobacco house is the only remaining building standing from the Jeremiah Norwood farm, and has dated to 1884. The tobacco house is a rare example of a type of structure used for “fire curing” tobacco, a process unique to this part of northern Montgomery County. The tobacco was stored in the tightly-chinked log barn with a metal roof, and a fire was built in the floor of the structure to provide smoke to dry and cure the tobacco leaves. Jeremiah Norwood lived on the site in the early and mid-19th century; he was a carpenter, millwright, and Confederate Army veteran. The Browning family owned the farm from 1890-1945, and farmed tobacco there well into the 20th century.

 

Worthington, M J, and Miles, D W H 2009 ‘The Tree-Ring Dating of the Perry Browning House, Zeigler Log House, Prescott Road Log Cabin, and Norwood Log Tobacco House, all in Little Bennett Regional Park, Clarksburg, Montgomery County, Maryland’ , unpubl ODL archive report 2009/15.

Link to Montgomery Parks site for Little Bennett Regional Park here


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Contact Information

Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory

Proprietors
Michael Worthington
Jane Seiter, Ph.D

25 E. Montgomery St.
Baltimore, MD 21230

410-929-1520

michael@dendrochronology.com

Address

25 E Montgomery St.
Baltimore, MD 21230

410 929 1520


Perry Browning House

Perry Browning House, Clarksburg, Montgomery County, Maryland (39.27856N; -77.29788W)


(Felling Dates: Spring 1815, Spring 1816, and Summer 1816


Logs (7/10) 1815(½C), 1814 (¼C4), 1813(2), 1809; Joists (44/) 1815(¼C), 1809(+8NM), 1809, 1772. Site Masters 1746-1815 PBMx1 (t = 8.48 ZLH; 5.97 DRNx; 5.61 MD2008; 5.5 ARC); 1722-1815 PBMx2 (t = 5.08 DRNx9; 5.02 DRNx; 4.81 FPCPA; 4.71 BPR); 1750-1809 pbm12a1 (t = 8.53 PA009; 6.7 DRNx; 6.74 HQFx2).


The Perry Browning House consists of four bays and is two-and-a-half stories high with a front porch. It is set back from the road and faces northwest, with the southwestern half of the house being the period one log house, tree-ring dated to 1816, and the northeastern half the period two frame addition dating to the mid-20th century. The site had a number of owners in the 18th and early 19th centuries until Perry Browning purchased it in 1830. Browning added on to the original log structure and the farm remained in his family until 1897, when it was sold by his son Charles Browning. In the 20th century, the structure suffered from numerous additions and remodeling, including asbestos siding that now disguises its log-cabin origins.


Worthington, M J, and Miles, D W H 2009 ‘The Tree-Ring Dating of the Perry Browning House, Zeigler Log House, Prescott Road Log Cabin, and Norwood Log Tobacco House, all in Little Bennett Regional Park, Clarksburg, Montgomery County, Maryland’ , unpubl ODL archive report 2009/15.

Link to Montgomery Parks site for Little Bennett Regional Park here


Prescott Road Log Cabin

Prescott Road Log Cabin, Clarksburg, Montgomery County, Maryland (39.27952N; -77.28866W)


(a) East End of Cabin Felling Date: Summer 1825, Winter 1825/6?


(b) West end of Cabin Felling Date: Summer 1844, Winter 1844/5


Joists (3/4) 1824(11½C), 1843(16½C), 1844(17C); Logs (1/3) 1825(C?). Site Master 1731-1844 WCM (t = 6.95 ZLH; 6.74 PA009; 6.62 DRNx).


The Prescott Road Log Cabin (colloquially known as “Whitey’s Cabin” after Whitey Saunders, Park Maintenance staff), tucked back in the woods behind Prescott Road, is something of a mystery. The structure was originally two cabins, probably built at different times, joined together by a central passage hall. According to oral tradition, the land in the vicinity of the cabin had been owned by African-American families since the 19th century, suggesting that this structure might have been built or occupied by freed slaves.


Samples were taken from the east-end cabin only, as all of the timbers from the west-end cabin have disintegrated. The dating of the samples has shown two distinct phases for the east-end cabin: an initial construction phase of 1825/6 and a later repair phase from 1844/5. During the later phase a number of large ground joists were replaced, possibly suggesting that the cabin was moved to its present location at this time.


Worthington, M J, and Miles, D W H 2009 ‘The Tree-Ring Dating of the Perry Browning House, Zeigler Log House, Prescott Road Log Cabin, and Norwood Log Tobacco House, all in Little Bennett Regional Park, Clarksburg, Montgomery County, Maryland’ , unpubl ODL archive report 2009/15.

Link to Montgomery Parks site for Little Bennett Regional Park here


Zeigler Log House

Zeigler Log House, Clarksburg, Montgomery County, Maryland (39.271846N; -77.307500W)

Primary House Felling Date: Winter 1822/3, Spring 1823


Logs (10/13) 1822(C, ¼C8), 1820. Site Master 1752-1822 ZLH (t = 8.48 PBMx1; 6.95 WCM; 6.02 HMHx2; 5.92 HOS).


The oldest part of the Zeigler Log House, consisting of two equally-sized log rooms with attic spaces, has been dated to 1823. It appears that the log house was built by Elisha Hyatt, who owned the property during that time. The property was purchased by Eleanor Zeigler in 1854; her husband, David Zeigler, farmed and ran mills on their property through the 1870s.

 

The north room of the structure contains the opening for the original hearth, and a boxed winder staircase in the northeast corner leading up to the attic. The southern room displays the ghost of a winder stair. A two-story, single pile, center passage house was added to the front (west) of the log structure about the mid 19th century and its interior and exterior décor show Greek Revival and Italianate influences.

 

Worthington, M J, and Miles, D W H 2009 ‘The Tree-Ring Dating of the Perry Browning House, Zeigler Log House, Prescott Road Log Cabin, and Norwood Log Tobacco House, all in Little Bennett Regional Park, Clarksburg, Montgomery County, Maryland’ , unpubl ODL archive report 2009/15.

Link to Montgomery Parks site for Little Bennett Regional Park here