oakwood
Date Listed in the
National Register of Historic Places: 9/2/2001
Description:
Built in the 1850s, Oakwood is a 2 1/2-story, double-pile plan,
frame vernacular farmhouse with Greek Revival influenced details.
The main block is three bays wide. An original two-story frame wing
projects from the south gable end of the main house. This wing is
three bays wide and one room deep, and its front façade is set flush
with that of the main block. The brick foundation under both
sections is continuous. The main house features a pitched gable roof
covered by modern composition shingles. Two 6/6 dormer windows,
accented with partial cornice returns, pierce the east and west
sides. The boxed cornice features dentiled frieze below the soffit
and a complex crown molding above. An internal brick corbeled
fireplace chimney slightly offset to the west of the ridgeline,
stands at each gable end. The kitchen wing's roof pitch and covering
are consonant with the main building. The roof is pierced at the
south gable end by a brick fireplace chimney of the type found on
the main block. A tall, narrow, semi-exterior stove chimney breaks
the roofline slightly left of center on the west façade. Both the
main house and the wing are sheathed with asbestos shingles applied
over early horizontal siding. A classically styled front porch
dominates the façade. Built to replace an earlier porch about 1895,
it features a dentiled cornice and four Doric columns. The principal
entrance is located in the center bay of the east façade. The
original door is distinguished by a six-light transom and flanking
sidelights. Flanking Greek Revival style pilasters, related to the
earlier porch treatment, stand between the door and window openings.
A second floor doorway aligns with the principal entrance below.
Fitted with double French doors and topped by a three-light transom,
the opening provides entrance to a small balustraded balcony.
Fenestration in the main blocks' front (east) façade consists of
four 8/8 sash windows. The kitchen wing's front façade features
three 6/6 windows on each floor. A c. 1894 bay window projects from
the front of the first floor's east side, glazed with 2/2 sash
windows. The main block's rear façade contains four bays. Each first
floor opening contains a pair of French doors, topped by a
three-light transom. Transoms appear original, while the doors date
to the late 19th or early 20th century. Second floor windows match
those on the front. A one story porch spans the first floor.
Significance: Oakwood is historically significant in the
areas of agriculture, architecture, and politics and government. A
highly intact, mid-19th century tobacco plantation dwelling, Oakwood
is significant as it reflects important trends in agricultural
practice in Anne Arundel County, including the slave-based economy
of the ante-bellum period and the post-war transition to a free
labor system. The property is also significant for its association
with Sprigg Harwood, who constructed Oakwood between 1850 and 1860.
Harwood held a variety of political offices and was a leader in the
failed initiative to have Maryland leave the Union and align with
the newly formed Confederate States of America. The house is
architecturally significant for its Greek Revival-influenced
decorative detailing, and its unusual floor plan which is more
commonly seen in urban contexts in the period.
Photo credit: S. Marsh, 10/99