Mount Ephraim, 23720 Mount Ephraim Road, Dickerson, Montgomery County, MD

Significance: Mount Ephraim is significant as the rural vernacular home of a storekeeper and farmer, built by a local carpenter/builder, using architectural pattern books of the mid-19th century. Although the L-shaped plan of this dwelling is typical of the time and place in which it was constructed, it is slightly more elaborate than the average, reflecting its owners wealth and his position as the community's storekeeper. It is constructed of brick rather than frame, as generally found in this area and though rather simple, it was nicely appointed with decorative window heads, facade porch with double doors opening on to it from the second floor and a center gable facade (the porch and center gable were removed in 1941). Inside is a curved stairway. While the exterior reflects the architectural values of rural, mid-19th century America, the interior is a reflection of the modern movement and the reduction to basic form, and continuous living spaces. The house was the center of Ephraim G. Harris' small commercial complex. This corner, known as "Mount Ephraim," included a brick store building with a post office, a tavern, blacksmith shop, etc. It thus represents a pattern in the early settlement and growth of rural areas, whereby services sprang up to meet the needs of the surrounding community, and the traffic which moved through it. In the case of Mount Ephraim, it was at the crossroads of established routes which connected larger settlements. The store also served soldiers at a nearby signal station during the Civil War. Although historic maps indicate a small crossroads settlement here in the last quarter of nineteenth century, all that remains now is this "Beardshear," which probably dates from the ante-bellum years.
Survey number: HABS MD-967
Building/structure dates: ca. 1866 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1941 Subsequent Work