AL-VI-B-078 Dan's Rock Architectural Survey File This is the architectural survey file for this MIHP record. The survey file is organized reverse- chronological (that is, with the latest material on top). It contains all MIHP inventory forms, National Register nomination forms, determinations of eligibility (DOE) forms, and accompanying documentation such as photographs and maps. Users should be aware that additional undigitized material about this property may be found in on-site architectural reports, copies of HABS/HAER or other documentation, drawings, and the “vertical files” at the MHT Library in Crownsville. The vertical files may include newspaper clippings, field notes, draft versions of forms and architectural reports, photographs, maps, and drawings. Researchers who need a thorough understanding of this property should plan to visit the MHT Library as part of their research project; look at the MHT web site (mht.maryland.gov) for details about how to make an appointment. All material is property of the Maryland Historical Trust. Last Updated: 03-22-2012 MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST NR Eligible: yes DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FORM no Property Name: Dan's Rock Inventory Number: AL-VI-B-078 Address: Dan's Rock Road City: Lonaconing vicinity Zip Code: 21539 County: Allegany USGS Topographic Map: Lonaconing Owner: Maryland Department of Natural Resources Is the property being evaluated a district? yes Tax Parcel Number: N/A Tax Map Number: 36 Tax Account ID Number: N/A Project: Agency: Site visit by MHT Staff: X no _yes Name: Date: Is the property located within a historic district? yes X no If the property is within a district District Inventory Number: NR-listed district yes Eligible district yes District Name: Preparer's Recommendation: Contributing resource yes no Non-contributing but eligible in another context If the property is not within a district (or the property is a district) Preparer's Recommendation: Eligible yes X no Criteria: _X_A X B X c D Considerations: A B C D E F G None Documentation on the property/district is presented in: Description of Property and Eligibility Determination: (Use continuation sheet if necessary and attach map and photo) Description Dan's Rock is an outcrop of rock on Dan's Mountain, a mountain located between the North Branch of the Potomac River and Georges Creek, that is the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. Dan's Rock at 2,898 feet above sea level is the highest point on Dan's Mountain and in Allegany County. Dan's Rock is an outcropping of exposed rocks of the Pottsville formation, which contains sandstones, siltstones, daystones, shales and several coal beds and date to about 300 million years old (Maryland Geological Survey 2008). The apex of Dan's Rock is an open area devoid of trees that provides a natural scenic overlook towards the east and south and north along the valley. On clear days, three states (Maryland, West Virginia directly to the east and to the south, and Pennsylvania to the north) can be viewed from the top of the rocks. The view to the west is obscured by trees and affords only a glimpse of Big Savage Mountain, the next mountain west of Dan's Mountain that forms the boundary between Allegany and Garrett Counties. MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST REVIEW" Eligibility recommended Eligibility not recommended Criteria: A B C D Considerations: A B C D E F G None Comments: R|y*ewer, Officii* Preservation Services i \ Date Reviewer, NR Program ' ' ' Date MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST NR-ELIBILITY REVIEW FORM Continuation Sheet No. 1 AL-VI-B-078 The public overlook on Dan's Rock is accessed by car along a rural road up the western slope of Dan's Mountain. A small gravel parking lot that accommodates three or four cars is at the base of the rock outcropping. The overlook is accessed by stone steps blasted into the rock. Two, open, wire-mesh metal viewing platforms with tubular metal railings are provided. The southern viewing platform incorporates a metal bench. Pathways through the rocks are augmented in sections by metal grates with tubular metal railings. All metal elements are of recent construction. The area does not have picnic tables and is not a trailhead for formal hiking trails. Dan's Rock has been an established scenic overlook since the late nineteenth century as evidenced by names and dates carved into the rocks; the earliest date noted on a rock south of the southern viewing platform was dated 1867. It was possible to find carvings from each decade of the late nineteenth through mid-twentieth century during casual observation of the graffiti. Since post World War II, painting one's name and date of visit on the rocks has become the preferred method of graffiti. An unsystematic sampling of the range of graffiti is appended to the DOE. Approximately sixteen towers, including communication towers and antenna, have been sited in the vicinity and are visible from the overlook. One tower is a metal fire watch tower constructed prior to 1950. This tower is an all-metal structure capped by an enclosed box. The towers and antenna are sited in a line along the ridge of Dan's Mountain generally set back west of the rocks. History Dan's Mountain is a 16-mile long mountain extending north and south in west-central Allegany County (Maryland Department of Natural Resources 2008). Dan's Rock is located at the summit of Dan's Mountain, 2,898 feet above sea level and spanning several hundred feet. Dan's Rock consists of several large quartzite and hard sandstone boulders piled on top of each other. The slope below the highest point is covered with "scattered shrubbery, small trees, and berry bushes," as well as graffiti. Dan's Rock was deposited more than 300 million years ago during the Pennsylvanian Period (Scott 1991:52). The Cresap Family Secondary sources provided contradictory accounts of the origin of the names "Dan's Mountain" and "Dan's Rock," but all agreed that the two features were named for Daniel Cresap (1728-1798), son of Thomas Cresap, an English immigrant who was an associate of eighteenth-century Maryland political figures and who played a prominent role in western Maryland history. Thomas Cresap (1694-1790) immigrated to the colony of Maryland from Skipton, Yorkshire, England in 1710. He settled in Havre de Grace and married Hannah Johnson in 1727 (Cresap and Cresap 1937:293). The couple eventually had three sons, including Daniel, and two daughters. Cresap became involved in the border conflict between Pennsylvania and Maryland during the 1730s after he obtained a 500-acre tract more than 20 miles north of the current boundary but which was in a disputed area at that time. Cresap was imprisoned in Philadelphia but released after a provisional border was established in 1739 (Scharf 1882:76; Darlington 1893:203). The family moved to Antietam and then to Oldtown, in present-day Allegany County, in ca. 1742 (Scharf 1882:76; Darlington 1893:202). Cresap's home served as a tavern for travelers, including George Washington, a 16-year-old member of a surveying party, and he ran a trading post. He also surveyed the western boundary of Maryland for Lord Baltimore, surveyed a road from Oldtown to Pittsburgh, was a member of the Ohio Company, which established the first English settlement at Pittsburgh, and might have served in the Maryland legislature. During the French and Indian War, Cresap led his sons and other volunteers on skirmishes with Indians (Stegmaier et al. 1976:16, 60; Darlington 1893:204-5; Scharf 1882:75, 95, 100). Daniel Cresap was born during the family's residence in Havre de Grace and remained in western Maryland after his family moved there. He married an unknown woman ca. 1749 and they had one son, Michael. He married Ruth Swearingen in 1750, and the couple had ten children (Cresap and Cresap 1937:294). Daniel Cresap was described as "a plain man" and "a man of sober habits, great industry, economy, and temperance." He was a farmer who amassed large landholdings; he received ten land patents between 1753 and 1794, as well as patents to 11 military lots (Allegany County Patent Records). He lived near Rawlings, where he built a stone house in 1789, and where he died in 1798 (Urbas 1991:63; Cresap and Cresap 1937:294). In MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST NR-ELIBELITY REVIEW FORM Continuation Sheet No. 2 AL-VI-B-078 addition to fighting in his father's company in the French and Indian War, he also served on the Committee of Safety during the Revolutionary War (Cresap and Cresap 1937:294). Their children served in military and political positions. Michael commanded a company in Dunmore's War and was a militia colonel in Virginia; Daniel, Jr. served in the Revolutionary War, was a militia colonel in Allegany County, and commanded a regiment during the Whiskey Rebellion. Joseph served in Dunmore's War and the Revolutionary War, and represented Allegany County in the state legislature. Two other sons, James and Thomas, also served in the state legislature (Jacob 1866:42-3). Other public offices of people named Daniel Cresap are detailed in secondary sources, but it is not clear whether the reference is to Daniel Sr. or Daniel Jr., or to a member of a different branch of the Cresap family. Daniel Cresaps (Sr., Jr., and unknown) was appointed a surveyor for the town of Cumberland in 1787, served in the state legislature in 1790, served as a justice of the peace and a judge in the Orphans' Court in 1791, served on the levy court and as a county commissioner in 1791, (Scharf 1882:1346-51, 1372).