Big Bottom Farm
a.k.a. Clauson Farm
Hazen Rd., Cumberland, MDBig Bottom Farm is significant for its architecture. The house exhibits the symmetrical five-bay elevation and center-hall plan which characterize farm dwellings in Western Maryland throughout the 19th century, in combination with Greek Revival stylistic features who se degree of sophistication is highly unusual in such a rural context. Its brick construction, flat-roofed entrance porch with fluted doric columns supporting a full entablature, and Greek Revival influenced mantels and architrave trim contribute to its architectural refinement, which is matched by few other Allegany County farmhouses of the period. According to local tradition, the house was built ca. 1845 by John Jacob Smouse, whose family had land holdings in the Evitt's Creek area; architectural evidence confirms a mid-19th-century construction date. The house retains considerable integrity, with the majority of its original detailing intact.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.