CITY OF ROCKVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
HISTORIC DESIGNATION EVALUATION
STAFF ANALYSIS
September 7, 1999
MEETING NO: 9-99
SUBJECT: Thomas Farm, also known as"Windy Knoll Farm"
MEETING DATE: July 20, 1999, continued to September 14, 1999
CONTRACT PURCHASER: Fallsgrove Associates
8381 Old Courthouse Road, Suite 160
Vienna VA 22031
Represented by: Wilkes, Artis, Hedrick & Lane Attorneys at Law
Anne Adams, Architectural Historian, Consultant
The Thomas Farm was annexed into the City of Rockville in 1993. An application for a Comprehensive Planned Development concept plan is now under review. A hearing is to be held in this Fall on general site development issues. The HDC reviews sites in the City 50 years or older facing substantial alteration or demolition to determinine architectural, cultural or historical significance to the City of Rockville. The HDC will make its recommendation to the Planning Commission and Mayor and Council to consider in their decision on development of the property.
EVALUATION PROCESS AND PUBLIC COMMENT
Consultant Anne Adams, a qualified architectural historian, presented photographs and information on the Thomas Farm to the Historic District Commission (HDC) at a courtesy review on May 18, 1999. The purpose of this review was to determine if the property and structures met enough criteria to require a formal HDC evaluation, and recommendation to the Mayor and Council. If it were found that the property obviously did not meet Rockville's criteria, a formal evaluation would not be necessary. The HDC considered the testimony and photographs and determined that further evaluation was needed. The HDC requested further information on the Thomas Family history, the significance of the farm in the agricultural and dairy industry of Rockville and Montgomery County, what kind of archeological artifacts were found and where, and if the structures could be more firmly dated.
A formal evaluation and a request for public comment was advertised via first class mailing of 2200 post card notices, posting of signs on the site, and Internet notice. The Historic District Commission opened the evaluation proceeding on July 20, 1999. Robert Harris, attorney representing Fallsgrove Associates, requested that the minutes and deliberations of the Historic District Commission at the courtesy review of May 18, 1999 be incorporated by reference. He stated that the present site plan preserves the tree-lined driveway, the most prominent visual landmark, and the established landscape around the main house as possible.
One citizen commented on the need to preserve the original topographic features and woodlands for wildlife. Mr. Harris stated that the woodlands would remain and the land would not be extensively regraded. No other citizens commented or testified at this hearing.
Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation, Ltd. concurred with the consultant's findings in a letter from Executive Director Eileen McGuckian dated and received August 27, 1999.
A letter and map was received on September 1, 1999 from Fallsgrove Associates providing additional information on the character, number, and locations of archeological materials found during the survey by Daniel Koski-Karell.
The record closed on September 1, 1999 at the close of business.
Notice of the continuation of the Evaluation of the Thomas Farm for Historic Designation was sent on September 7, 1999 by U.S. first class mail post card to 2200 names on the Thomas Farm information list and 400 individuals in the Rockville Town Center area. The list is included in the file.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the landscape around the main house and the allee of trees and driveway to Darnestown Road be preserved as possible. Staff concurs with the findings presented by the consultant for the applicant. Staff analysis finds that the main house, farm buildings, and associated structures do not meet the criteria for designation as architecturally, historically, or culturally significant to the City of Rockville.
B. FINDINGS OF ANNE ADAMS, ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN
Under the City of Rockville Historic District Designation Criteria, neither the Thomas Farm property nor its houses or farm buildings individually or collectively are eligible for historic designation. Some of the buildings are less than the 50 year age established by the Natural Resources Inventory process. Of those that meet the age criteria, none is architecturally or historically significant. The houses are not significant examples of any period or style. The generic farm buildings lack distinguishing features and do not convey meaningful information about the past.
While previous evaluations of the houses likely focused on their late-nineteeth or early-twentieth century aspects, even evaluating the main house in the context of the mid-twentieth century fails to find significance. It is neither a good example of the traditional, historical designs popular throughout the century nor of the "modern" trends of mid-century design. The farm and its buildings clearly have no national or state significance. Montgomery County has determined that the property and buildings have no county significance. There is nothing about his property that gives it any identifiable significance on the local Rockville City level. Mr. Thomas was one of the many successful attorneys in the area. The farm on which he and his family happened to live was one of many dairy farms in the area during the heyday of that industry in the county. But it was nothing special. Its buildings are not architecturally distinguished, innovative, or historically significant.
SUMMARY HISTORY
The property known as the Thomas Farm was acquired over a number of years, beginning in 1933, by Charles McG. and Katherine G. Thomas. Prior to their consolidation, the parcels of land were separately owned. In the mid-nineteenth century Samuel Stonestreet owned part of this land. Although the Stonestreet family was prominent in Rockville history, this property was not Samuel Stonestreet’s primary residence and no building of that period is extant. The Keys and Belt families also owned some of the land now known as the Thomas Farm
Charles Thomas purchased Windy Knoll Farm as a weekend retreat and summer residence; his family’s primary residence was on Primrose Street in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Thomas was born in Frederick, Maryland, was educated in the state's public schools, and graduated from Georgetown University Law School. After serving in the field artillery in World War I, he returned to Washington and established the law firm of Thomas, Weisman and Russell, where he specialized in patent law. The firm was located on 15th Street, N.W.
Katherine Thomas, originally from Emlington, Pennsylvania, came to this area to attend National Park Seminary in Forest Glen, Maryland, where she met Charles Thomas at a school dance. The Thomases had two sons, both of whom attended St. Alban's School in Washington. The family moved to the farm in the early to mid1940s. Over the years they expanded their house many times. The trees along the driveway and much of the landscaping around the main house were planted by the Thomases and maintained by their gardener from Chevy Chase. Mrs. Thomas was an active and generous supporter of the Washington National Cathedral. In her later years, the farm was leased out for a variety of small-scale farming activities. She lived on the farm until her death in 1994.
According to the Thomas' Granddaughter Noël Tyra, Windy Knoll was a working dairy farm when it was purchased by her grandparents. She remembers that there was an "original barn" located between the main house and the house known as the "dairyman's house." That barn was demolished or dismantled many years ago. She also remembers a large vegetable garden, and that there were pigs on the farm. The landscaping around the house was meticulously maintained until her grandmother’s death.
DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY AND POTENTIAL HISTORIC RESOURCES:
The 254± acre Thomas Farm is located between Gaithersburg and Rockville and is bounded by Key West Avenue, Darnestown Road (Maryland Route 28), and Shady Grove Road. There are 14 structures, including six houses, on the Thomas Farm. The structures are identified on Exhibit "A" as provided by the consultant.
There are a number of generic farm buildings still standing on the Thomas Farm. They are utilitarian frame structures on concrete block foundations and they lack architectural distinction and the characteristics that embody distinguishing features of significant purpose-built or even general use farm buildings. In the absence of documentary evidence dating these buildings, consideration of the general history of barns in Montgomery County and inspections of the buildings give us the best approximation of dates. Mary L. Oehrlein, FAIA, a preservation architect and member of the Virginia State Review Board, visited the site in June to provide input into their dating.
The largest building on the farm is the undistinguished bank barn which has a concrete block foundation, post and beam framing in the hay loft, vertical siding (much of it not original), and a metal roof. There are steel milking stations and some steel columns in the lower level, along with some wooden support posts. There are no louvered ventilation openings, and no ventilator. The windows in the lower level are steel. This barn may be an older (early-twentieth century) barn that was altered over the years and retrofitted for milking cows. Or, possibly, the framing from the "original barn" was reused to build this barn on a concrete foundation which appears to date after 1930. Whatever the case, the building lacks distinguishing architectural features.
Across the road and up the hill from the barn is a corn crib/equipment. It sits on relatively new-looking concrete blocks, was built with galvanized joist hangers, has a metal roof, and likely dates from the 1960s. This unsubstantial building lacks significance.
Adjacent to the corn crib/equipment shed is a building with an older concrete block foundation (the blocks have beveled edges, a different coloration, and were made of a different aggregate). Its standing seam metal roof appears older than the other metal roofs on the farm. There is a mid-century chimney on the south side of the structure. This building, likely dating from the 1930s or 1940s, also lacks distinctive features and its condition is poor.
There is a small garage across the driveway from the dairyman’s/farm manager’s house. It also sits on older concrete block and has a dirt floor. Rodents have burrowed under the foundation in several places and the siding is in very poor condition. The asphalt shingle roof is also in very poor condition, and the doors are new. The building likely dates from the 1920s. It is undistinguished.
CURRENT EVALUATION USING ROCKVILLE CRITERIA FOR HISTORIC DESIGNATION (SEE ATTACHMENT "A")
It is possible that a site, while not significant to the County, may be a sole example in the City, or is a visual or cultural landmark in the City, or may be associated with the history of the town, or of area industry or farming. The Thomas Farm was not included in Rockville's adopted 1986 Historic Resources Management Plan, which inventoried both already designated and potential historic sites. At that time this property was not within the municipal limits of the City of Rockville, a crucial point in this evaluation.
EVALUATION OF SITE UNDER ROCKVILLE CRITERIA
A. Condition of structure and site:
"Substantially Altered" (basic shape, original façade plan, windows and doors have been obscured or changed.)
There are a total of 14 structures on the 254+ acres that constitutes the Thomas Farm. The condition varies widely from structure to structure.
The main brick house was the principal structure listed and evaluated in the Montgomery County designation evaluation and procedure. This structure is based upon a 19th Century farmhouse but it has been built around and added onto to the point that it's separate identity as a building of its period has been lost. In addition, the house, which might qualify as an example of a country estate developed from 1930 to 1960 does not have a consistent architectural style or floor plan. The interior was renovated and most, if not all, 19th Century interior feature were removed. The interior has been vandalized and the interior stripped of any remaining details. The house has been closed up since 1993 with no climate control and moisture has caused great damage.
In any case, the main house must be considered "Substantially Altered" from its 19th Century beginnings.
Other structures: The consultant's report evaluated the farm structures and outbuildings and found them somewhat altered, not in good repair, and not exceptional examples. Staff concurs.
B. Historical and cultural significance:
No significant character, interest, or value to the development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the City, County, or Nation was found. No significant historic event is known to have occurred here. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, with whom the site is identified in the 20th Century period of development, were residents of Chevy Chase, Maryland who maintained the farm as a summer home, then as a retirement home. Mr. Thomas was a patent attorney with ties to the legal community in the District of Columbia. The Thomases were not citizens of Rockville and did not participate in local government or civic organizations. As an example of the County dairy industry, the farm was a gentleman's hobby and portions of the farm were leased to nearby farmers. A farm manager had charge of operations.
C. Architectural and design significance;
The property does not meet the criteria as having the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, is not the work of a master and does not possess high artistic values. The farm buildings are not unique or have a distinctive character. However a farm complex may lack individual distinction in its parts and satisfy the criteria as a whole. This farmstead does not form a compact farmstead, as does the King Farm in Rockville, for example. Rather, main house, tenant or farm worker houses, and farm buildings are widely separated from one another.
The main house and the farm buildings are not visible from the public way. The "Selby House" on Key West Avenue and two small tenant houses are now visible from the public way. The most familiar landmark or visual feature is the tree-lined driveway, which is proposed to remain.
PREVIOUS EVALUATIONS
Windy Knoll Farm, (Locational Atlas site 20/19) was listed in the October 1976 Locational Atlas and Index of Historic Sites in Montgomery County as a potential historic site in Montgomery County. The Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission ("HPC") met February 15, 1981 to evaluate and determine whether to place certain potentially historic sites on the County’s Master Plan for Historic Preservation. The HPC voted unanimously to recommend that Windy Knoll Farm (20/19) not be placed on the Master Plan. The Historic Preservation Commission Minutes state that the Commission found the house and additions created a "19th-20th century confusion which greatly detracted from the historical value of the building’s architecture."
The Montgomery County Council and Planning Board, following the recommendations of the HPC and staff, unanimously voted not to designate Windy Knoll Farm as historic and chose to remove it from the Locational Atlas as a potential historic site. (Source: Approved and Adopted January 1985 Gaithersburg and Vicinity Master Plan, pp. 114-117). Therefore, it cannot be considered a site significant to Montgomery County or to the Nation.
ATTACHMENT A
CITY OF ROCKVILLE
HISTORIC DISTRICT DESIGNATION CRITERIA
Level of site significance: (Check those that apply)
Condition of structure and site:
"Substantially Altered" (basic shape, original façade plan, windows and doors have been obscured or changed.)
Standing structures and sites, including archeological sites, must be determined to be significant in one or more of the following criteria to be found eligible for designation:
A. Historical and cultural significance:
B. Architectural and design significance;
Jac3/99
ATTACHMENT B
STATEMENT OF ROCKVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT CRITERIA
The Historic District Commission has been created by the Mayor and Council of the City of Rockville with the charge to designate and clearly define Historic Districts within the City. The establishment of such Districts as stated in the Annotated Code of Maryland shell be for the purpose of:
In recommending the establishment of Historic Districts, the Commission has established criteria, which include the judgment that such districts will fulfill the above statement of purpose, and will fulfill the following more specific criteria either as cohesive districts or as separate individual sites and structures hereinafter referred to as landmarks.
DISTRICT CRITERIA
The eligibility as a Historic District can be ascribed to a contiguous group of buildings, structures, appurtenances, environmental settings, sites, objects, and spaces, which reflect the following qualifications:
UNIT CRITERIA
The selection of structures and sites constituting a Historic District, or recommended for Landmark status (structures and sites not part of a contiguous Historic District but deemed to meet District and Unit criteria) is based on social-historical and architectural significance. Structures representing styles, periods and methods of construction which have particular significance to Rockville will be given special attention. Integrity of workmanship and materials are considered. There are no date restrictions.
Social-Historical Significance
Architectural Significance
Scale: Local traditional scale relationships between space and façade defining it and the component parts within that facade as they relate to man and which reflect the majority of the visual elements in the area contributing to the feeling of District.
Proportion: Local traditional height-width relationships of facade and the component parts within that facade, which reflect the majority of the visual elements in the area contributing to the feeling of the District.
Rhythm: Local traditional solid-void relationship of the facade and the component parts within that facade which reflect the majority of the visual elements in the area contributing to a feeling of District,
Massing: Local traditional methods of handling the component elements of a structure which dictate the visual impact of mass and which reflect the majority of the visual elements in the area contributing to a feeling of District.
Materials, Colors, and Textures: Local traditional materials, colors, end textures reflective of or similar to those of the majority of the other visual elements in the area.
Design: The reflection or potential reflection of local traditional design characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction that embodies quality aesthetic effort representative of the time, place, period of construction and the majority of the visual elements in the area, or that represents the work of a known artisan, craftsman or architect, Local or otherwise.
Association: Significant events and/or individuals whose activities are linked with the building, structure, site or object which have made a contribution to the nation, state, or locality.
Sites of distinctive quality as examples of landscape architecture or planned open space as evaluated by recognized authorities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
Statement of Historic District Criteria: Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 66B 18.01 (b).
District Criteria: National Register, Proposed District Criteria.
Unit Criteria: National Register, Proposed Unit Criteria; and Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, City of Baltimore, Criteria for Landmark and Special Lists.