The Hager House is a two-story stone house in Hagerstown, Maryland, United States that dates to c. 1740. The house was built by Jonathan Hager, a German immigrant from Westphalia, who founded Hagerstown. The basement contains two spring-fed pools of water, providing a secure water source.[2] Hager sold the property, then known as Hager's Fancy to Jacob Rohrer. The house remained in the Rohrer family until 1944, when it was acquired by the Washington County Historical Society. The restored house was given to the City of Hagerstown in 1954 and opened to the public in 1962 as a historic house museum.[3]
The Hager House is located off Key Street in Hagerstown City Park, and is open for visits from April through December. Tours, on the hour, go from 10am to 4pm. The Hager House is the site of many activities throughout the year as well, including annual Fall Fest, Doll House Tours, Ghost Tours, and Archaeological Dig-It Tours.
On June 5, 1739, Jonathan Hager purchased 200 acres of land in the Great Appalachian Valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains in Maryland. This land is now part of Hagerstown City Park and downtown Hagerstown. Hager built the flagstone house on top of two freshwater springs and named the property, Hager's Fancy. The house was added to the National Historic Registry in 1974.[4]
Structureedit
Spring outflow at Hager House
The Hager House is built in a German Colonial style with a single chimney in the middle of the house. The central chimney allowed more heat to fill the home, rather than escape through the outside walls like an English Colonial. In the summer, if the kitchen fireplace radiated too much heat, families used the Summer Kitchen located in the much cooler basement. The house rests atop two freshwater springs that naturally run 40 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. The springs not only regulated the room's temperature, but also served as drinking water and preserved food like a modern-day refrigerator. Near the springs, the fireplace served many uses as well. While it was used to cook in the summer, the rest of the time Hager likely would have used it for blacksmithing. The walls of the basement are constructed of 17-inch thick stone, offering protection from attacks and the elements. Separating the springs from the other half of the basement is a large wall with an embrasure used for protection. This embrasure, similar to a Medieval castle's arrowslit, could be used to attack an incoming intruder while keeping Hager out of site. This other half of the basement was used to store animals in bad weather or come winter time. It kept the animals safe, and their body heat helped heat the home. The animals were brought in through a large Double Dutch Door. The top half of the door could be left open for light or fresh air. To enter the basement without using the double Dutch door, there once was a trapdoor in the kitchen. The modern-day Hager House now has stairs that come from the former pantry. The first floor is divided into four rooms: the kitchen, parlor, hall, and trading post. Upstairs, the hall leads to two rooms, with a third branching off the Master Bedroom. This room eventually was used for children or girls of the home, so that they could be under their parents' constant watch. Finally, another staircase leads to an attic, which was once used as a bedroom by renters of the home. Outside there once was a barn, but it was torn down during renovation on the property. Now a Museum, with a small upstairs residence, stands in its place.[5]
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The Hager House is a two story stone house in Hagerstown Maryland United States that dates to c 1740 The house was built by Jonathan Hager a German immigrant from Westphalia who founded Hagerstown The basement contains two spring fed pools of water providing a secure water source 2 Hager sold the property then known as Hager s Fancy to Jacob Rohrer The house remained in the Rohrer family until 1944 when it was acquired by the Washington County Historical Society The restored house was given to the City of Hagerstown in 1954 and opened to the public in 1962 as a historic house museum 3 Hager HouseU S National Register of Historic PlacesShow map of MarylandShow map of the United StatesLocationHagerstown MarylandCoordinates39 38 22 N 77 43 50 W 39 63944 N 77 73056 W 39 63944 77 73056Area2 acres 0 81 ha Builtc 1740 1740 Built byHager JonathanNRHP reference No 74000974 1 Added to NRHPNovember 5 1974The Hager House is located off Key Street in Hagerstown City Park and is open for visits from April through December Tours on the hour go from 10am to 4pm The Hager House is the site of many activities throughout the year as well including annual Fall Fest Doll House Tours Ghost Tours and Archaeological Dig It Tours Contents 1 History 1 1 Structure 2 References 3 External linksHistory editOn June 5 1739 Jonathan Hager purchased 200 acres of land in the Great Appalachian Valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains in Maryland This land is now part of Hagerstown City Park and downtown Hagerstown Hager built the flagstone house on top of two freshwater springs and named the property Hager s Fancy The house was added to the National Historic Registry in 1974 4 Structure edit nbsp Spring outflow at Hager HouseThe Hager House is built in a German Colonial style with a single chimney in the middle of the house The central chimney allowed more heat to fill the home rather than escape through the outside walls like an English Colonial In the summer if the kitchen fireplace radiated too much heat families used the Summer Kitchen located in the much cooler basement The house rests atop two freshwater springs that naturally run 40 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year The springs not only regulated the room s temperature but also served as drinking water and preserved food like a modern day refrigerator Near the springs the fireplace served many uses as well While it was used to cook in the summer the rest of the time Hager likely would have used it for blacksmithing The walls of the basement are constructed of 17 inch thick stone offering protection from attacks and the elements Separating the springs from the other half of the basement is a large wall with an embrasure used for protection This embrasure similar to a Medieval castle s arrowslit could be used to attack an incoming intruder while keeping Hager out of site This other half of the basement was used to store animals in bad weather or come winter time It kept the animals safe and their body heat helped heat the home The animals were brought in through a large Double Dutch Door The top half of the door could be left open for light or fresh air To enter the basement without using the double Dutch door there once was a trapdoor in the kitchen The modern day Hager House now has stairs that come from the former pantry The first floor is divided into four rooms the kitchen parlor hall and trading post Upstairs the hall leads to two rooms with a third branching off the Master Bedroom This room eventually was used for children or girls of the home so that they could be under their parents constant watch Finally another staircase leads to an attic which was once used as a bedroom by renters of the home Outside there once was a barn but it was torn down during renovation on the property Now a Museum with a small upstairs residence stands in its place 5 References edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 Ann Hill and Pamela James August 1973 National Register of Historic Places Registration Hager House PDF Maryland Historical Trust Retrieved 2016 01 01 The Hager House General Information The City of Hagerstown 2008 07 10 1739 Hager s Fancy Historic City Park Retrieved Aug 29 2019 Professional Tour Guide of the Hager House Hagerstown Parks and Recreation DepartmentExternal links editHager House Washington County including photo in 1991 at Maryland Historical Trust Hager House official site Jonathan Hager House Foundation Hagerstown Washington MD at the Historic American Buildings Survey HABS Historic City Park Hager s Fancy Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hager House Hagerstown Maryland amp oldid 1089235421, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
