NFS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number ——— Page ——— SUPPLEMENTARY LISTING RECORD NRIS Reference Number: 93001143 Date Listed: 11/3/93 Lower Deer Creek Valley Historic District Harford MD Property Name: County: State: Multiple Name This property is listed in the National Register of Historic Places in accordance with the attached nomination documentation subject to the following exceptions, exclusions, or amendments, notwithstanding the National Park Service certification included in the nomination documentation. Signature of the Keeper Date or Action Amended Items in Nomination: The Period of Significance is amended to start c. 1730 (rather than 1608 as noted in the nomination), the date of the oldest contributing resource in the historic district. This date was recommended by the State office. The nomination form is officially amended to change the Period of Significance. DISTRIBUTION: National Register property file Nominating Authority (without nomination attachment) NP8 Form 10400 OU« Ma 108+OOH (R«v. M6) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service RECEIVED National Register of Historic Places FSEP231993 Registration Form NATIONAL This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations of eligibility for individual ties or districts. Ee fflftT(BB»s in Guideline* for Completing National Register Forma (National Register Bulletin 16). Complete each Item by arking "x" In the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. If an item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" and areas of significance, enter only the categories and subcategories listed in the instruction* For additional space use continuation sheets I (Form 10-900a). Type all entries. 1 . Name of Property historic name LOWER DEER CREEK VALLEY HISTORIC DISTRICT other names/site number HA-1551 2. Location street & number Roughly bounded by the Susquehanna River , MD Rt . N/A not for publication city, town Darlington .543 » & Harmony Church & Trappe rds X vicinity state Maryland code MD county Harford code 025 zip code 21014. 21028. 21034, 21078 3, Claaaltlcatlon Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property jX private _ bulldlng(s) Contributing Noncontrlbutlng .x public-local 'J. district 243 HI bulldlnos _ public-State _.8lte 32 __ p_ sites _ public-Federal _ structure 31 0 structures ^_ object __ Q_ __ 0_ objects 306 111 Total Name of related multiple property listing: Number of contributing resources previously N/A listed In the National Register See Continuation ______________Sheet No. 1 4. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this HO nomination EH request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my optyion, thejjroperty 03 meets EH does not meet the National Register criteria. EH See contlnuatlonysheet. 7/7/73 certifying official STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER Date State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion, the property EH meets EH does not meet the National Register criteria. EH See continuation sheet. Signature of commenting or other official Date State or Federal agency and bureau 5. National Park Service Certification I, hereby, certify that this property Is: F7| entered In the National Register. EH See continuation sheet. AAA EH determined eligible for the National Register. I I See continuation sheet. EH determined not eligible for the National Register. I I removed from the National Register. EH other, (explain:) __________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action 6. Function or Use HA-1551 Historic Functions (enter categories from instructions) Current Functions (enter categories from instructions) DGMESTIC/single dwelling_________ DOMESTIC/single dwelling ______ I..sDUSTRY/manufacturing facility____ 7. Description Architectural Classification Materials (enter categories from instructions) (enter categories from instructions) foundation STONE EARLY REPUBLIC walls __ STONE MID-19th CENTURY WOOD LATE 19th AND 20th CENTURY REVIVALS roof _ SLATE other METAL Describe present and historic physical appearance. DESCRIPTION SUMMARY: The Lower Deer Creek Valley Historic District comprises approximately 12,000 acres in north central Harford County, Maryland. The area has been recognized as a discreet district, separate and distinct from the rest of the county, at least as long ago as the 1870s when Dr. W. Stump Forwood (first president of the Historical Society of Harford County) ran a series on the valley's architecture, "Homes on Deer Creek," in the Bel Air weekly newspaper, The AEgis. The district, overwhelmingly rural in nature, is centered around Deer Creek, a state Scenic River as certified in the Annotated Code of Maryland. The district's northern and southern boundaries parallel the creek at a distance of approximately one mile, with the exact distance determined by such factors as historic property lines, views, use patterns, presence of intrusions, etc. The western boundary is marked by the Walters Mill complex near Ady Road (State Route 543) and the highly important 18th-century house Deer Park; the eastern by the Susquehanna River. Several lesser streams feed the creek, most notably (on the north bank and moving from west to east) Hopkins Branch, Holland's Branch, and Buck Branch and (on the south side of the creek) St. Omer's Branch, Thomas Run, Tobacco Run, Coolbranch Run, Mill Brook, Graveyard Branch, Elbow Branch, and Rock Run; there are many more streams which are smaller yet and are unnamed. Most of the land is forested in native hardwoods such as white and red oak, tulip poplar, maples, black walnut, and sycamores, and in native conifers such as red cedar; substantial sections were cleared in the 18th century for large and prosperous grain farms; corn and wheat are still important crops but farming has been diversified to include cattle and in the 20th century horse- breeding. The entire district lies in the hilly Piedmont section of the state, just north of the Fall Line. The rolling terrain slopes of 25% are not uncommon and several 300-foot high hills soar up directly from the creek's sea-level banks has meant that the creek and its tributaries flow with a power surprising for such small bodies of water. It was this water power that lured settlers to the valley in the first half of the 18th century, and the Lower Deer Creek was lined with grist mills, saw mills, iron forges and furnaces, tanneries and tanbark mills, and flint mills by the close GO See continuation sheet No. 7 For GENERAL DESCRIPTION 8. Statement of Significance___________________;________________HA-1551 Certifying official has considered the significance of this property in relation to other properties: O nationally O statewide [X] locally Applicable National Register Criteria [XJA I IB fxlc HfJD Criteria Considerations (Exceptions) IY1A I IB I Ic [xlD I IE I IF I |G Areas of Significance (enter categories from instructions) Period of Significance Significant Dates Architecture c.1608-c.1940 N/A Industry Exploration/Settlement Cultural Affiliation ___________N/A Significant Person Architect/Builder N/A See Continuation Sheet No. 71 State significance off property, and justify criteria, criteria considerations, and areas and periods of significance noted above. SIGNIFICANCE SUMMARY; The Lower Deer Creek Valley Historic District represents a 250-year evolution of all aspects of rural development residential, agricultural, industrial, religious. The district is beautifully preserved as a discreet entity, easily distinguished from those sections of Harford County which abut it. The hundreds of inventoried sites in the district have historical, architectural, and familial links with each other that span several generations; these links are suggested by the number of cross- references seen in Section 7, Description. The valley contains approximately 350 separate sites (many with more than one significant structure) included in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties and probably represents the greatest and best- preserved concentration of significant sites in Harford County. The district as a district has been much studied for generations, at least as far back as August 14, 1858, when the Harford County weekly The AEcris praised "that romantic and classical portion of our county through which courses the magnificent Deer Creek, whose banks are adorned by...specimens of the most tasty architecture." Then in 1879-80 Dr. W. Stump Forwood, first president of the Historical Society of Harford County, wrote a series of pieces for The AEcris called "Homes on Deer Creek;" of the 37 structures Dr. Forwood described a remarkable 36 are still standing, in virtually unchanged condition. In 1979 the Maryland Department of Natural Resources declared the lower Deer Creek valley a "Wild and Scenic River" because of its "outstanding scenic...historic...[, and] cultural...values." 00 See continuation sheet No. 72 For HISTORIC CONTEXT and MARYLAND COMPRE­ HENSIVE HISTORIC PRESERVATION PLAN data. 9. Major Bibliographical Referencea HA-1551 ly See continuation sheet No. 204 Previous documentation on file (NPS): O preliminary determination of Individual listing (36 CFR 67) Prjmary