Downs, Charles, II, House
a.k.a. Downs House
WV Secondary Rt. 1, W of US 11, Marlowe, WVThe Charles Downs II House, located in the vicinity of Marlowe in Berkeley County, West Virginia, is significant for its association with the locally important Downs family and as an excellent local example of intact Federal period vernacular architecture.
Charles Downs II was the son of Charles Downs I who came to Berkeley County in 1815 from Washington County, Maryland. In 1832, Charles Downs II purchased 184 acres from Henry Myers and built the brick residence in 1835. Downs was involved in a number of business enterprises, owning three mills in Berkeley County and another close to Washington, D.C. At one time, he advertised for 100,000 bushels of wheat to purchase for his mills. He owned his own canal boats to transfer his products to market on the C & O Canal (just a mile to the east of his house) to the eastern cities. Charles Downs II served as an election official, a court justice, a committeeman for improving the Williamsport Turnpike (presently U.S. Route 11), and later as a committeeman for a reception given for the returning soldiers from the Mexican War. In 1852 he was elected Justice of the Peace and served in that office until 1856. There are numerous mentions of his activities, both commercial and civic, in the Martinsburg Gazette, the leading newspaper of the area. In 1930, his name was included among those of other historical personages on a marble tablet placed in the Berkeley County Courthouse as having contributed to the growth and development of the county.
Another prominent member of the Downs family, though of a slightly more recent period, was H. A. Downs. A prominent attorney, he served as Republican Congressional Committeeman from 1911 to 1913 and was the party's nominee for State Attorney in both 1912 and 1916. In 1913 he was appointed U.S. Commissioner for the Northern District of West Virginia, serving in that office until his election to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1920. He served in the legislature for a single term 1921-23.
The residence is architecturally significant as being a classical expression of a Federal period country dwelling house. The house is almost completely intact stylistically from the period of its construction, on both the exterior and interior.
The Charles Downs II House is a well-proportioned building with impressive mass. The raked Flemish bond, the bonded brick flat arches over the large windows, the classical entrance doorway, and other features clearly define the Federal style of the house. The Federal theme is carried throughout the interior as well, is represented by all of the five mantlepieces the tiered cupboards, symmetrically molded trim with roundel corner blocks, the open-well stairway, paneled doors with original hardware, and original random-width wood floors. There is a high degree of craftsmanship throughout and a few later alterations. This is a rare example, in Berkeley County, of a large Federal period home, the seat of a prosperous farm, that eluded the "Victorianization" that occurred to so many such properties.
All three structures on the property contribute to the property's significance. The period of significance, 1835 to ca. 1925, represents the period of the Downs family occupancy.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
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.