The Town House

Sykesville architect J. Harvey Fowble built this home in 1883 for Irish immigrant John McDonald and his wife Kate. McDonald, a successful businessman, owned a dry goods store on Main Street. A succession of prominent families lived here until 1968, when the building was sold to the Town of Sykesville. Its design reflects the Colonial Revival style that became popular after the Civil War. Set off by a rolling lawn, large trees, and a pond, the elegant home overlooked Main Street, where citizens once celebrated a patriotic event in front of it with a fire engine and crew. Fowble also designed much of Main Street, including the red-brick First National Bank, the Greenberg/Arcade Building, the McDonald Block, and both Warfield Buildings, and he built the Inn at Norwood as his family residence. The house retains refined features such as a handsome staircase and tile-decorated fireplaces. Visitors and town hall employees have also reported odd happenings there, including the lingering scent of cigar smoke, footsteps in the attic, icy drafts on the back of the neck, and sounds of running water.

Sykesville, Maryland · United States