Photo credit:
Paula Stoner Dickey, 03/1974
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Doub's Mill Historic District
Inventory No.:
WA-II-090
Date Listed:
10/1/1979
Location:
Beaver Creek Road, Hagerstown, Washington County
Category:
District
Period/Date of Construction:
Late 18th-mid 19th century
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Description:
The Doub's Mill complex is located near the village of Beaver Creek on Beaver Creek Road, east of Hagerstown. The buildings, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, are clustered around the mill, which stands on the east bank of Beaver Creek. The settlement, which consists for the most part of stone structures, is located at a point where the Beaver Creek passes under Beaver Creek Road near its intersection with Cool Hollow Road. The complex is set among rolling hills with many limestone outcroppings, and complex consists of the mill itself, a shop, a late-18th century house, an early-19th century house, a late-19th or early-20th century dwelling, an early 19th century tenant house, and two late-18th or early-19th century farm complexes. The mill is a large limestone building, 2 1/2 stories high and four bays by three bays in dimension. The mill dam is located a short distance upstream. Near the mill is a small one-story, two-bay rough cast stone shop or outbuilding with a massive exterior stone chimney. A stone set in new mortar beside the door is inscribed with the date 1782 and the initials E.P. The main dwelling of the complex is a two-story, four-bay stone structure with a one-story, two-bay frame addition to the rear. The date 1794 and the name Plummer are said to be inscribed in a stone behind the porch roof framing. Two doors are centered on the front or south elevation, each with a four-light transom. On the opposite side of Beaver Creek Road is a large stone end bank barn with framed gables. On the south side of the road is a two-story, three-bay stone house dated 1811 with an early-20th century porch across the north and east elevations.
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Significance:
The Doub's Mill complex consists of a group of late-18th and early-19th century buildings clustered around the large stone grist mill. The significance of the group is twofold. First, the Doub's Mill and surrounding structures illustrate the importance of the grist milling industry to the 18th and 19th century economy of Washington County and the surrounding area. Numerous grist and saw mills were in use along the Antietam, Beaver, and other creeks in the county during the 18th century. A grist mill is depicted on the site of Doub's Mill on 1794, 1808, and 1859 maps of the area. The second significant aspect of the Doub's Mill district is the use of stone construction. All of the major structures included in the district are built of native limestone. The practice of building with local limestone was prominent in the Cumberland Valley during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This complex of stone buildings set amid limestone studded ridges reflects the popularity of using stone as a construction material.
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District Resources
Resources not specifically itemized in a list within NR nomination form.
TEA-21 funds,
administered by the Maryland State Highway Administration, supported data development for this project.