The "A House looking for a Home: Part I" Story

Online photo of Landon House in Urbana, Maryland

It was an ordinary day.  The electricity in the air is making the hair on my ....... er..... arms stand on end.  I can hear the whinning of the horses off in the distance and the voices are beckoning me to the porch.  I feel a part of the ....... Civil War.  My only weapon is the Sony DSLR I carry by my side, but that's hopefully all I will need today.  I am standing in front of the Landon House at the corner of MD Rts. 355 and 80 in Urbana, Maryland.  Came to visit with my daughter and her family for the weekend  As Carol and I passed the intersection at 355 and 80 near our daughter's house yesterday, I noticed the old building on the corner property and the ill repair that had taken over the once beautiful corner.  The Landon House is on the National Register of Historic Places, but you'd never know it by looking it.  Not long ago the house was used for weddings as well as tours of the supposedly haunted mansion.  I have arrived today to take some photos and hopefully get to see inside the house for myself.  The 1754  the Landon House was originally constructed on the banks of the Rappahannock River in Virginia as a silk mill, but was eventually dismantled in 1840 and taken by barge and transport to Georgetown where it was again loaded on a barge and floated up the C&O Canal to Point of Rocks, Maryland.  Here it was hauled by oxcart to it's final resting place in Urbana, Maryland.  Finally in 1846 it was reconstructed to it's original dimensions and served as a girl's school known as The Shirley Female Academy.  In 1854 it was again transformed into the Landon Military Academy & Institue and remained in operation for six years.  It was then abandoned until the first campaign of the Civil War when it became the headquarters of General James Ewell Brown (Jeb) Stuart.  He hosted many social events at the Landon House, including the famous Sabers and Roses Ball, for the Confederate cavalrymen and local ladies on September 8, 1862. The house was decorated with Confederate flags and the 18th Mississippi Cavalry's regimental band provided the ballroom music and the house was adorned with roses from local gardens, thus the name of the famous party.  Sometime during the evening, news arrived that the Union soldiers were close by and headed towards Urbana.

 The cavalrymen immediately mounted their horses and rode off into the night.  

Painting showing the Confederate cavalry leaving
the Saber and Roses ball to fight the Union troops.

It was found that the 1st North Carolina Infantry had held off the Union forces so they quickly returned to the Landon House to continue the party.  Shortly after, the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day of combat in American history, erupted. The Landon House then became a hospital for the Confederates and later for the Union  troops.  While the Confederates occupied the house they drew what have become known as "lighting sketches" of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Jeb Stuart over one of the fireplace mantles in charcoal taken from the ashes of the fireplace.  

More recent photo of the Landon House.

Eventually, after the Union troops took residence of the hospital, they added an image of President Abraham Lincoln, only twice the size of the original, and signed it 155th Pa. Vols. directly next to the original sketch.  Since that time the house is reportedly haunted by the soldiers who died in the building.  Ghostly lights have been seen moving through the house late at night.  The basement is home to one of Landon House' most famous legends.  There are supposed to be claw marks on the floor and walls from a pack of dogs that were kept in the basement for security as well as to help prevent the many slaves that were kept in the basement from escaping.  I knew that when I arrived at the house I just had to get inside and see for myself this famous and intriguing home from long ago.  Tomorrow you can travel with me as I photograph the 173 year old Landon House.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.