Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-14
Stately Manor House Filled With
Historic Treasures-Interest
Story of "Folly Quarter"

with the construction of the Washington,
Sandy Spring and Ellicott City electric
railway, the right of way for which was
secured a number of years ago. 1t will
tap a section of Montgomery and Howard
counties which is said to be rolling in
wealth. but is as yet provided with six
teenth century transportation facilities.
Asa E. Phillips, superintendent of
sewers. who is interested in engineering
feats Of any kind, has just returned from
vacation spent along the right of way
of the proposed road. He went over the
line with his brother Harry Phillips, the
engineer in charge of the work. Asa E..
Phillips is enthusiastic over the pros
poets of connecting Washington with this
new and rich country.
That is wonderful country" he
said today, in talking about the trip. Il
never saw a stretch of country that gives
a better impression of being substantially
from the locomotive whistle or the clang
of the trolleys. The farmers there are
forced to travel the old toll gate route at
Pullman rates. l drove the entire length
of the line. from Washington to a point
beyond Patapsco, and saw nothing dur
ing the entire trip that savored of any
thing but rural wealth. It's rural, all
right. A chap in Sandy Spring called
that village the most rural community
in the United States
A Great Little Town.
Yet that same little village is great
town. / doubt il its equal exists. 1t is
nearly twenty miles from a railroad, yet
it has splendid schools. a public library
and fine homes. Just as a reminder that
there is United States coinage, the
bank at Sandy Spring has million dol
lars in deposits and pays per cent to
its depOSitors. And not a railroad in
twenty miles.
AN odd thing about the bank is that
it's strictly a local institution. No one.
not even a director, can deposit more
s.. 600 in all. Another curious fact about
this bank. which speaks for it's con-
servatism. is that with twenty-one di-
rectors the average age of them is over
seventy years. Two of the directors are
over ninety.
Gov. Carroll's Home.
have ever seen or heard of is in that
section, about twenty miles north of
Sandy Spring. 1t is Doughregan Manor,
home of Gov. Carroll, who was Mary
lands chief executive forty years ago,
and who is hale and hearty yet. The
house has a frontage of nearly 300 feet,
with a splendid chapel in the north wing,
and is filled with historic treasures, par
ticularly those of the revolutionary
period. 1t is surrounded by magnificent
lawns and gardens, in a setting of Splen-
did forestry. 1t reminded me of some
old English estates. such as Blenheim or
Warwick
The manor house has columns and
yellow facings. and is a monument to
seventeenth century days. 1t grew with
the colonies. Wing on wing has been
placed at each end Yet the architectu-
raj symmetry and beauty have been
maintained, and even made more beau
tiful by the additions.
st. Charles College is very near the
manor. In fact. the two are separated
only by that old high road of commerce,
the Frederick turnpike. The college
buildings are stately and are set in the
midst of splendid green lawn, with
plenty of big oaks.
Story of "Folly Quarter"
But the most mysterious and interest
ing place in all this country is Folly
Quarter Five miles to the south OF
Doughregan Manor, on what &s known as
the Grape Vine road, there is dense
forest. apparently miles In extent A
dark trail leads through the woods for
half a mile and opens with startling
swiftness on the white walls of a desert
ed marble palace, built SO close to the
trees that there rs scarcely any open
space The story of this mystery is
worthy Of the Imagination Of Edgar Allan
Poe.
I'm the first quarter of the last century
a wealthy Howard county farmer died,
leaving his property in such a way that
an only daughter was to have certain
lands and money sufficient to build a
house thereon and the bulk of the estate
went to distant heirs. The daughter was
too smart for the distant heirs and when
she got ready to build her house, it was a
house indeed. She called in the most ex-
pensive architects, designers, builders and
artisans in the country and imported
every expensive bit of material she could
use. Every time she added a gew-gaw
TO the marble palace the chances of the
distant heirs approached nearer to the
vanishing point. Finally all the estate
was squandered on the house. The marble
palace was complete, with porticos. ter
races and gardens. But there wasn't a
cent left to run 1t or to give the distant
heirs the satisfaction Of buying a railroad
ticket to the nearest tsation, far enough
away At any event, SO they could view
the spite work of the spendthrift daugh.
ter. She shut the place up and disap-
pcared