Bostwick is a historic home located a short distance below Lowndes Hill, the present-day property of Bladensburg Elementary School in Bladensburg,

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. According to its date plaque, it was built in 1746 by

Christopher Lowndes Christopher Lowndes (baptized June 19, 1713January 8, 1785) was a leading merchant in colonial Bladensburg, Maryland, Bladensburg, Prince George's County, Maryland. He was named Commissioner of the town of Bladensburg in 1745, and in 1753 he was ...

(1713-1785). The house was later the home of Lowndes’ son-in-law, Benjamin Stoddert (1751-1813), first

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. Colonel Thomas H. Barclay (Tory in the American Revolution; brother-in-law of Lt. Colonel Beverly Robinson; first British consul appointed in New York after the peace of 1783; British agent for prisoners of war in War of 1812) resided at "Bostwick," the oldest surviving structure at Bladensburg. Located nearby is the Market Master's House, also built by Lowndes. SouthsideBostwick

Bostwick is a -story brick structure laid up in

Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...

. A basement and ground level lies under the entire house. The

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roof, with

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a Roof pitch, pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the ...

windows, is slightly belled at the eaves. The main (west) facade is five bays with a central doorway. A one-story porch extends across the front, and the pedimented central bay of the porch projects forward. "C.L. 1746" in wrought lead painted black is embedded high in the south chimney. Also on the south side is a distinctive

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

added about 1800 by Stoddert, who was concerned about a crack in the wall on that side of the house. At the base of the buttress are two dungeons or cells. A gable-roofed common bond brick detached kitchen stands northeast of the house. Southeast of the house are several 19th century outbuildings and a barn.Wilfong, James C., "A 1746 Buttress In Bladensburg," ''The Washington Post'', Apr 13, 1974. Bostwick was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975. The house suffered damage to the north chimney and roof in the August 2011 east coast earthquake. In 2012, Preservation Maryland placed Bostwick on its list of threatened historic properties.

References

External links

*, including photo in 1997, at Maryland Historical Trust website * * * {{National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland Houses in Prince George's County, Maryland Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Prince George's County, Maryland Bladensburg, Maryland Brick buildings and structures in Maryland