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The Gordon-Roberts House
was built on lot #60 of
the Town of Cumberland
as laid out by Thomas
Beall of Samuel, who was
offered at public sale,
February 1812. The
highest bidder was Beal
Howard who paid $16.62
for the lot, plus $1.00
per year for ground
rent. Beal Howard sold
this land to Daniel
Carroll Brent of
Stafford County,
Virginia. William Brent
was the next owner by
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inheritance. When
William Brent died the
property was sold
through his estate to
Josiah Gordon for $700,
at public sale, held at
the St. Nicholas Hotel,
April 8, 1865. Final
deed was
March 2, 1866.
The house was
constructed in 1867 by
John Walton, who also
worked on Emmanuel
Episcopal Church, 16
Washington Street and
the Academy, 31
Washington Street.
The house is one of a
small group of Second
Empire style homes
located in the
Washington Street
Historical District.
Second Empire
architecture is
characterized by the
mansard roof. The house
is constructed of
handmade bricks laid in
American Common Bond and
is three stories high
and five bays wide. The
entrance is located on
the North facade and
features vertically
paneled doors and a wide
transom light. The front
door opens into a square
foyer closed by double
glass doors etched in
the same patterns as the
sidelights. There is a
central hall and a
central transverse
passage to the second
and third floors. The
entrance features an
original gas lighting
fixture. Another
interesting feature of
the entranceway is the
paper on the walls below
the chair rail. It
typifies something that
was called Lincrusta
Walton, a very heavy
paper almost like
cardboard that is
machine pressed.
Sometimes the covering
was made from leather.
Visitors will tour three
floors of the 1867 home
and enjoy a cup of tea.
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