WOOD MILL FARM

This Georgian house is exceptional as a colonial-era survivor and as a sophisticated, substantial brick dwelling, erected in an era of log construction. Its symmetrical five-bay, Flemish-bond brick facade with molded-brick water table, stringcourse, modillioned cornice, hipped roof, and interior end chimneys are classic Georgian. The house was built for John Wood Jr. following his marriage to Ann Reed in 1769. His father John Wood relocated here from Cecil County when this area was still largely unsettled territory. Seeking new opportunities, Wood Sr. was the great-grandson of Augustine Herrman, a merchant and surveyor for Lord Baltimore, and thus considered a gentleman of some standing. Augustine had been compensated with the vast Bohemia plantation. John Jr. was similarly influential, commanding the Frederick Battalion of the Maryland Militia and establishing the nearby town of Woodberry (now Woodsboro). He purchased the property from John Ridout of Annapolis, who, like many, had acquired it as a warrant for investment purposes. The house and farm were later upgraded, including the construction of the brick Pennsylvania bank barn with patterned brick ventilators. The single-story stone kitchen is a rehabilitation of the original, undertaken as part of the latest restoration.