1701 Western Run Road, Cockeysville.

Hot House: 1806 stone farm house on Western Run Road. 4 bedrooms/4 bathrooms, 4500 square feet, plus several tenant houses and a barn and 26+ acres. Asking price: $2.45 million.

What: I love a good, old stone house and this historic house on Western Run Road in Cockeysville ticks all of the boxes. As with many houses of this time, it was built in fits and starts. The first section dates to 1806, an additional section was added in 1850, and a further wood section was added at a much later date. For two hundred years, up until 1995, this was a working farm, with the homeowners doing the farming. The acreage is currently worked by tenant farmers, so the property is taxed at the lower farm rate.

Most fortunately, the previous owners of the house have been respectful of its history, and have mainly left it alone, not adding and not subtracting elements which would ruin its integrity. One would hope the new owners would show the same respect!

As you enter the house, you notice the random width wood floors that have stood the test of time and can be found throughout the house. The house possibly served as a Quaker meeting place and also may have been a stop on the Underground Railroad. There is a living room with one of the four working fireplaces in the house on one side of the entrance hall, and on the other side, a dining room with another fireplace. The large kitchen, which could use an update, also has a fireplace, and an attached sunroom.

The second floor has a large primary suite, plus three additional bedrooms. The third floor has two rooms, which could be used as bedrooms. But don’t worry about not being able to accommodate all of your family and friends in the main house, there are several additional guest or tenant houses.

One of the tenant houses is the former smokehouse, which was made into a little guest house and is closer to the main house. The other has two bedrooms and two baths, as well as a private entrance off of Western Run Road. It sits at a distance from the main house and could be used as an income-producing rental property. Scattered across the 26 acres are a large barn, a two-car garage which is attached to the barn and a fresh-water pond.

Where: Although the zipcode is for Cockeysville, it’s really closer to Butler. However, all of the stores and restaurants at Hunt Valley are about a 15-minute drive, as is I-83 into the city or up to Pennsylvania. There are several small stores in Butler Village, including a delightful coffee shop!

Final Appraisal: Obviously, a property like this one doesn’t come on the market very often, in fact, the last time it changed hands was in 1995. This is a house for generations who want to have a legacy in Maryland. There are myriad opportunities for this property, except, perhaps for turning it into a sub-division. The listing for the house is here.

Meg Fielding writes the local interior design and lifestyle blog Pigtown Design and is the past president of the Baltimore Architectural Foundation. She enjoys dual citizenship with the US and the UK.