Existing comment:
Building Gapland:
In 1884, when George Alfred Townsend was traveling in Western Maryland gathering research for a book about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, he was attracted to a piece of land near the Civil War battle sites of Antietam and South Mountain. He purchased a 100-acre site and began building his retreat.
Townsend named his estate "Gapland". Here he could combine his love for nature and art with his hobby of designing and building houses. He named the first one, a modest weatherboard structure, "Askelon." In all, he built 9 buildings, including a barn, out-houses, and dwellings. Some of the stone houses were quite ornate, replete with terra cotta busts and medallions, wide porches and turrets, and mansard roofs.
Gapland was sold after Townsend's death in 1914. Its buildings deteriorated as the property passed through several owners. In 1949, it was deeded to the State of Maryland to be administered as Gathland State Park. |