DETERMINATION 0F ELIGIBILITY FORM No
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MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST NR Eligible: yes DETERMINATION 0F ELIGIBILITY FORM no Property Name: Linden oak inventory Number: M: 30-14 Address: Beach Drive and Roclrville pike (MD 355) Historic district: yes x no City: Bethesda Zip code: 20895 County : Montgomery USGS Quadrangle(s): Kensington Property owner: Maryland-National capital park and planning commission Tax Account lD Number: 07-00428301 Tax Map parcel Number(s): IIf23 TaxMapNumber: P914 Project: MD 355 BRT planning project study Ageney: Montgomery county Department of Transpo Agency prepared By: Dovetail cultural Resource Group Preparer's Nanie: Adriana Moss Date prepared: 7/20/2018 Documentation is presented in: N/A Preparer's Eligibility Recommendation: Eligibility recommended X Eligibility not recommended Criteria : A 8 C D Cons iderations : A 8 C D E F G Complete if the property is a contribwhng or non-contributing resource to a NR district/property: Name of the District/Property : Inventory Number: Eligible: yes Listed: yes SitevisitbyMHTstaff _ yes X no Name: Date: Desoription o£P[operty and lustifiicwion.. (Please attach map andphoto) Setting: The resource, a white oak tree (quercus alba), is located on the north side of Beach Drive at the intersection of Rockville Pike (MD 355), Beach Drive, and Grosvenor Lane in Rock Creek Regional Park in North Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland. This area of ho 355 is densely populated around the park with commercial and residential properties; the Red Line of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) rail system is 0.04 mile to the west, and the Interstate (I)-495 and I-270 interchange is approximately 0.25 mile southwest of the resource. The tree was previously surveyed in 1976 and identified as the Linden Oak (Lodge 1978). The resource currently sits on a 2.3-acre lot owned by the Maryland-National Capitol Park and Planning Commission Q4-NCPPC) and is a part of Rock Creek Park; however the boundaries of the resource include the tree and its commemorative plaques (State Department of Assessments and Taxation [SDAT] 2018). The tree is immediately surrounded by other vegetation, matured trees, and a manicured grass lawn. The tree, which is estimated to be the oldest white oak in Montgomery County, is set back north from the poured-concrete public sidewalk that lines Beach Drive and Grosvenor Lane (Lodge 1978). e®\a€t.ctlqz NR-ELIGIBILITY REVIEW FORM M: 30-14 Linden Oak Architectural Description : The tree, known as the Linden Oak, is a white oak tree (quercus alba) which is said to date to circa 1718 (Lodge 1978). In a 2018 survey by the Maryland Big Tree Program, they measured the circumference of the tree's trunk as 243 inches, its height as 94 feet, and its spread as 123.5 feet (Maryland Big Tree Program 2018). According to their study, the "tree has significant rot on north side of trunk and has lost several limbs. There is some significant dead wood in crown. Tree gained 5" in circulnference since 2008" (Maryland Big Tree Program 2018). "Though the Linden Oak has lost a major branch, it is generally in good condition. Cables support the tree's branches in a preventative measure" (Kelly 2011 :246). Three metal plaques fixed to two boulders located southwest of the tree were placed there in July 1976. One boulder contains two plaques: one of the plaques read "Maryland Bicentennial Tree, It has stood its ground survived the American Revolution and Continues to Serve an Appreciative Nation, July 1976, Maryland Bicentennial Commission, Maryland Forest Service" while the other provides a statement about the tree type and recognition of bicentennial status as well as a historic photo. The other boulder contains one plaque which reads: "The Linden Oak -This oldest White Oak tree in Montgomery County was saved from destruction by the Metro construction in 1973 by Idanae Garrott. A great champion of the people and of the environment, Ms. Garrott served for eight years on the Montgomery County Council, eight years in the Maryland House of Delegates and eight years in the Maryland Senate. Montgomery County Department of park and Planning." Historic Context: The eighteenth-century white oak known as Linden Oak is located on the east side of h® 355, historically known as the Georgetown and Rockville Turnpike or Turnpike Road, between the City of Rockville and town of Bethesda that was historically occupied by large agricultural properties. Although Maryland was filled with many faming-based settlements throughout the seventeenth century, Montgomery County was not a prime location for large-scale agriculture due to the natural barriers of the region; however, land owners were persistent anyway (Mary Means & Associates, Inc. 2002:8). In the beginning of the eighteenth century, much of the land in the southern part of Maryland was occupied by tenant farmers (Mary Means & Associates, Inc. 2002:8). During this time, Rockville initially began as a small settlement, known as Hungerford's Tavern, and stopover point for farmers transporting tobacco from the town of Frederick, Maryland to Georgetown (then a part of Virginia) (Dryden 2009; City of Rockville 2018). The area in which the Linden Oak is located has been settled since the eighteenth century according the Maryland Big Tree Progran's date estimates (Maryland Big Tree Program 2018). The earliest owner of the land on which the Linden Oak sits was identified to be Thomas Cramphin Q4ontgomery County Deed Book [MCDB] JGH 3 :83-85). The land comprised portions of tracts called ``Leek Forest" and "Dann" (MCDB JGH 3:83-85). Two patents dated 1772 and 1786 were identified for ``Leek Forest" (also seen as Forrest) and noted to contain 411 acres; however, they were not available for viewing and specific metes and bounds are unknown (Montgomery County Plat Book [MCPB] GS 43:385, GS 47:29). In 1836, the land was subdivided and "Lot 2," which contained the white oak, was transferred to Thomas Duffy by the 1840s (MCDB JGH 3 :83-85). Thomas Dufty was an Irish farmer with a large family consisting of his wife, Sarah, and his children, Thomas, Peter, Michael, Catherine, William, and Rose. Thomas Dufty is noted to be living in the Rockville District of Montgomery County in the 1840 Federal census with 12 other people (United States Federal Population Census [U.S. Census] 1840). As part of an order from a Chancery Court case that involved Mr. Duffy where his property was used as collateral for a debt of money, the land was advertised for sale in The Baltimore Sun in 1852 where a portion of the funds would go to the court (The Baltimore Sun 1852; MCDB JGH 3:83-85). The advertisement read: "Valuable Real Estate at Private Sale. That valuable farm, occupied by Thomas Duffy, lying on the Rockville and Georgetown n NR-ELIGIBILITY REVIEW FORM M: 30-14 Linden Oak ® turnpike (7 miles from the latter) containing about 300 acres, 40 or 50 of which are fine alluvial soil, 40 in wood, about 40 I n cover, and 80 in wheat, with plentiful supply of water, will be sold at private sale. It will be divided into lots if required. The whole is under good fencing making 6 fields exclusive of the wood, meadow, orchard and garden. The improvements are a good frame dwelling,18 by 20 feet, two stories high, and cellar, and a back building 20 by 12 feet, with a Com house, Stable, and Barn, all in good repair. There is a large and thrifty Orchard of 600 select Peach Trees just coming into full bearing" (The Baltimore Sun 1852). However, Mr. Duffy was able to retain his property after some time because in 1860, he is noted to live with his family in the same area as his neighbors are relatively equivalent to those listed in 1840 Ou.S. Census 1860). In the 1860 census, Mr. Duffy owns $9,000 of real property and $1,350 of personal property and continues to work as a farmer (U.S. Census 1860). In an 1865 map, a Thomas "Duffle" is noted on the east side of the Georgetown and Rockville Turnpike (NI) 355) and west of Rock Creek (Martenet and Bond 1865). During this period, Rockville was incorporated and rail service connecting Rockville and the District of Columbia was completed. As a result of this, Rockville saw large-scale growth, as it becaine a commuter town and a summer resort for those looking to escape the city (Peerless Rockville n.d). After Thomas Duffy's death, a case in Montgomery County's Court of Equity decreed that his heirs sell the approximately 300-acre tract in 1882 to William H. Manakee, a neighbor of the Duffy's noted in the 1865 Martenet and Bond map (Martenet and Bond 1865; MCDB EBP 26:80-82). That same year, William H. Manakee sold approximately 77.5 acres and 8 square perches of the tract back to the Duffy children, including Thomas, Michael and Peter among the others, that included the house and the "bounded white oak" for $4,265.25 (MCDB EBP 26:89-90). In an 1890 map, an approximately 76-acre tract denoted as "P. Duffy", straddles the current hD 355 with Rock Creek as its eastern boundary (Fava, Jr. 1890). Much of the 37-acre portion on the west side of the road is filled with trees, likely an orchard, and the eastern 39 acres where the Linden Oak is situated is open with a dwelling (Fava, Jr. 1890). At the turn of the century, small subdivisions were sprouting along the branch of the Baltimore and Ohio @&0) Railroad situated east of Rock Creek. In 1908, the tract was conveyed to James H.