Project Summary

This project rehabilitates a historic (1832) three-story stone bank barn, adjacent carriage house (1897), and site for public use as a visitor center and museum at the core of the Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park. The site is on the county’s Master Plan for Historic Preservation, the Maryland Historic Trust interior and exterior easement program, the National Park Services’ National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, and is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Multi-media museum exhibits are featured in the restored Stone Barn, interpreting the history of the local African American and Quaker communities. The adjacent Carriage House has visitor orientation information and restrooms, and is the starting location for the Underground Railroad Experience Trail, which links Woodlawn to the historic Quaker properties of Sandy Spring.

An early plan to house all visitor center functions within the Stone Barn would have required extensive modification to the historic structure to condition the space. Instead, the architect identified the underutilized Carriage House as a more appropriate location for those functions. The design challenges were 1) to link these several historic buildings in a natural, inviting and accessible manner on a challenging multi-use site, and 2) to make the historic agricultural building safe for visitors and the multi-media exhibits.

Rehabilitation of the Stone Barn included replacing the cedar roof shingles and other roofing, selectively repointing major areas of worn mortar, encapsulating lead paint, and replacing several major structural beams in the lower level damaged by fire and pests. An existing dry-pipe sprinkler system was redesigned and reinstalled. Damage to the dirt floor of the animal stalls from groundhogs was repaired and their further entry was discouraged.

Additional changes to the Stone Barn and site were limited to those required by life safety/ building codes, ADA, stormwater regulations, and in support of the museum and educational programs. The Barn was improved to make it safe for public access and to allow a more natural flow of visitors through the exhibit spaces. A new stair was added linking the upper wagon level with the middle level. Window barriers and railings were added for visitor safety.

The exterior of the Carriage House was restored -- its foundation repaired and the walls and roof re-shingled. The interior, which contained a garage and narrow access to a loft space, was opened up to be a light and airy space. New windows and doors were added. An accessible restroom wing and breezeway were added to the north side of the building.

New accessible paths blend in with the agricultural setting while providing ADA access to multiple levels of the Barn and the Carriage House. Several non-contributing buildings were removed from the view shed of the Barn and the barnyard was repaired to make an outdoor event space.

The end result is a project which fully utilizes the historic site and buildings and fulfills its purpose of providing a unique educational resource to the Montgomery County community for many years to come.