Sherrick House Historic Structures Report: Physical History and Condition Assessment, Antietam National Battlefield Park, Sharpsburg, Maryland
Oehrlein & Associates Architects. 1995. Sherrick House Historic Structures Report: Physical History and Condition Assessment, Antietam National Battlefield Park, Sharpsburg, Maryland. Historic Structure Report. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Washington, DC
The Sherrick House and Farm are significant for their location in the midst of the Battle of Antietam and its aftermath, and because they are a largely intact and unaltered example of an early 19th century farmstead. When this report was prepared, the house remained as it was originally configured when it was built in 1835. The two-story brick house was built into a sloping hillside with a rubble stone foundation. The house was built as an integral part of a farmstead that included rubble stone retaining walls, a brick summer kitchen, a timber framed barn, and other outbuildings. The owners of the house at the time of the battle, Joseph Sherrick, Jr. and his wife Sarah, were not on the propery during the the battle and never moved back to the house after the war. During the winter of 1862-63, Samuel Mumma, his wife, and their eight children lived at the Sherrick House until spring after their own farm had been burned by Confederate forces. The appearance of the Sherrick House and farmstead during the 1862 Battle of Antietam was documented in a photograph by Alexander Gardner and in maps by Charles Ourand and others. When the house was purchased by the NPS in 1964, few alterations had been made to the original appearance of the house. More significant changes have occurred to the outbuildings and landscape features. Features of the structure and landscape are documented in the report's photos and drawings. In addition to some deterioration of building materials, analysis shows that there are areas where the Sherrick House does not comply with the requirements of a residence or exhibit house open to the public. Following a developmental history of the structure and notes on the farmstead's existing appearance and condition, four recommendations for preservation work on the house are presented. Option I is the preferred option, recommending stabilization and maintenance of the existing fabric of the Sherrick House.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Oehrlein & Associates Architects
- Date of Issue
- 1995-01
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- ANTI , NCR
- Keywords
- Alexander Gardener, bank barn, Battle of Antietam, building code, building code compliance, Charles Ourand, Civil War, Civil War hospital, Colonel Benjamin Christ, corn crib, Dunker Church, farmstead, historic photograph, Mumma, residence, rubble stone wall, stabilization, structural code analysis, summer kitchen
- Subjects
- CRIS-HS: 008044: Sherrick, Joseph, Farm; Bank Barn Foundation , CRIS-HS: 008042: Sherrick, Joseph, Farm; House , CRIS-HS: 000031: Sherrick, Joseph, Farm; Smokehouse , CRIS-HS: 008090: Sherrick, Joseph, Prop; Front Yard Retaining Wall , CRIS-HS: 048247: Sherrick, Joseph, Prop; Smoke House Retaining Wall , CRIS-HS: 1168737: Sherrick, Joseph, Prop; Terrace Retaining Wall , CRIS-HS: 1168751: Sherrick, Joseph, Property; Retaining Wall