The Original Home

The Earliest Photograph of Bloomsburg

This photograph, the earliest known image of the home, was taken circa 1900. Note in the foreground the Spring House and the large tree to the right of it which fell in 1996. This "independence tree" was more than ten years old when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1976!

Blueprints for the Original Home

To view blueprints of the home renovation completed in 2001, visit our Renovations and Enhancements page.

A Description of the Original Home from the Maryland Historical Trust Application

The J. B. Mathews House faces east on the west side of Route 97, just southwest of the Glenwood Post Office. It is a three bay wide, one bay deep, two and a half story high, gabled roof (running north-south) stone (some 12”-15” thick, covered with stucco) building, resting on a stone foundation, with two, wide, brick chimneys inset into its south wall and two gabled roof, dormer windows placed in the gable roof of the east elevation. A two bay wide, one bay deep, two and a half story high gabled roof (running north-south) frame addition, resting on a stone foundation, extends north from the stone building’s north wall, holding a wide, brick, chimney in its north wall, and a gabled roof, centrally paced, dormer on its east façade, whose east and west walls lie flush with the east and west walls of the old stone house.

A one story high, hipped roof, open porch, support by six square posts and two pilasters, runs along the entire east elevation of both the stone and frame sections of the house, uniting them into a single, five bay wide, composition, with central, rectangular entrance, surmounted by a one light transom.

Fenestration for the house is vertically aligned and proportionally scaled. All windows on the east façade of the house are rectangular and double-hung, holding two-over-two lights. The dormers hold roman arched, double-hung windows, holding two-over-two lights.

The South Elevation

This elevation is most noteworthy for it features a copper, circular template between the two wide chimneys, with the inscribed date of 1830.

Beneath rests three vertically aligned and proportionally scaled, double rectangular windows, each component a double-hung, rectangular window, holding one-over-one lights, separated by a flat pilaster, with the entire window underlined by a single, projecting flat wooden sill.

The West Elevation

The west elevation holds five, second floor, rectangular windows, similar to those on the east façade, but holding six-over-six lights. Two similar first floor, south bay windows in the original stone house hold two-over-two light. An open bible and cross paneled entrance door rests in the central bay of the entire structure and in the north end bay of the original stone house. A one story high, shed roofed enclosed porch runs along the two north bays of this wall.

The North Elevation

The north elevation of the frame addition holds two first floor entrances and two second floor windows. Two roman arched, double-hung, attic windows holding two-over-two lights are centered into the eave line formed by the gable roof.

A one story high, shed roofed, six bay wide enclosed porch runs along the north elevation. It holds six, twelve light, glass panels, and an entrance door on its east wall.

The house is reputed to have burned and been rebuilt, the stone section surviving very much intact. It would appear from the design of the roman arched attic windows and those placed in the three dormer windows of the east façade, that this section of the building was constructed circa 1860.

The Interior

The interior features a central hall plan, with two rooms on each side, featuring two hand made mantle pieces.

View the entire Maryland Historical Trust Application in pdf format.