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Photo credit: Jennifer K. Cosham, 04/20/2006

Reisterstown Historic District

Inventory No.: BA-2212

Date Listed: 11/15/1979

Location: Reisterstown, Baltimore County

Category: District

Period/Date of Construction: 1758-Early 20th century

Resources: 171 (167 contributing, 0 non-contributing)

Description: The physical development of Reisterstown has been inseparably identified with the roads. Two roads converge to form Main Street, one from the north (MD 30, leading from Hanover, PA, through Manchester and Hampstead), and the other from the northwest (MD 140, leading from Westminster), the southern terminus of which is Baltimore, the economic center of the region from the late 18th century to the present day. Reisterstown developed largely along the roads, principally south of the intersections, and it has never been a town of both length and breadth with a network of streets. The occupations of many inhabitants have been related to the road, and the town’s structures have been an integrated mixture of residential and commercial from the earliest times. The earliest structures, including several of log, date to the late 18th century, although the town was founded in 1758. Reisterstown has never had dwellings of mansion proportion, scale, or sophistication. Relative wealth and sophistication are indicated with a middle class by the use of all available materials: log, frame, stone, or brick. When in the earlier periods more expensive materials were used, such as brick, the principal façade was laid in Flemish bond. Interior detailing was good but typical. Close adherence to the various revivals of the 19th century is conspicuously absent in Reisterstown. Through the century the same basic traditional form was employed over and over, closely related to 18th century simplicity and related to its true period only in its smallest details and construction techniques. Only one structure, formerly a church, is clearly identified with the Greek Revival, the entire building in a temple form and with a portico. One house clearly is of the Gothic Revival. All Saints’ Church is an outstanding example of the Romanesque Revival, and several large houses are good examples of the Queen Anne style. In the early 20th century, with the coming of an electric streetcar line, a 20th century suburban importance joined the continuing 18th and 19th century commercial-residential importance, and several Colonial Revival and bungalow houses joined their older neighbors.

Significance: Reisterstown was founded in 1758 and initially flourished because of its unique geographical location--one day’s journey by horse-drawn vehicle from Baltimore City--a convenient stopping place for weary travelers from the outer reaches of Western Maryland or Pennsylvania. Soon it became a commercial center for the surrounding farmlands and mills. From Hanover and Frederick County, settlers, mostly of German origin, migrated down this road to the expanding Baltimore Town. John Reister, when he founded the town, envisioned a stopping place for these travelers which would accommodate all of their needs. Reisterstown soon began to meet these needs exceedingly well. The first known businesses catered to the traveler: taverns and inns, smithshops, saddleries, stables, waggoners. Many of the buildings which housed these various enterprises are still standing today. The town grew as traffic on the Great Road or Conewago Road increased. It was even considered in the 19th century as a site for the county seat. Many of the structures in town were used as both commercial and residential buildings, a use that in several cases continues today. Reisterstown is a town that has, in physical appearance and atmosphere, retained much of the quiet quaintness and stalwart dignity of a bygone era on its Main Street.

District Resources (171) (167 contributing, 0 non-contributing)

From associated listing in National Register nomination form. C = Contributing, NC = non-contributing, blank = not evaluated.

Address	Status	Resource Name and MIHP (if any)
20 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1371 -- Bailey House
24 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1372 -- House
31 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1376 -- House
33 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1377 -- House
41 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1378 -- House
42 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1373 -- House
43 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1379 -- House
52 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1374 -- House
53 Bond Avenue	C
55 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1381 -- House
60 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1255 -- St. Luke's U.M. Church & Parish House (School), site (St. Luke's M.E. Church, Augustus Walley Grave)
60 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1382 -- St. Luke's Community Building
66 Bond Avenue	C	BA-1375 -- All Saints Church Cemetery Caretaker's House, site
E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1355 -- All Saints Church Rectory
7 W. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1323 -- Magistrate's Office, site (Police Station)
17 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1359 -- House
18 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1366 -- House
19 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1360 -- House
21 W. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-972 -- Chatsworth
22 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1367 -- House
23-25 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1361 -- House
24 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1368 -- House
27 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1362 -- House
29 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1352 -- House
31 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1353 -- House
33 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1363 -- House
38 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1354 -- House
40 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1356 -- House
44 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1357 -- House
201 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1365 -- House
203 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1262 -- All Saint's Episcopal Church and Belfry
206 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1358 -- House
208 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1369 -- House
210 E. Chatsworth Avenue	C	BA-1370 -- House
Cockeys Mill Road	C	BA-1225 -- Old German Lutheran Cemetery & Church Site
21 Cockeys Mill Road	C	BA-54 -- Franklin Academy (Reisterstown Public Library, Franklin HS Agricultural Dept.)
10 Cockeys Mill Road (formerly Main Street)	C	BA-1384 -- Franklin Junior High School (Franklin High School, Franklin Middle School)
1 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1275 -- Hitshue's Hotel, site (Carmen's Beauty Salon)
2-4 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1301 -- Crossroads Bar
6 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1108 -- Dr. Caples Office
10 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1302 -- House
16 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1303 -- House (Open Space Arts)
18 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1304 -- House
19 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1106 -- Reister Russell House
22 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1305 -- House
23 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1281 -- House
26-28 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C
27 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1282 -- House
31 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1283 -- House
33 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1284 -- House
36 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C
37 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1285 -- House
40 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1308 -- House
43 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1286 -- House
47 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1287 -- House
51 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1288 -- House
52 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1309 -- House
55 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1289 -- House
56 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1310 -- House
59 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1290 -- House
63 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1291 -- House
65 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1292 -- House
67 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1293 -- House
73 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1294 -- House
80 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1311 -- House
81 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1295 -- House
82 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1312 -- House
84 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1313 -- House
109 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1296 -- House
110 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1314 -- House
111 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1297 -- House
112 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1315 -- House
115 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1298 -- House
116 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1264 -- Seventeen-mile Stone (B & R Turnpike Milestones)
116 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1276 -- Ducker House
117 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1299 -- House
119 Hanover Pike (MD 30)	C	BA-1300 -- House
2 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1316 -- Gateway Lawn & Recreation Equipment, site
4 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1317 -- Pfeffer House, site
10 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1269 -- Selby Funeral Home and Stable, site (Eline Funeral Home)
14 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1270 -- Phillip Reister House, site (Wedco Stamps)
26 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-895 -- Fisher's Tavern, site (Look T.V. Center, Fisher Home, F.P. Goodwin Home, Wm. W. Welch Store, J.W. Crook Stores Company)
30 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1271 -- Bosley-Berryman Store, site (Sander's Place)
31-33 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1267 -- Venture Shoppe (Quality Upholstery Shop)
35 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1266 -- Ho Ho Restaurant
37-39 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1265 -- Flory & Stocksdale Carriage Works (Reisterstown Hardware & Supply)
42-44 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1268 -- Caltrider House, site
47 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1318 -- Mid-City Barber
50 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1272 -- Reisterstown Savings Bank, site (Union Trust Company)
51 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1319 -- New Theatre
56 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1273 -- Odd Fellows Hall (First home of Reisterstown Fire Co., Christian Science Society)
59-61 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1320 -- German's House
60 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1321 -- Bornham House
64 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1322 -- House (Worthington Assisted Living Senior Care)
67-69 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1278 -- Isaac Dickson House
85 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1263 -- Ionic Lodge No. 145 A.F. and A.M. (Masonic Temple)
109 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1261 -- Trinity (Evangelical) Lutheran Church
111-113 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1277 -- Trinity Lutheran Church Parsonage (Redcay Chapel)
112 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1324 -- Ice House, site
115-117 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1383 -- Trinity Lutheran Church Parsonage
121-123 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1260 -- Three Story Brick House, site
127 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1279 -- Long House
135 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1325 -- Arnold Bungalow, site
143 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-163 -- Geis' Shoe Shop
147 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1259 -- Fisher House
201 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1326 -- PDQ Gas Station (The Cow, Triangle Service Station, Betholine Sinclair)
202 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-164 -- Beckley House (John Reister, Sr. House)
208 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1226 -- Tara Hall Antiques
209 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1327 -- Charlotte's Beauty Salon
211 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1328 -- Jake's Tailoring Shop
213 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1329 -- Caples House
214 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1227 -- Bransfield House
218 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1228 -- Sumwalt House (Falstitch House)
220 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1330 -- Mid-Late 20th Century Board-and-Batten Store
221-223 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1331 -- Auto Repair Garage
222 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1332 -- House
225-227 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1258 -- Knatz Realty Company (Century 21 Real Estate, Carter's Jewelry)
226 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1334 -- Edna Kenny Beauty Shop
230 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1229 -- Grace Methodist Church Parsonage (Mrs. Medairy House)
234 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-166 -- Reister-Larsh House
237-239 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1257 -- Ephraim Igo House (James Thomas Store, Curries Store, Derby Antiques)
238 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-165 -- Reister House (White Horse Antiques)
241-243 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1336 -- House
246 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1230 -- Asbury Chapel & Cemetery (Reisterstown U. M. Church)
249 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1256 -- John Reister III House
301-303 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-894 -- Bond House (Nichols Tavern, Lanius House)
308 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1231 -- Eugene Shaw House (Dr. Lash House)
309-311 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1337 -- House
313-315 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1254 -- Cat's Meow Antique Shop
316 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1232 -- Walter J. Ballesteros Law Office (Mrs. S. Brown House)
317 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1253 -- Log House (with brick veneer)
319 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1252 -- Grace Methodist Church South (Wesley Episcopal Church, Reisterstown Presbyterian Church, Shaw's Antique Shop, Long & Foster)
322 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1233 -- Mrs. William H. Gill House (John S. Fisher House)
324 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1338 -- R.S.V. Gore Building (The Comfort Zone, Java Mammas)
325 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1280 -- Slade House, site
337 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1251 -- Zouck House (Schuster House & Barn)
337 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1333 -- Sixteen-mile Stone (B & R Turnpike Milestones)
340-342 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1234 -- Harryman House (William K. Ramsberg)
346 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1235 -- F.D. Wheat Residence (Zelma Ensor Real Estate Office, David English Photography)
350 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1236 -- Temple Smith
356 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1238 -- Lentzner House
357 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1250 -- Dr. Godwin House & Privy (Ensor Real Estate)
360-362 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1239 -- J. Vinton Brown House
365 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1249 -- Philip Reister Owings' House (Nature's Ingredients)
400 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1240 -- Glyndon Trace (Old Frame Shop, Gore House)
405 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1248 -- Dr. Gore Office (H.L. Gies House)
406 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1241 -- Methodist Parsonage
408 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1242 -- John Sumwalt House
410 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-167 -- Wiest House
412 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1339 -- Vondersmith House
413 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1340 -- House
415 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1341 -- House
424 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1243 -- Benedict House
426 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1244 -- Raymond Lapointe House (Mrs. Parkinson House)
430 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1245 -- John Yingling House (Brightwell-Troxell Co. House)
434 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1246 -- Wolf House (Brightwell-Troxell Co. House)
438 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1342 -- Kohr House
444 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1343 -- House
448 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1344 -- House
452 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1345 -- Benedict House
455 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1346 -- House
456 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1347 -- Larry Knight Tenant House
457 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1348 -- Schmall House
458 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1349 -- Larry Knight Real Estate Office
461 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1350 -- House
465 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1247 -- Ebaugh House
500 Main Street (MD 140)	C	BA-1351 -- Nationwide Insurance, site (Buckingham House)
Bond Avenue		BA-3086 -- Bone Avenue African American Survey District
26 Hanover Pike (MD 30)		BA-1306 -- House
34 Hanover Pike (MD 30)		BA-1307 -- House
354 Main Street (MD 140)		BA-1237 -- John Geis, Sr. House (former Zelma Ensor Real Estate Office)