Historic Mary’s Promise c.1790

Historic Mary’s Promise c.1790 (aka McMurray-Frizzell-Aldridge Farm) is a gorgeous 25 acre farm with large bank barn & outbuildings, fields, woods & creek in southern Carroll County, close to Baltimore & DC. The house is both stone & log (this portion may date back to c.1769), and is a perfect blend of modern & historic, with a gourmet kitchen, geothermal heat/ac, 3 full BA’s and original wood floors, hearth & fireplaces. This is a home of rare and beautiful distinction.

Maryland Historical Trust

The 1779 deed lists Hartigan as an innkeeper, and he was probably keeping an inn on this property. Its location on the old Liberty Road, from Baltimore Town through Liberty Town to Frederick Town made it prime location for business. According to 1794 map there was a tavern on this site, but John Moale’s interest in the property was solely as an investment, and he must have leased it to someone, perhaps for some period of time back to Hartigan. Moale died in 1798, and in his will he left this and other land to the youngest of his thirteen children, Randall Hulse Moale, in addition to the “Mary’s Promise” and “Darlington” tracts, there was another, unnamed tract, totaling 158 acres. At this time Hartigan was no longer the tenant. John McMurray was the occupant of the property, and was described as the superintendent. The property was improved with 1 1/2 story log dwelling house, 28 by 20 feet, a one story log kitchen, 12 by 12 feet, one story old log stable, 20 by l6 feet, that was “…fit for fuel…,” and a one story smokehouse that was 8 by 8 feet. The only one of these buildings that may survive is the dwelling. The earliest section is roughly 30 by 20 feet, close to the dimensions listed in the 1798 tax, though not exact. The building is two-story
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The McMurray-Frizzell-Aldridge Farm house was built in two stages, with subsequent alterations and recent remodeling that serve to confuse the interpretation of the building. The house is a two-story, six-bay by two-bay log structure that faces east, towards the road. The southern three bays were constructed first, and consist of hall-parlor, or two-room plan on both the first and second stories. This two-room plan was more commonly constructed as four-bay-wide building, with two openings in each room At an early date the single, three-bay wide roorn on the north was
added, with fireplace on the north end and winder stair in the northeast corner. One-room plans with three bays typically had the doorway in the center bay, and this may have been changed when the present staircase was added. The second story of this addition was apparently divided into two rooms. It was probably at this time that the porches were added, along with the flush board siding beneath them and the weatherboards on the gable ends and second story. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century the house underwent some major alterations. Many (perhaps all) of the windows were replaced with two-over-two sash. The northwest room was divided in two to create stair passage, and the winder stair was removed from the north corner. Recent remodeling has altered and
removed some historic fabric, making interpretation of the evolution of this building more difficult. There are no surviving features that would identify this building as tavern. However, most tavern or inns in Carroll County seem to have been typical vernacular dwelling structures.
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LINKS

Maryland  Historical Trust – CARR-820 – McMurray-Frizzell-Aldridge Farm (aka Mary’s Promise)
Wikipedia – McMurray-Frizzell-Aldridge Farm (aka Mary’s Promise)
Plat – Property Survey

AERIAL VIDEO