Newcomer Farmstead: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Antietam National Battlefield, National Park Service

Temkin, Martha

The Newcomer Farmstead is a component landscape of Antietam National Battlefield. Located approximately 2 miles east of the town of Sharpsburg in Washington County, Maryland, the current property consists of approximately three quarters of the land associated with the Newcomer Farmstead as it existed at the time of the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg), September 16‑18, 1862. The current property of 101.68 acres, was acquired by the National Park Service between 2000 and 2008 and is located within the boundaries of Antietam National Battlefield, which encompasses a total of 3,263.49 acres. Antietam National Battlefield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district on October 15, 1966, with a formal nomination approved in 1982 and additional documentation completed in 1999 and approved by the Keeper in 2009. The entire battlefield is listed under Criterion A for its association with the Battle of Antietam (16‑18 September 1862). In 1975 a National Register form was filed with the state of Maryland for the ‘Orendorff’s Mill, Mumma’s Mill’ (WA‑II‑106). This form lists and describes what is called in this document the Newcomer House as well as the bank barn and the out kitchen. In the 1982 National Register Nomination, the Newcomer House, brick kitchen ruin and bank barn are listed as contributing features to the overall battlefield. However, the nomination has inadequate documentation for other resources of the Newcomer Farmstead, including the cultural landscape. The Newcomer Farmstead cultural landscape is significant in three areas of history. Its foremost significance, in military history (1861‑1865), results from its role in the Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War. The second, (1762‑1861), is as a preserved agricultural landscape that has been continuously farmed since the late 18th century and has remained relatively unchanged. The Newcomer Farmstead was also the site of one of the earliest mills along the Antietam Creek drainage, located at an important crossing of the creek and along one of Washington County’s major 18th century roads. The property is also significant in the area of conservation and commemoration for its association with early Civil War battlefield preservation efforts (1888‑1910) and the numerous monuments, markers, and tour roads that are its by‑products. This CLI finds that the Newcomer Farmstead cultural landscape overall retains integrity to its periods of significance and is in fair condition. Two historic structures remain; the main house and bank barn, as do the monuments and plaques placed during the commemorative period and several ruins. The agricultural field patterns remain almost the same as those that existed during the Civil War period, and are currently maintained through an agricultural special use permit program run by the National Park Service. The circulation patterns also continue to reflect their arrangement and use from the period of significance. While there have been changes to the property and the loss of some features over time, especially those that relate to the milling and industrial aspects of the property, it still invokes the historic significance of the landscape through the integrity of all seven aspects.

Newcomer Farmstead: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Antietam National Battlefield, National Park Service

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