In the previous two issues of the Silver Spring Voice, this column profiled Francis Preston Blair’s country estate Silver Spring as well as Falkland, belonging to his son Montgomery. This issue examines The Moorings, the third and only extant 19th-century Blair family estate constructed in Silver Spring.

Built in 1850 and located in South Silver Spring’s Jesup Blair Park, this home was originally owned by James Blair, middle son of Francis Preston Blair. James Blair was a naval officer who, in 1849, decided to take a year’s leave of absence and set off for California to make his fortune (with the assist of a $10,000 loan from his father…the equivalent of nearly $200,000 today!). Shortly after his departure from Washington, James asked his father in a letter written April 10, 1849 to build a "cottage," located near his country estate, for himself, his wife Mary, and their daughter Violet. James promised to repay the cost "from the 1st dollar I make until it is paid for."

By the end of the first year in California, James was well on his way to paying off the loan, having gained the operation of five steamboats on the Sacramento River as well as numerous pieces of property, all worth an estimated $60,000. James sent money regularly by steamer to Mary in Washington, who took on the responsibility of planning and having built their new home, named The Moorings in reference to James’ naval career.

Three years after the Italianate-styled, two story wood frame structure was completed, James died suddenly in California, leaving his 27-year-old wife a widow with two small children and pregnant with their third. Violet, the eldest child, eventually inherited the house and grounds, living there until her death in 1933.

In her will, Violet Blair Janin "bequeathed [as a public park] in perpetuity" to the state of Maryland the house and the surrounding property, to be renamed Jesup Blair Park in honor of her only brother. Mrs. Janin specifically indicated that all of the trees on the property were to be preserved, a prominent feature of the Silver Spring: Then image taken in the early 1900s. (The identities of the individuals in the photograph are unknown.)

In 1934 the house was modified for use as the second home of the Silver Spring Public Library, serving in that capacity until 1957. Prominent regional architect Howard Wright Cutler, who had designed over one hundred schools in Montgomery County (including Montgomery Blair High School), altered the home’s exterior to reflect the then popular Colonial Revival-style of architecture. Other than the home’s original front porch being removed, the application of quoins to the corners of the structure, and a rear addition added in 1942, the exterior of the house is today very similar to its original design.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the house served as the local headquarters for the Selective Service Board No. 53 and many men will recall reporting there to register for the draft. Three young men who weren’t interested in registering broke into the house in May of 1969 and, in an act of civil disobedience, trashed the offices by dumping all of the draft board files onto the floor and pouring paint on them. The demonstration garnered much coverage in the local press.

By 1991 the house took on the renewed purpose of housing residents when Montgomery County’s Housing Opportunities Commission utilized the property as a residence for single mothers. The interior was completely renovated in the process, altering most of the house’s original interior fabric, unfortunately. The only original work that can be seen today is the center hall stairway with turned wooden railings (painted a most un-historic pink) and several panes of original glass, located in the front door’s transom and side lights. Through the swirls and bubbles of this 150-year-old glass can still be viewed Violet’s beloved trees, currently being threatened by neglect, removal, inappropriate development, and insensitive public policy. The expansion of Montgom-ery College’s Takoma Park campus into the park resulted in the property being listed in 2002 and again in 2003 on Montgomery Preservation, Inc.’s Endangered Historic Sites list. Alternatives have been proposed to the college’s incursion of the park, but most have been rejected.

As the house and many of its surrounding trees settle into their third century, it is hoped that their continued presence in the Silver Spring community will be ensured for the enjoyment of future generations.

If you can share with the Silver Spring Historical Society photographs or memorabilia of downtown Silver Spring from any years for use in a future book, please contact SSHS at PO Box 1160, Silver Spring, MD 20910-1160 or email sshistory@yahoo.com. The society's web site is www.sshistory.org. Future residents of Silver Spring will thank you!