Mumma Farmstead: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Antietam National Battlefield, National Park Service
Quinn R and Everett J. 2009. Mumma Farmstead: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Antietam National Battlefield, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 600030. NPS National Capital Regional Office. National Capital Region/CLI Database
The current Mumma Farm consists of nearly all of the property associated with the Samuel Mumma Farmstead at the time of the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) on 17 September 1862. Access to the farm today is by automobile from the park tour road system, which utilizes parts of historic roads that traverse sections of the farm: the Hagerstown & Sharpsburg Turnpike, Smoketown Road, Mumma Lane, and “Bloody Lane.” The farm can also be explored on foot from the Park's Visitor Center that is located at the western edge of the property. The Mumma Farmstead consists of a cluster of domestic and agricultural outbuildings situated on a ninety-degree turn in Mumma Lane, which connects the farm with Smoketown Road and the Sunken Road, better known by its Civil War connotation "Bloody Lane." The buildings include the main farm house and large bank barn, both of which were constructed less than a year after they were burned by Confederates during the Battle of Antietam, as well as numerous smaller outbuildings. Farm fields surround the main building group on all sides, extending to the north boundary along the Smoketown Road, to the east boundary with the historic Roulette Farm, and to the south along “Bloody Lane”. The western portions of the farm, bounded roughly by the old Hagerstown & Sharpsburg Turnpike, have undergone some changes. The Park's Visitor Center now occupies a prominent knoll that played a critical role in the Battle. The landmark Dunker Church, a reconstruction, stands across the turnpike on a residual piece of property donated by Samuel Mumma in the 1850s. The landscape's integrity is very good except for the changes along the western boundary. The farm has remained in agricultural use since the time of the Battle and retains much of its original historical appearance. The 1960s visitor center and numerous stone monuments and memorials are the only major visual changes, and the latter date from the period of commemoration of the Battle. Although some of the smaller outbuildings on the farm are in poor condition, they do not date to the period of significance and are therefore non-contributing. However, the contributing structures are in good condition, as the farmhouse and barn have been recently rehabilitated.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Quinn, Richard; Everett, Jeff
- Date of Issue
- 2009-09-01
- Publisher
- NPS National Capital Regional Office
- Units
- ANTI , NCR
- Keywords
- Agricultural Outbuilding, Agriculture, Barn, Battle Site, Battlefield Preservation, Battles In The North And South, Bloody Lane, cemetery, Conservation, domestic, Dunker Church, farm, Farmhouse, Historic Preservation, Marker, Military, Orchard, plantation, residential, Sharpsburg, Small-scale Commerical Agriculture, Smokehouse, Springhouse, The Civil War, Vernacular, Visitor Center, War Department