Hot House: 1906 Freeland Road, Freeland, MD 21053
Victorian-style center hall colonial, circa 1886, wood clapboard with seamed metal roof, front and side covered porches, rear stone patio. Complete high-grade renovation. 4,710 square feet over three levels with 6 bedrooms, 4 full baths, recent two-story family room addition. Multiple fireplaces. Salt water pool. Bank barn, silo, chicken coop, spring house, stream with bridge and fenced pastures: $1,295,000
What: An American pastoral, a real dream of a country place where a second career as organic farmer, llama breeder or importer of rare European pigs begins to seem not just a possibility, but a calling. It is an interesting property on many levels. Once part of a larger parcel called Brook Valley Farm, it was farmed by a Scottish group called Matthew Herr’s Social Mission from 1790-1922. The huge and well-maintained bank barn is one of the oldest — possibly the oldest — in Baltimore County, and is much older than the house. The current owner, who raises llamas, geese and goats, is the founder of Mentzer Media, a media buying firm whose clients are mainly large (think super-pac) and Republican. The house has clearly been a labor of love. From the porches to the pool, the floors, the plumbing, the hardware — no expense has been spared in bringing the house up to the highest standard. Behind the warm farmhouse exterior lies a true luxury home.
Where: Freeland, Maryland is a 40 minute ride from downtown, up I-83 to the Middletown Road exit. Left on Middletown Road for 4.4 miles, then right at the pretty white-steepled Gunpowder Baptist Church on Freeland Road. The entrance to the house is an impressively gated entry to a long private drive. Freeland is right on the Pennsylvania state line, and the nearest big store shopping is in Shrewsbury, about five miles away, although there are smaller, closer groceries and convenience stores on Middletown Road. Public schools up here are top rated.
Would Suit: WSJ’s New Gentleman Farmer. Wealthy buyer following in the organic farming footsteps of Oprah Winfrey, Howard Buffett, Sally Lerner (Cisco co-founder), trying to make it work.
Why: No livestock smells reach the house.
Why Not: It’s far away from civilization (no offense to Shrewsbury), but for some people that will be the whole point.
NB: Property is nonsubdivide-able.
Love it – Hot House is always a good read.
Cynthia’s property descriptions are always more interesting than the properties themselves! I look forward to her real estate pieces every week.