Maryland Historical Trust



Maryland Historical Trust Inventory No. PG: 87B-036-02

Maryland Inventory of

Historic Properties Form

1. Name of Property (indicate preferred name)

historic Somerville-Turner Barn (preferred)

other Greenwood Farm; Sommerville-Turner Farm and Outbuildings

2. Location

street and number 21110 Aquasco Road    not for publication

city, town Aquasco    vicinity

county Prince George's

3. Owner of Property (give names and mailing addresses of all owners)

name Erin E McGuire and Caitlin M McGuire

street and number 21110 Aquasco Road telephone      

city, town Aquasco state MD zip code 20608-2128

4. Location of Legal Description

courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Prince George's County Courthouse liber 8589 folio 141

city, town Upper Marlboro tax map 180 tax parcel 9 tax ID number 08 0844688

5. Primary Location of Additional Data

   Contributing Resource in National Register District

   Contributing Resource in Local Historic District

   Determined Eligible for the National Register/Maryland Register

   Determined Ineligible for the National Register/Maryland Register

   Recorded by HABS/HAER

   Historic Structure Report or Research Report at MHT

X Other: Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George's County Planning Department

6. Classification

Category Ownership Current Function Resource Count

   district    public X agriculture    landscape Contributing Noncontributing

X building(s) X private    commerce/trade    recreation/culture 1 0 buildings

   structure    both    defense    religion           sites

   site X domestic    social           structures

   object    education    transportation           objects

   funerary    work in progress 1 0 Total

   government    unknown

   health care    vacant/not in use Number of Contributing Resources

   industry    other: previously listed in the Inventory

3

7. Description Inventory No. 87B-036-02

Condition

   excellent    deteriorated

X good    ruins

   fair    altered

Prepare both a one paragraph summary and a comprehensive description of the resource and its various elements as it exists today.

The Somerville-Turner Barn is located at 21110 Aquasco Road, on the south side of the road, in Aquasco, Maryland. This property includes a one-story, one-bay front-gable vernacular barn, which was constructed c. 1915. The barn is sited on a sloping, grassy 160.4117-acre parcel to the west of a long, circular, unpaved drive. The driveway extends southward from Summerville Road. Mature trees and shrubs landscape the property and partially surround the outbuilding. Several other agricultural outbuildings, as well as a c. 1910 dwelling are associated with this working farm.

Access was provided by the owner for only the barn on the property located west of the dwelling. Multiple secondary resources are associated with this property but were not documented at the request of the owner.

Barn

This one-story, one-bay vernacular barn is sited west of the property’s associated dwelling, near the western boundary. Although a firm construction date cannot be ascertained, judging by the form and materials of this building, a c. 1915 date of construction is estimated. Further, the owner of this property surmises that this building is an assembly of several older structures.[i] This wood-frame barn is partially set on a rock foundation. The exterior siding is a mix of hand cut and sawn vertical boards. A front-gable roof of standing-seam metal is finished with overhanging eaves and raking wood boards. The façade (north elevation) is pierced by double-leaf battened doors. A wooden sign hangs from the east (side) elevation and reads, “McGuire Farms, M.F.” The rear (south) elevation is fenestrated with double-leaf battened wood doors.

Integrity

The barn associated with this property maintains a low level of integrity of design, materials, and workmanship. The southwest corner of the building has been rebuilt and multiple sections of the structure have been reinforced to prevent any further deterioration. Portions of the exterior cladding, namely in the upper-gable end of the south (rear) elevation, are in poor condition. Additionally, the exterior cladding is a collection of historic and mid-twentieth century vertical boards applied using cut and wire nails. This resource maintains its integrity of location, setting, and feeling. Although the other resources associated with the Somerville-Turner Farm were not surveyed at the request of the owner, the barn maintains its integrity of association as a functioning component of an agricultural property.

Overall, the Somerville-Turner Barn maintains a low level of integrity.

8. Significance Inventory No. 87B-036-02

Period Areas of Significance Check and justify below

   1600-1699 X agriculture    economics    health/medicine    performing arts

   1700-1799    archeology    education    industry    philosophy

   1800-1899    architecture    engineering    invention    politics/government

X 1900-1999    art    entertainment/    landscape architecture    religion

   2000-    commerce recreation    law    science

   communications    ethnic heritage    literature    social history

   community planning    exploration/    maritime history    transportation

   conservation settlement    military X other: Local History

Specific dates c. 1915 Architect/Builder unknown

Construction dates c. 1915

Evaluation for:

   National Register    Maryland Register    not evaluated

Prepare a one-paragraph summary statement of significance addressing applicable criteria, followed by a narrative discussion of the history of the resource and its context. (For compliance projects, complete evaluation on a DOE Form – see manual.)

Statement of Significance

The Somerville-Turner Barn, located at 21110 Aquasco Road near Brandywine, Maryland, is a representative example of an early-twentieth-century barn. This tall, one-by-one-bay wood-frame structure was constructed c. 1915. The Somerville-Turner Farm is notable for its collection of agricultural outbuildings constructed during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (but were not surveyed or documented at the request of the owner). The oldest surviving building is the carriage-house/stable which dates from the early nineteenth century. The corn crib described in the 1974 on-site survey is no longer extant. The Turners, a prominent family in Aquasco, owned the property from 1872 to 1980, a span of 108 years. Erin Elizabeth and Caitlin Molly McGuire, the current owners, have owned the property since 1992. The property has been in their family since 1980. The barn has lost significant integrity of materials, workmanship, and design. This barn does not retain sufficient integrity to convey its significance as an example of a barn constructed during the early-twentieth century in Prince George’s County.

Historic Context

The Somerville-Turner Barn is located northwest of Aquasco, Maryland. Located in southern Prince George’s County, Aquasco developed as a small crossroads village. The town was named for a nearby tract patented in 1650 and known by Native Americans as “Aquascake.”[ii] The center of Aquasco is marked by the intersection of Aquasco Road (MD 381), St. Mary’s Church Road, and Dr. Bowen Road. MD 381 led southeast from Baden, Maryland, toward Benedict, Maryland, in Charles County, and was completed between 1740 and 1762.[iii] This road ran directly through Aquasco. This rural area was historically a tobacco farming region and today is primarily characterized by agricultural fields. In the eighteenth century, the area around Aquasco was divided into large tobacco plantations.[iv] By the early twentieth century, the village was a small, closely-knit community. However, with the advent of the automobile, many of the area’s children left and settled elsewhere. Families began to subdivide their farms and sold lots for development. Most of the extant buildings date from and reflect the area’s growth between 1850 and 1930.[v] Today, the area is referred to as Woodville/Aquasco and remains a rural agricultural village.

This property, historically known as Greenwood Farm, was owned in the early nineteenth century by Thomas T. Somerville. This parcel was part of the larger Brook Court Manor tract. At the time of the 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Somerville was accessed as having $24,000 in real estate, a large sum for this time period.[vi] In 1863, the plantation was sold to William R. Barker for $30,000.[vii]

William R. Barker, born c. 1804, was an affluent planter in Prince George’s County. He was married to Charity A. Barker, born c. 1818. At the time of the 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Barker had real estate holdings assessed at $34,000.[viii] His pursuits were not limited to agriculture. In 1842, Barker served in the Maryland House of Delegates.[ix] In 1853, he was appointed Commissioner of the newly planned Baltimore and Potomac Railroad line.[x] Of note is the nearby William R. Barker House (87B-14). Located at 22600 Aquasco Road, Barker resided in this large, two-and-one-half story, five-bay dwelling before he purchased the Somerville-Turner Farm. At the time of the 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Barker’s real estate assessment had increased to $40,000 and his personal estate assessed at $20,000.[xi]

Following the death of Barker in 1866, after only three years of ownership and having no direct heirs, the property was willed to Barker’s niece and nephew, Jane and William Turner.[xii] Jane and her husband William Robinson conveyed her parcels totaling approximately 335 acres to her brother, William B. Turner, in 1872.[xiii]

William Turner, born c. 1827, was a farmer. Turner and his wife Rebecca had eight children at the time of the 1880 U.S. Federal Census. The children, ranging in age from 6 to 20 were: Joseph R., Aquilla, Henry, Anna R., George F.A., Sallie P., William R.B., and the eldest Benjamin A. The younger children attended school while their older siblings worked the farm, with the exception of Benjamin who studied medicine.[xiv] Records concerning Jane Turner could not be located.

Upon the death of William Turner, the property was divided so that each child, excluding Benjamin, would receive a 1/7 interest in “Greenwood.” This set off a series of land transfers as several of the Turner children bought out their siblings. By 1903, Aquilla Turner, a tobacco buyer, had acquired a 4/7 interest in the property.[xv] In 1914, Anna R. Turner and her husband, George Jeremiah, purchased 190 acres of the tract from Aquilla and his wife, Emily Blanche.[xvi] Anna Turner was born in July 1868; she married George Jermiah, a farmer from Maryland, in 1895. At the time of the 1910 U.S. Census, she was residing in Aquasco with her husband, children (John E. and Rebecca), as well as her brothers, George F.A. and Joseph R. Turner.[xvii]

Upon the death of Anna Turner in July 1939, her will stated that all real estate should be conveyed to her husband, George Jeremiah, and upon his death it should be divided equally amongst their children, John Edward, Rebecca Turner Adams, George Jeremiah Turner, Jr., and Lettice Caroline Turner Summers.[xviii] Since her husband had predeceased her, the property was divided immediately amongst the children. Lettice Caroline Summers and her husband, J. Leon Summers, conveyed their 1/4 interest in the “Weston” and “Greenwood” property to Rebecca Turner Adams, John Edward Turner and George Jeremiah Turner, Jr., in 1955.[xix] John Edward Turner died in 1974 and willed his entire estate to his wife, Neale W. Turner and daughter, Elizabeth A. Turner.[xx] In 1978, George Jeremiah Turner, Jr., passed away and conveyed his 1/3 interest in the property to his wife, Anna Lee Craycroft Turner.[xxi]

The members of the Turner family retained their particular interests in the property until 1980 when it was once again under solitary ownership. Upon the death of Anna Lee Craycroft Turner, her personal representative, Joseph Kneffler Taussig, along with Rebecca Turner Adams, Neale W. Turner and Elizabeth Ann Turner conveyed their interests in the property of approximately 160.4117 acres to Terence A. McGuire.[xxii] As far as can be determined, McGuire was not a member of the Turner family. No information regarding Terence A. McGuire could be located.

In 1992, Terence and his wife, Magdalena, conveyed the parcel to Caitlin Molly McGuire and Erin Elizabeth McGuire.[xxiii] No information about Caitlin Molly McGuire could be located. Erin Elizabeth McGuire was admitted to the Maryland State bar in 2007. The McGuire family still owns and operates the Somerville-Turner Farm.

9. Major Bibliographical References Inventory No. 87B-036-02

| |

|1850, 1860, 1880, 1900, 1920 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. Subscription database. Digital scan of |

|original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC. . |

|Martenet, Simon J. Martenet's Map of Prince George’s County, Maryland. Baltimore: Simon J. Martenet, 1861. |

|Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and Prince George’s County Planning Department, Historic Sites and Districts Plan, 1992. |

|Pearl, Susan G. “Somerville-Turner Farm and Outbuildings” (87B-2) Maryland Historical Trust State Historic Sites Inventory Form, 1985. |

|Prince George’s County Land Records |

10. Geographical Data

Acreage of surveyed property 160.41

Acreage of historical setting 165.627

Quadrangle name Benedict Quadrangle scale: 1:24,000

Verbal boundary description and justification

| |

|The Somerville-Turner Barn is located on a 160.4117-acre parcel at 21110 Aquasco Road in Aquasco, Maryland. The northern boundary of the property is formed by |

|Summerville Road. The eastern boundary has no discernable features, running northeast-southwest through a densely wooded area. The southern boundary runs |

|east-west, also through a densely wooded area. The western boundary of the property is defined by the power line easement, which runs northwest-southeast. A |

|second parcel of land is sited north of Summerville Road and directly east of the power line easement. A third parcel of land is located directly west of the |

|power line easement and east of Aquasco Road. The southern boundary is formed by Summerville Road. The Somerville-Turner Barn has been historically associated |

|with Parcel 9 as noted on Tax Map 180 since its construction c. 1915. |

11. Form Prepared by

name/title Paul Weishar and Maria Dayton/Architectural Historians

organization EHT Traceries, Inc. for M-NCPPC date March 2009

street & number 1121 Fifth Street, NW telephone (202) 393-1199

city or town Washington state DC

The Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties was officially created by an Act of the Maryland Legislature to be found in the Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 41, Section 181 KA,

1974 supplement.

The survey and inventory are being prepared for information and record purposes only

and do not constitute any infringement of individual property rights.

return to: Maryland Historical Trust

Maryland Department of Planning

100 Community Place

Crownsville, MD 21032-2023

410-514-7600

Chain of Title

Prince George’s County Land Records

Weston Parcel:

Deed George Forbes to Maria P. Morton.

FS 2:91

April 11, 1864

Deed George and Catherine Adams, and Benjamin F. and Mary E. Bowling to Susan

ATB 1:463 R. Lawrence.

August 25, 1879

Deed George F. Lawrence and Mortimer Lawrence to Anna R. Turner.

91:395 (57 acres)

December 14, 1914

Greenwood Parcel:

Previous deed could not be located.

Deed Thomas J. Somerville and Mary K. Somerville to William R. Barker.

FS 1:531 (600 acres, known as “Greenwood”)

April 13, 1860

Will William R. Barker to William B. Turner.

WAJ 1:334

February 4, 1866

Deed William and Jane R. Robinson to William B. Turner.

HB 5:689 (two parcels, 335 acres total)

March 15, 1872

Will William B. Turner could not be located. (Devised his will to his six children and Could not be located his wife each receiving 1/7 interest in the property known as “Greenwood”)

Deed William R.B. Turner and Fannie Turner to Aquilla Turner.

2:224 (his undivided 1/7 interest in 600 acres, known as “Greenwood”)

March 1, 1901

Deed G. F.A. Turner to Aquilla Turner.

4:388 (his undivided 1/7 interest in 600 acres, known as “Greenwood”)

December 2, 1901

Deed Henry Turner and Mattie C. Turner to Aquilla Turner.

13:156 (his undivided 1/7 interest in 600 acres, known as “Greenwood”)

May 19, 1903

Deed Sallie P. Robinson and Aquilla T. Robinson to Aquilla Turner and Joseph R.

90:182 Turner. (her 1/7 undivided interest in 600 acres, known as “Greenwood”)

January 15, 1914

Deed Joseph R. Turner, Annie Turner, Anna R. Turner, and George Jeremiah Turner

99:157 to Aquilla Turner. (325 acres of a parcel of land known as “Greenwood”)

June 25, 1914

Deed Aquilla and Emily Blanche Turner and Joseph R Turner and Annie Turner to 99:159 Anna R. Turner. (150 acres of parcel of land known as “Greenwood”)

June 25, 1914

Deed Anna R. and George Jeremiah Turner and Aquilla and Emily Blanche Turner to

99:160 Joseph R. Turner (190 acres of parcel of land known as “Greenwood”)

June 25, 1914

Will Estate of Anna R. Turner who died July 23, 1939; deceased devised all her real

WTD 6:38 estate to her husband, George Jeremiah Turner, during his life and then it was to

November 7, 1939 be equally divided among her children, John Edward, Rebecca Adams and George Jeremiah Turner and Lettice Caroline Summers.

Deed Lettice Caroline Summers and J. Leon Summers to Rebecca Turner Adams,

1846:325 John Edward Turner and George Jeremiah Turner, as tenants in common; first:

February 26, 1955 115 acres in Aquasco District known as “Greenwood”; the grantors; ¼

undivided interest in the property.

Will Estate of John Edward Turner who died March 27 1974; deceased devised his

GSMcG 17:58 entire estate to his wife, Neale W. Turner, and his daughter, Elizabeth A. Turner,

April 8, 1974 share and share alike.

Deed Neale W. Turner, personal representative of the estate of John Edward Turner,

4456:582 deceased, to Neale W. Turner and Elizabeth A. Turner (1/4 interest in 165.627

January 27, 1975 acres).

Will Estate of George Jeremiah Turner, Jr. who died April 19, 1978; deceased

CMH 2:308 devised to his wife, Anna Lee Turner, his one-third interest in 165 acres (less 3

May 2, 1978 acres) known as Greenwood and Weston which he had inherited from his

mother, Anna R. Turner; Anna Lee Turner appointed personal representative.

Deed Anna Lee Turner, personal representative of the estate of George Jeremiah

5031:694 Turner, Jr. deceased, to Anna Lee Turner (161.7407 acres).

December 11, 1978

Will Estate of Anna Lee Turner who died April 9, 1980; deceased devised interest in

CMH 7:531 165 acres known as Greenwood and Weston to her husband’s niece, Elizabeth

April 15, 1980 Turner; Joseph Kneffler Taussig appointed personal representative.

Deed Joseph Kneffler Taussig, personal representative of the estate

5253:763 of Anna Lee Turner, Rebecca Turner Adams, Neale W. Turner and Elizabeth

April 25, 1980 Ann Turner to Terence A. McGuire (160.4117 acres).

Deed Terence A. McGuire to Terence A. McGuire and Magdalena McGuire.

8589:137 (160.4117 acres)

July 1, 1983

Deed Terence A. McGuire and Magdalena McGuire to Erin Elizabeth McGuire and

8589:141 Caitlin Molly McGuire, as Tenants in Common. (160.4117 acres)

December 30, 1992

[pic]

Photo: Barn, view of the east (side) elevation, looking southwest. (December 2008)

[pic]

Photo: Barn, view of the northwest corner, looking southeast. (December 2008)

[pic]

Photo: Barn, view of the southwest corner, looking northeast. (December 2008)

[pic]

Photo: Barn, view of the southeast corner, looking northwest. (December 2008)

-----------------------

[i] Terence A. McGuire, interview held at 21110 Aquasco Road, Aquasco, Maryland, December 2008.

[ii] Susan G. Pearl, African-American Heritage Survey (Upper Marlboro: M-NCPPC, 1996), 106.

[iii] Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Planning Department, Historic Contexts in Prince George’s County (1991), 25.

[iv] Mark Andrich, et al., “Aquasco Historic District (PG: 87B-36),” Maryland Historical Trust State Historic Sites Inventory Form (1984), 7:1.

[v] Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and Prince George’s County Planning Department, Historic Sites and Districts Plan (1992), B-35.

[vi] 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Aquasco, Prince George's, Maryland, Series M432, Roll 295, Page 56, Image 375, Thomas T. Somerville.

[vii] Thomas J. Somerville and Mary K. Somerville to William R. Barker, Prince George’s County Land Records, FS 1:531.

[viii] 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Aquasco, Prince George's, Maryland, Series M432, Roll 295, Page 56, Image 375, William R. Barker.

[ix] Archives of Maryland, “House of Delegates, Prince George’s County (1790-1966),”

[x] Marina King, “William R. Barker House,” (PG: 87B-14) Maryland Historical Trust State Historic Sites Inventory Form (1990), 8:1.

[xi] 1860 U.S. Federal Census, District 8, Prince Georges, Maryland, Series M653, Roll 478, Page 40, Image 532, William R. Barker.

[xii] Estate of William R. Barker to Jane and William Turner, Prince George’s County Wills, WAJ 1:334.

[xiii] William and Jane R. Robinson to William B. Turner, Prince George’s County Land Records, HB 5:689.

[xiv] 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Aquasco, Prince Georges, Maryland, Series T9, Roll 513, Family History Film 1254513, Page 174.3000, Enumeration District 128, Image 0349, William Turner.

[xv] 1920 U.S. Federal Census, Brandywine, Prince Georges, Maryland, Series T625, Roll 674, Page 1B, Enumeration District 84, Image 626, Aquilla Turner.

[xvi] Aquilla and Emily Blanche Turner and Joseph R and Annie Turner to Anna R. Turner, Prince George’s County Land Records, 99:159.

[xvii] 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Aquasco, Prince George, Maryland, Series T623, Roll 626, Page 11A, Enumeration District 99, Anna R. Turner.

[xviii] Estate of Anna R. Turner to her husband, George Jeremiah Turner, and upon his death to their children, John Edward Turner, Rebecca Turner Adams, George Jeremiah Turner, Jr., and Lettice Caroline Turner Summers, Prince George’s County Land Recrods, Will WTD 6:38.

[xix] Lettice Caroline and J. Leon Summers to Reba A. Turner, John Edward Turner and George Jeremiah Turner, Jr., Prince George’s County Land Records, 1846:325.

[xx] Neale W. Turner, personal representative of the estate of John Edward Turner to Neale W. Turner and Elizabeth A. Turner, Prince George’s County Land Records, 4456:582.

[xxi] Anna Lee Turner, personal representative of the estate of George Jeremiah Turner, Jr., to Anna Lee Turner, Prince George’s County Land Records, 5031:694.

[xxii] Joseph Kneffler Taussig, personal representative of the estate of Anna Lee Turner, Rebecca Turner Adams, Neale W. Turner and Elizabeth Ann Turner to Terrence A. McGuire, Prince George’s County Land Records, 5253:763.

[xxiii] Terence A. and Magdalena McGuire to Erin Elizabeth and Caitlin Molly McGuire, Prince George’s County Land Records, 8589:141.

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