Wild Goose Farm
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Wild Goose Farm | |
 The main house in 2010 | |
| Nearest city | Shepherdstown, West Virginia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°28′23.4″N 77°49′01.7″W / 39.473167°N 77.817139°W |
| NRHP reference No. | 100001902[1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 20, 2018 |
Wild Goose Farm is a 173-acre (70 ha) farm complex near Shepherdstown, West Virginia, established in the early 19th century. The farm includes a large, irregularly-arranged main house, a Pennsylvania-style bank barn, a tenant house, and outbuildings including a spring house, smoke house, ice house, corn crib, water tower and a decorative pavilion.
The complex is approached through metal gates along a tree-lined lane bordered by a stone wall. The main house has an unbalanced composition, unusual for its time, that anticipates late-19th century compositions. The wood-framed house has a two-story square-columned portico on the east elevation, with a Chippendale-styled balustrade on the second level spanning three of five bays. There are six columns and five dormers, on an ashlar-cut stone base. Three large brick chimneys project from the long roof ridge through the metal roofing material. This elevation is not the main entrance of the house, which is on the south side. A cantilevered oriel bay projects on the first level of the north side next to the east portico. The overall composition of the 9,000-square-foot (840 m2) house is reminiscent of architecture in New Orleans, where Rezin Shepherd had lived. The other sides of the house have complex elevations reflecting the house's history of additions and alterations into the 20th century, all on rubble stone foundations.[2]
The main entrance is at the east end of the south elevation, with a Greek Revival treatment opening into a reception and stair hall along the east wing, with an opening on the east side into the east wing ballroom or parlor. A dining room is on the west side of the hall, followed by a billiard room and a series of kitchen spaces. The kitchen area appears to be the oldest section of the house. The upstairs are divided into bedrooms that largely reflect the original layout of the house. The third floor was finished in the early 20th century, when the dormers were added.[2]
The complex includes several notable outbuildings, including a springhouse in the rough form of a Greek temple. Built about 1845, the building is set into the ground, surrounded by stone retaining walls. The springhouse itself is constructed of ashlar stone masonry, with a projecting portico supported by square columns. The interior is divided into three spaces, with a channel running through for the spring water.[2]
Other contributing buildings include a stone building (c. 1845) believed to be an office, an octagonal pagoda-like frame "sentry station" (c. 1880), believed to be a place for a timekeeper, a brick ice house (c. 1911), a stone pump house (c. 1911), a stone smokehouse (c. 1845), a six-bay carriage shed (c. 1845), and a tenant house (c. 1880).[2]
The complex includes several agricultural buildings, including a large Pennsylvania bank barn, built between 1842 and 1845. The lowest level of the barn features unusually fine stone masonry, with a stone-arched opening leading out of the stone-walled barnyard. Other buildings include a wood-frame poultry house (c. 1880), and a frame corn crib (c. 1880). The property includes an unusual number of fitted and finished stone walls.[2]
