Clara Barton National Historic Site

National Historic Site of the United States

United States historic place

Significant dates

Clara Barton National Historic Site
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. National Historic Site

The Clara Barton House
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Location	5801 Oxford Rd., Glen Echo, Maryland
Coordinates	38°58′1″N 77°8′27″W / 38.96694°N 77.14083°W / 38.96694; -77.14083
Area	9 acres (3.6 ha)
Built	1891
Architect	Julian B. Hubbell
Website	Clara Barton National Historic Site.
NRHP reference No.	66000037
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	January 12, 1965
Designated NHS	1974

The Clara Barton National Historic Site, which includes the Clara Barton House, was established in 1974 to interpret the life of Clara Barton (1821–1912), an American pioneer teacher, nurse, and humanitarian who was the founder of the American Red Cross. The site is located 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Washington D.C. in Glen Echo, Maryland.

The United States National Historic Site protects 9 acres (0.04 km) of land at her Glen Echo home including the 38-room former residence of Barton. The site is managed by the George Washington Memorial Parkway, a unit of the National Park Service. The first national historic site dedicated to the accomplishments of a woman, it preserves the early history of the American Red Cross and the last home of its founder. Barton spent the last 15 years of her life in her Glen Echo home (1897–1912), and it served as an early headquarters of the American Red Cross as well.

Description

The large frame house was partially constructed from lumber salvaged from emergency buildings built by the Red Cross at Johnstown, Pennsylvania in the wake of the Johnstown Flood of 1889. The lumber of the dismantled buildings was brought to Washington via the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal to avoid flooding the local market in Johnstown. The lumber was stored on a lot owned by Barton in Washington D.C. until early in 1891 when construction began on land donated by Edwin and Edward Baltzley, who were developing a Chautauqua assembly at Glen Echo. The house was designed by Dr. Julian B. Hubbell, the first field agent of the American Red Cross. Hubbell oversaw the construction work performed by Baltzley's construction team. The original structure included a massive stone front in a style in keeping with the rest of the Chautauqua buildings. In 1897, when Barton moved into the house permanently, the central part of the stone facade was dismantled, creating flanking stone towers. The addition of pointed roofs accentuated the effect on the deep, narrow house.

In spite of its massive size, the house is sparely detailed and furnished for utility. The interior is designed as if it were a Mississippi River steamboat. The house contains 36 rooms and 38 closets, with three tiers of rooms facing a central gallery lighted by clerestory windows of colored glass. Following Barton's death, alterations were made to the interior, creating eight apartments. The Friends of Clara Barton purchased the house in 1963.

Congress designated the Clara Barton House as a National Historic Landmark in 1965, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The property was designated as a National Historic Site in 1974.

Acquisition and restoration

The National Park Service (NPS) acquired the house from the Friends of Clara Barton in 1975. The Friends organization had made repairs to the house, but NPS determined that additional structural repairs were needed. In 1981 a dedication ceremony was held at the site following the completion of the NPS restoration project. The NPS restored eleven rooms, including the Red Cross offices, parlors and Clara Barton's bedroom. Visitors to Clara Barton National Historic Site were able to gain a sense of how Barton lived and worked surrounded by all that went into her life's work. Visitors to the site were led through the three levels on a guided tour emphasizing Barton's use of her unusual home. In 2005, 12,529 visitors toured the site.

In October 2015 the site was closed for additional repairs and remained closed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, through 2021. The house reopened to the public in 2022, although NPS has identified additional structural problems. The second and third floors of the house remain closed.

References

"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
^ "Clara Barton National Historic Site". Clara Barton National Historic Site. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
^ "National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings". National Park Service. July 28, 1964. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
"Clara Barton - A Register of Her Papers in the Library of Congress" (PDF). Library of Congress. 2003. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
"Clara Barton: Professional Angel". University of Pennsylvania Press. 1987. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
^ Hodge, Paul (May 14, 1981). "The Vision of Clara Barton". The Washington Post.
"Glen Echo Park - Clara Barton House Cultural Landscape". National Park Service. October 15, 2021.
"Operating Hours & Seasons". Clara Barton National Historic Site. Glen Echo, MD: National Park Service. August 21, 2016. Archived from the original on June 17, 2017.
"Operating Hours". Clara Barton National Historic Site. National Park Service. March 23, 2020. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021.
Tousignant, Marylou (December 22, 2021). "Clara Barton, nurse and activist, spent a lifetime serving others". The Washington Post.
"Operating Hours & Seasons". Clara Barton National Historic Site. September 9, 2022.

External links

Official website
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
Clara Barton National Historic Site, Montgomery County, including photo in 2003, at Maryland Historical Trust
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. MD-300, "Clara Barton House, 5801 Oxford Road, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Glen Echo, Montgomery County, MD", 11 photos, 26 measured drawings, 1 photo caption page

Protected areas of Maryland

Federal

National battlefields	Antietam Monocacy
National historical parks	Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad
National historic sites	Clara Barton Hampton Thomas Stone
National monuments	Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
National marine sanctuaries	Mallows Bay–Potomac River
National seashores	Assateague Island
National Park Service parks	Catoctin Mountain Fort Foote Fort Washington Glen Echo Greenbelt Harmony Hall Oxon Cove and Oxon Hill Farm Piscataway
National wildlife refuges	Blackwater Eastern Neck Glenn Martin Patuxent Research Susquehanna River
National historic and scenic trails	Appalachian Captain John Smith Chesapeake Potomac Heritage Star-Spangled Banner
Other protected areas	Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

State

State parks	Assateague Big Run Bill Burton Fishing Pier Calvert Cliffs Canal Place Casselman River Bridge Chapel Point Cunningham Falls Dans Mountain Deep Creek Lake Elk Neck Fort Frederick Fort Tonoloway Gambrill Gathland Greenbrier Greenwell Gunpowder Falls Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Hart-Miller Island Herrington Manor Janes Island Martinak Matapeake New Germany North Point Palmer Patapsco Valley Patuxent River Pocomoke River Point Lookout Purse Rocks Rocky Gap Rosaryville Sandy Point Seneca Creek Smallwood South Mountain St. Clement's Island St. Mary's River Susquehanna Swallow Falls Tuckahoe Washington Monument Wye Oak
State forests	Cedarville Chesapeake Doncaster Elk Neck Garrett Green Ridge Mount Nebo Pocomoke Potomac Savage River Seth Stoney Wicomico
Wildlife management areas	Avondale Belle Grove Billmeyer Bodkin Island Bowen Cedar Island Cedar Point Cheltenham Chicamuxen Chicone Creek Cunningham Swamp Dan's Mountain Deal Island Devil Island Area Dierssen E.A. Vaughn Earleville Ellis Bay Fairmount Fishing Bay Fort Hill Globe Com Gravel Hill Swamp Grove Farm Gwynnbrook Heater's Island Hopkins Branch Hugg-Thomas Idylwild Indian Springs Islands of the Potomac Isle of Wight Johnson Kent Island Research Center Le Compte Linkwood Little Patuxent Oxbow Maryland Marine Properties McIntosh Run McKee-Beshers Millington Mt. Nebo Myrtle Grove Nanjemoy Nanjemoy Creek Nanticoke River Old Bohemia Parker's Creek Pocomoke River Pocomoke Sound Prather's Neck Ridenour Swamp Riverside Sideling Hill Sinepuxent Bay South Marsh Island Strider Tar Bay Taylors Island Warrior Mountain Wellington Wetipquin
Natural environment areas	Belt Woods Mattawoman Morgan Run Severn Run Soldiers Delight Youghiogheny Scenic & Wild River Zekiah Swamp

County and
municipal

Parks and sanctuaries

Non-
governmental

Parks and sanctuaries	Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Conservation and Environmental Research Areas of UMBC Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary and Visitor's Center Mount Pleasant Farm Center Sherwood Gardens Somers Cove Marina Sugarloaf Mountain University of Maryland Arboretum & Botanical Garden Western Maryland Rail Trail Youghiogheny Scenic & Wild River
Nature centers	List

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