Historic Kroh Farm c.1880

Historic Kroh Farm c.1880
This gorgeous historic stone home is set amid lush, low maintenance gardens on 10 acres of mostly wooded hillside near the Pennsylvania line in Carroll County. The stone house and cottage/spring house have been beautifully restored and thoughtfully modernized to include re-pointed stone walls, original wood floors, fireplaces with wood mantels, spacious master bathroom, finished attic with skylights, stainless steel kitchen appliances, a potential basement in-law suite with a full bathroom, and a cozy cottage-spring house with kitchen, bathroom & bedroom. This is a versatile property with a large bank barn, 6 bay garage, additional outbuildings and a spring fed pond, this is a home of rare and beautiful distinction, near to Baltimore & DC, yet a world away.

Featured on HGTV – We Bought The Farm (Season Two, Episode 3), “A Maryland Country Estate For Eight”.

Potential Uses: Private estate, retreat, conferences, B&B, auto repair, auto collector, landscaper, yoga/healing center, winery – in fact, any home business or personal passion that may benefit from easy public access, beautiful nature setting, 6 bay garage & an 80′ x 40′ 2-level immaculate 20 year old barn with a 9′ ceiling on the lower level – total 6,400SF of open space. (Any non-residential use may require Carroll County approvals)

History

● Originally part of the Conrad Kerlinger’s Mill Farm of Lineboro, Md
● Prior to 1838, Johann Martin Kroh owned the farm as part of the Kroh Paper Mill of Lineboro, Md.
● Little Gunpower Creek (located north, across Lineboro Rd.) was the original water “race” that powered the mill.
● Farm was deeded to Cornelius R. Wentz in 1879
● Oliver F.B. Wentz, his son, retained the property until 1916. A corn crib door signed by “ O.B.Wentz 1886 ” remains intact
● Log Smokehouse/Bake Oven dates to 1820 according to Kenneth M. Short (architectural historian for Carroll Co.)
● Hand hewn timbers noted throughout the house, cottage, bake oven and original Big Barn
● Hollowed logs with iron bands were uncovered – these were used to pipe water from the springs (at the pond) to the next stone house (Kerlinger House, located east toward Lineboro)
● Main stone house built in 1880 (for two families!), and thought to replace a previous structure
● Original front orientation of the farm faces south, with the sleeping porch at the rear
● Was on the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage Tour in 1995

About the Property

Main house exterior improvements

● 2003- new roof for house, cottage and bake oven – looks like slate, but made of rubber from recycled tires; guaranteed for 50 years
● Wood trim repaired and replaced with roof replacement
● Chimneys repointed, capped and re-flashed with roof replacement
● Storm windows with screens for all windows (house & cottage)
● 2003- copper gutters and downspouts (house, cottage & bake oven)
● 2014- new construction (sympathetic to the era of the house) of front and back porches – combination of pressure-treated wood, fiberglass and composite/plastic – should last a very long time!
● Hand bent and forged handrail and bannister for upper front porch
● 2007-new drilled well

Main house interior improvements

● Hand-sanded original pumpkin pine wide plank flooring
● Blue-board with veneer plaster finish for all ceilings and kitchen walls to match the original horse-hair plaster
● Painted surfaces sealed with oil-based primer prior to finish paint coats
● 8¾ foot ceilings on main floor; 8½ foot ceilings in bedrooms
● Original “2 over 2” windows, many with “bubbled” glass; all functional and reglazed
● Original hand painted oak graining preserved on doors
● Original iron cast door locks and porcelain knobs
● Reproduction-style hand-forged details (hooks, supports) made by a local blacksmith
● Reproduction lighting fixtures throughout (brass and tin) made by a local tinsmith
● All electric and plumbing has been upgraded and replaced per current codes ● 200 amp service

Rooms

Family Room 25’ x 14’ (1 st floor)
● Engineered hardwood floor (Australian cypress) with vapor barrier
● Full three piece bath with shower
● Soapstone wood burning stove (Hearthstone)
● Stainless steel flexible chimney liner
● New (2014) oil fuel tank (275 gal.)
● Oil hot water boiler with hot water heater- functions at high efficiency (83%)
● Water softener treatment
● Laundry room

Kitchen and Dining Room 25’ x 11’ (2nd floor)
● New appliances: purchased June, 2013 – GE Profile electric convection stove w/flat cooktop; GE Profile convection oven & microwave combination – GE Profile dishwasher; Maytag bottom freezer refrigerator
● New pullout faucet & large capacity sink w/cutting board
● Freshly refinished custom-made wormy chestnut Shaker cabinets w/reversed raised insert & Hepplewhite detailing – center island – toe-kick drawer for trays and pot lids – upper cabinets with glass door inserts
● Walk-in shelf-lined pantry
● Custom hand-forged pot rack/shelf and hooks
● Granite countertop (Imperial Red)
● Walls and ceiling hand-stenciled and faux/glaze painted with floral “blue willow”design
● Custom (new) silk valance window treatments w/rolled bamboo shades
● Freshly painted trim, windows and baseboards

Living Room 25’ x 12’ (2nd floor)
● Custom-made wormy chestnut Shaker bookshelves and cabinets w/reversed raised insert & Hepplewhite detailing
● Walls and ceiling hand-stenciled and faux/glaze painted with traditional period design
● Custom silk draped valance window treatments w/rolled bamboo shades
● Freshly painted trim, windows and baseboards

Hallways (2nd & 3rd floors and staircase)
● Refinished original newel post, curving banister and handrail, with hand-forged iron supports
● Walls and ceiling hand-stenciled and faux/glaze painted with traditional period design
● Freshly painted trim, windows and baseboards
● Original hand painted oak graining preserved on doors and staircase trim
● Large linen closet

Powder Room (2nd floor)
● Located on second floor (living room and kitchen level) off the hallway
● Granite counter (Imperial White) with vessel sink and new fixtures
● Custom freshly painted cabinet

Master Bedroom 13’ x 11’ (3rd floor)
● En suite bath/shower with dressing room
● Custom built cabinetry with cedar lining
● Cedar lined closet in bedroom

Guest Bathroom 8’ x 6’ (3rd floor)
● Original reglazed claw-foot tub
● Granite counter with new faucet & sink
● Custom cabinet, freshly painted

Attic 29’ x 13’ (4th floor)
● Repointed stonework and chimneys
● Ceiling finished with exposed beams
● Roof insulated with foam vents and batting insulation
● Large cedar-lined closet
● Large storage area along the knee walls; accessible by cupboard doors at each end; with lighting
● Three skylights, open electrically with remote; automatically close if rains
● Skylights and closet trimmed with original chestnut
● Banister, handrail, newel posts and spindles (the newel post and spindles are hand-turned from original chestnut) available for installation

Other Structures

Log Bake Oven
● Combination bake oven and smokehouse Squirrel-tailed flue (curved top of the oven)
● Original iron hooks in ceiling of smokehouse
● One of the few to survive in Carroll County

Cottage
Main Floor – Living Room 16’ x 10’, Kitchen 8’ x 8’, Full Bathroom 7’ x 5’
Second Floor – Bedroom 18’ x 14’
● Was the original summer kitchen/spring house
● Complete renovation in 2009
● On-demand gas (propane) hot water heater
● Soapstone gas stove (Hearthstone); thermostat controlled with chimney liner
● Electric baseboard back-up (heaters in bathroom, main room and bedroom)
● 100 amp service (upgraded in 2009)
● All new appliances: gas range, GE refrigerator/freezer and microwave
● Shaker natural maple cabinets
● Granite counters (kitchen and bath)
● Large bedroom closet with extra storage behind knee wall (accessed behind small bookcase)
● Access panel for attic space-blown insulation
● Insulation added to first floor walls in 2009
● Original wood 6 over 6 windows

Large Bank Barn
● Original banked foundation, re-pointed inside and out by the Amish
● Built in 1996-wood post and beam construction by the Amish (Ephraim Riehl Construction from Lititz, Pa.)
● Hand-forged and adapted antique iron hinges and hardware by local blacksmith ● Wooden louvers (across the front) from original barn
● 1st floor with 9 foot ceiling and poured concrete floor
● 40 x 80 ft.
● 100 amp service (sub-panel from the garage)

Red Shop Barn
● 15 ft. x 45 ft.
● Walls insulated with fiberglass batting behind ½ inch painted plywood
● Concrete floor poured for center exit drain
● 11 ft. overhead automatic door
● Subpanel electrical service (from garage)
● Propane ceiling gas heater (2009)
● Interior water spigot

Six Bay Garage
● Built in the 1940’s as a chicken coop (manure is gone, but the original wood “coops” remain!)
● 2 story cinder block with concrete block banked construction
● Dry-lock seal coating rear interior wall
● 25 ft. x 95 ft. (2375 sqft)/floor
● Poured concrete floors
● Insulated ceiling
● 5 bays with automatic overhead doors (1 st bay is oversized)
● 200 amp service
● Interior and exterior water spigots
● Full second story level with attached deck (8 ft. x16 ft.)
● Wood trimming and hinged windows across rear of 2nd story

Landscaping

Plants
● Extensive mature gardens (perennials, bulbs, deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, ground covers…)
● Unusual plants and trees (weeping Norway spruce, tri-color beech, weeping European beech, dawn redwoods, blue atlas cedars, trillium, tree peonies, butterfly & coral bark Japanese maples, paper bark maple, variegated English boxwoods, variegated dogwood…)
● Spring-fed pond
● Thousands of daffodils

Hardscape
● Steel edged (secured with hand-forged pins) brick walkways and planting beds
● Brick patio in front of the cottage
● Two wrought iron custom garden arches
● Large (1200 sf) flagstone and brick patio behind house, edged with large grey granite blocks
● Granite blocks and flagstones used throughout for informal stepping stones and steps
● Seating area at the pond
● All hardscape set in gravel/sand base for superior drainage
● Large custom iron trellis over back patio (supports wisteria vine for shade)
● Asphalt driveway to house, cottage and outbuildings – circular to the house w/2 car parking pad – paved to other buildings with additional parking at rear of Big Barn
● Extensive network of drain tiles (must work: the basement and cottage are dry!)
● Direct TV dish is out of sight (located in the field to the west of the Big Barn)

Links

Property Brochure – Downloadable PDF file
CARR-1300 – Maryland Historical Trust
Plat – Property Boundary Survey
Carroll County – Carroll County Tourism
HGTV Feature – “We Bought the Farm”