Herman Farm, North side of Showalter Road, East of I-81, Hagerstown, Washington County, MD

Significance: The Herman Farm complex contains a house, barn and wash house-smoke house. The buildings are significant because they are precisely dated; the house was built in 1860 and the barn in 1856. Conservative in their appearance, the buildings reflect rural building traditions of Washington County and the larger region of South central Pennsylvania and mid-Maryland, and the outlook or design preferences of the area's successful farmers. The house has Greek Revival stylistic influence evidenced in exterior and interior elements which have been applied to a basic residential form rooted in the Georgian style. The farm was considered prosperous and the house a "mansion" in an 1888 sale bill for the property. This farmstead reveals the appearance and preferences of the period and enriches understanding of the late 19th century cultural setting of the local area.
Survey number: HABS MD-993
Building/structure dates: 1860 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1856 Initial Construction