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National Register of Historic Places
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General Information
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NR Name
: historic name
Alternate Name
: other name(s) associated with this property.
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NR Name:
Twin Oaks
NR Alternate Name:
Address Information
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Address information in Medusa may differ from information submitted on the original or amended survey form
Address:
Twin Oak Court
Town:
Linthicum Heights
Zip Code:
Counties:
Anne Arundel
USGS Quad(s):
Relay
Listing Information
NPS Ref Number:
86000670
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National Register reference number, provided by the National Park Service.
Confidential Location:
(not to be released)
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Is the location of this resource confidential?
Category:
Building
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Category (Building, Structure, Object, Site, or District)
National Historic Landmark:
Date:
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Is this listed as a National Historic Landmark? For more details, see www.nps.gov/nhl/
Date Listed:
3/21/1986
Delisted:
Date:
Date Revised:
Multiple Property Submission:
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Is this a "multiple property submission? If so, what is the name of the multiple property submission?
Multiple Property Submission Name:
Construction Information
Architect/Builder:
Period/Date of Construction:
1857
About This Resource
Capsule Summary Text:
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Brief description of the resource and its significance, produced by MHT staff for its National Register website (apps.mht.maryland.gov/nr/). This is not necessarily the same as the text description in the actual National Register form, which can be viewed (if scanned) using the Open National Register Form link (below).
Twin Oaks is a 2 1/2-story brick Greek Revival influenced dwelling constructed in 1857, with additions and Neo-Classical embellishments made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The final composition is an eclectic, Georgian Revival influenced dwelling. Facing south, the house consists of a 2 1/2 story brick main block which is based on a central passage, single-pile plan, with a two-story brick rear wing, both covered with gable roofs. A 1 1/2-story brick wing with a gambrel roof extends from the west gable end of the main block. From its west elevation extends a 1-story hip-roof enclosed porch. Another one-story hip-roof enclosed porch of similar proportions extends from the east gable end of the main block. A two-story frame service wing extends from the rear gable end of the rear wing. A two-story brick polygonal wing extends from the rear of the house, filling the northwest corner formed where the rear wing meets the main block. A one-story hip-roofed porch runs across the facade of the dwelling with a "porte-cochere" extending from the east end over the drive. The center of the porch is marked by a portico, supported by two Doric columns surmounted by an entablature with a dentiled cornice. Both ends of the porch are supported by Doric columns, but the expanse between the portico and columns is supported by narrow iron posts. The porch has a turned balustrade. The brick sections of the house are laid in common bond. The main block and brick wing have corbeled brick cornices. Wood modillions have been applied to the facade cornice of the main block, and wood dentils to the east elevation cornice of the wing. Directly over the principal entrance, which is flanked by 4-pane sidelights and surmounted by a 5-pane transom, in the center of the 5-bay facade, is a Palladian window. This and other Neo-Classical treatments, both exterior and interior, were added in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during the ownership of Congressman John Charles Linthicum. Other windows are predominantly 6/6 sash. Two gable-roofed dormers with paired 2/2 sash windows pierce the roof slope of the gambrel wing, one at the facade and the other at the rear. Two gable-roofed 6/6 sash dormer windows also pierce the east gable slope of the brick wing and service wing roofs. There are two interior gable-end brick chimneys in the main block and one at the gable end of the brick wing. There is an interior brick chimney on the north elevation of the polygonal wing. Exterior brick chimneys are located at the west elevation of the gambrel wing and the west elevation of the frame service wing. A mid- to late-19th century brick springhouse, frame barn, carriage house, and harness shed are located behind the house, to the north. An elaborate marten birdhouse, a metal aviary, a columned grape arbor, two free-standing concrete-cast columns, remnants of some statuary, and a wide variety of trees are surviving elements of the once beautifully landscaped grounds surrounding the house. Twin Oaks is significant historically for its association with U.S. Congressman John Charles Linthicum of Maryland, who is noted for sponsoring the legislation which established "The Star-Spangled Banner" as our National Anthem. Linthicum served in the Maryland House and Senate from 1904 until 1911, and in the U.S. Congress from 1911 until his death in 1932. Twin Oaks was his country estate where he entertained many dignitaries, among them William Jennings Bryan and General Douglas MacArthur. Architecturally, Twin Oaks is significant as an impressive mid-19th century brick vernacular farmhouse which was transformed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries into a Georgian-Revival showplace by Congressman Linthicum. The grounds surrounding the house were beautifully landscaped, including fountains and statuary brought back from Linthicum’s travels abroad. Surviving structures that indicate the lavish detail of the landscaping are a Victorian birdhouse, an aviary, a columned grape arbor, two freestanding concrete-cast columns, and a few pieces of statuary.
Boundary Description:
Comments:
Open National Register Form
Enlarge Photo
Donna Ware, 09/1984
View on MHT National Register Website
Related Records
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Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (MIHP), Archaeology (if authorized), Determination of Eligilibity (DOE), and/or MHT Preservation Easement records associated with this record.
Click on hyperlink to go to related record
AA-113
MIHP
Twin Oaks (Linthicum House)
Easement
No Easement Records
DOE
No DOE Records
Resource Information
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Resource list associated with this form, if any. Entry of this information into the database is an ongoing project.
NR Form Resource List?:
Resource List Type:
Entered in Database?:
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A. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or B. That are associated with the lives of significant persons in or past; or C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or D. That have yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory. a. A religious property deriving primary significance from architectural or artistic distinction or historical importance; or b. A building or structure removed from its original location but which is primarily significant for architectural value, or which is the surviving structure most importantly associated with a historic person or event; or c. A birthplace or grave of a historical figure of outstanding importance if there is no appropriate site or building associated with his or her productive life; or d. A cemetery that derives its primary importance from graves of persons of transcendent importance, from age, from distinctive design features, or from association with historic events; or e. A reconstructed building when accurately executed in a suitable environment and presented in a dignified manner as part of a restoration master plan, and when no other building or structure with the same association has survived; or f. A property primarily commemorative in intent if design, age, tradition, or symbolic value has invested it with its own exceptional significance; or g. A property achieving significance within the past 50 years if it is of exceptional importance.