al-v-a-168 graham's confectionary, (john collin graham store)

AL-V-A-168

Graham's Confectionary, (John Collin Graham Store)

Architectural Survey File

This is the architectural survey file for this MIHP record. The survey file is organized reverse-

chronological (that is, with the latest material on top). It contains all MIHP inventory forms, National

Register nomination forms, determinations of eligibility (DOE) forms, and accompanying documentation

such as photographs and maps.

Users should be aware that additional undigitized material about this property may be found in on-site

architectural reports, copies of HABS/HAER or other documentation, drawings, and the “vertical files” at

the MHT Library in Crownsville. The vertical files may include newspaper clippings, field notes, draft

versions of forms and architectural reports, photographs, maps, and drawings. Researchers who need a

thorough understanding of this property should plan to visit the MHT Library as part of their research

project; look at the MHT web site (mht.maryland.gov) for details about how to make an appointment.

All material is property of the Maryland Historical Trust.

Last Updated: 11-26-2018

Addendum to Maryland Historical Trust Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties Form

Page 1 of 5 Name of Property: Grahame's (or Graham) Confectionary

Inventory No. AL-V-A-168

Location : Old Row and MD 36 (Parcel No. 134 as shown on Allegany CountyTax Map 0003M)

The Grahame Confectionary is a two story bui lding that was constructed prior to World War I. It has 6 bays (a 7th bay was added by the then-owner in 2015), with the north end of the raised

, basement built partially into the bank adjacent to the street, while the remaining elevations and the north fac;ade stand above ground. The bui lding's main elevation faces north, and does not directly face the street. The building is canted beyond the west retaining wall along Sulphur Creek, and the west wall of the basement. The Grahame Bui lding has 1 over 1 double hung windows and is clad in asbestos shingles with German siding beneath. The roof is a front gable with asphalt shingles. There is one white glazed enamel brick chimney with corbeling at the top extending from the center of the gable roof. The fu ll width front porch has a front gable roof and is supported by 3 replacement square posts . 5 stairs lead to the porch, and a new railing by a recent owner extends across the porch. The side hall entrance is on the northwest comer of the building, and the door is a replacement. On the west elevation, there are 3 windows in the main floor and 4 windows in the basement, whi le on the east elevation, there are 6 windows, including a bathroom window, in the main floor and none in the basement. There are no windows on the north fac;ade of the bui lding. In the south fac;ade, there is 1 large shop window which is divided into 4 panes in the basement store area along with an angled entrance to the store on the southeast corner of the building. There are two additional windows in the south elevation of the main floor. These retain the original window frames, which are plain lintels with a slip sill. A winding stair connects the main floor with the basement.

The large shop windows on the south fac;ade and angled entrance on the southeast corner mark the store and the commercial portion of the building. The building exemplifies a local example of an early twentieth century commercial and residential structure that provided housing as well as commercial space for the business owner in one location. The separated entrances between the store front and the house's main entrance clearly mark the function of the two spaces.

Previous owners have renovated the interior of the building, and little is left to demonstrate its use as a confectionary. For instance, the 1980 form mentioned an intact marble soda fountain and a glazed door with decorative handle that have been removed. What does remain in the former confectionary store is headboard wainscoting on the walls, asbestos tile flooring, and an arch encased with wood trim in the middle of the store ' s space. The main floor has been gutted, although the location of the btchen and bathroom are evident.

Prepared by: Anne E. Bruder Date: 04/21/2017




Location : Old Row and MD 36 (Parcel No. 134 as shown on Allegany CountyTax Map 0003M)

Significance:

Between 1915 and 1973 , the Grahame Confectionary Building was associated with the sale of

candy and other sweets in Mount Savage, and although the building has been remodeled since

the store c losed, it continues to maintain its street presence and is a commercial/residential

building from the early 20th century.

On February 5, 1910, the Union Mining Company of Mount Savage sold John Colin Grahame

and his wife Margaret a 3-1 / 10 acres ' parcel of land that began at the northeast corner of the

"Bridge Buttment," which was part of the state road through Mount Savage. Over the next 1 O

years, Grahame bought and sold land in Mount Savage, and seems to have been a real estate

developer, in addition to working at the Mount Savage Brick Works as a foreman between 1910

and 1930. He remained working for the Brick Works through 1940, and in the 1930 decennial

census he is listed as a brick layer, after being a foreman for 20 years, which is likely a result of

his seniority in the aftermath of the 1929 Depression (Allegany County Land Records and U.S.

Decennial Census for 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940).

Following Grahame' s purchase of the property, he constructed the building that has been

identified as the "Grahame Confectionary." The 1910 decennial census shows him living on

Church Hill with his wife and 6 chi ldren. As shown in the censuses, by 1920 the Grahames had

7 children at home, and 5 at home in 1930, but by then were living on Callo Hill outside the

village.

The Grahame Confectionary is a small building with two bedrooms, and it is unlikely that the

Grahames lived there, since Grahame made a comfortable living at the Brick Yard. On April 5,

1915, a Cumberland Evening Times story reported that J . Colin Grahame purchased a business from L.L. Malloy, and planned to continue the confectionary and cigar shop (The Cumberland Evening Times, Cumberland, MD Apri l 5, 1915, p. 9). The Cumberland and Pennsylvania

Railroad Mount Savage Station Map dated June 30, 1918 lists the frame bui lding as belonging to

L. Malloy, and Malloy likely leased the bui lding from Grahame. Grahame purchased the store ' s

stock from Malloy, and continued to use the building for the business. In the late 19th and early

20th centuries, prospective shopkeepers found starting a confectionary business easy since the





Location: Old Row and MD 36 (Parcel No. 134 as shown on Allegany CountyTax Map 0003M)

equipment was relatively inexpensive and some stock such as candies and candy boxes or bags

could be purchased readymade.

The 1920 Census identifies a couple, John D. and Mary F. Thompson, as living and working in

the Confectionary Story and Mary is noted as the Manager. On April 21 , 1921 , John Colin

Grahame and his wife Margaret sold the Confectionary Build ing to John and Mary Thompson.

In the next Census, Mary Thompson is identified as the owner of the confectionary store while

John Thompson is noted as a merchant who sold cars. Mr. Thompson died in 1938, and by the

1940 Census, Mrs. Thompson lived on Church Hill. The Confectionary Store remained open

through the 1950s according to a local informant, and Mary Thompson worked there with her

sister (Dennis Lashley, personal communication, 2/6/2017).

Through a review of the 1920, 1930 and 1940 censuses, as well as the Cumberland Evening Times between 1910 and 1965 , several Mount Savage confectionary businesses and residents

who worked in them have been identified in addition to the Thompsons. For example, in the

February l , 1915 Cumberland Evening Times, in the Mount Savage column, C.J . Barrett reported

that W. H . Norri s had purchased a confectionary store building owned by G. Clinton Uhl that

stood on Main Street, which he was converting to a residence for his family . Likewise, the

Acme Hall , one of William Farrell ' s businesses across the street from the Grahame

Confectionary, included a confectionary store. Another Mount Savage resident listed in the 1920

census as a confectioner was Alice Barrett who was then a clerk in an unidentified store. A

report in the December 15, 1928 Cumberland Evening Times calls the store A. R. Barrett ' s

Confectionary Store, so she actually owned the business, even if there was not a separate space

or building that it occupied. In the 1940 Census, she is still listed as a clerk in the confectionary

store, where she worked with her daughter Agnes, and they lived with Frances Barrett, a sister, on Old Row. The 1940 census also listed Ellen Stephens as a clerk in an unidentified

confectionary store, who lived with her mother, Catherine Stephens and her aunt, Genevieve

Stephens, on Church Hill. In the censuses, none of the women are identified as having more than

a 10th grade education, but all had cooking skills that enabled them to enter the business.

While Thompson ' s Confectionary was a specific space within the Grahame ' s Confectionary

Building, domestic spaces were also used by confectioners for their businesses. As Wendy A.

Woloson notes in Refined Tastes, by the late nineteenth century, the availability of purer grades






of sugar, the rise of better qualities of chocolate, the inexpensive candy making equipment, as well as the increased celebrations of Christmas, Valentine's and Mother's Days, enabled anyone interested in the business to make and sell candy.

During the first half of the twentieth century, Cumberland also had a number of confectionary businesses that were listed in the Cumberland Polk City Directory for 1919, 1931 and 1952. In 1919, there were 12 retail confectioners and 3 wholesale confectioners, in 1931 , there were 38 retail confectioners and 3 wholesale confectioners and in 1952, the number had declined to 26 retail and 3 wholesale confectioners. Some retailers had stores, while others maintained their businesses in their houses. Throughout the George' s Creek Valley, each town had at least one confectioner as American ' s taste for candy increased throughout the twentieth century, as evidenced by a review of several directories.

Mary F. Thompson died in February 1963 and her sister, Genevieve Stephens, and other heirs sold the building and the business on July 28, 1963 to Rita Frances Malloy, who was the granddaughter of Lawrence L. Malloy who started the confectionary business in 1915.

Despite lost historic fabric, the Grahame Confectionary retains integrity of location, setting, feeling and association and remains a contributing resource to the Mount Savage Historic District. Based on the research conducted as part of the study, no associations with events or persons of local, state or national significance have been identified and the Grahame Confectionary Building is not eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places

(NRHP) under Criteria A or B. The Grahame Confectionary is eligible as a contributing resource for the NRHP under Criterion C as an example of a hybrid early twentieth century commercial and residential building. NRHP Criterion D, information potential was not investigated as part of this study.

The boundary for the Grahame Confectionary is confined to the tax parcel boundary as shown on Parcel 134 on Allegany County Tax Map 0003M (2016) consisting of 0.134 acres.

Sources Consulted: Allegany County, Maryland Land Records available online from Maryland State Archives

Cumberland Evening Times "Mount Savage" "J. Colin Graham buys confectionary and cigar






Shop," April 5, 1915, Page 9, downloaded from NewspapersArchiveOnline.com March 3, 2017

_____ , "Mount Savage," C. J. Barrett, February I , 19 15, Page_, downloaded from NewspapersArchiveOnline.com March 3, 2017

Gilbert, Stephanie Patterson, "Bakers and Confectioners of Harrisburg' s Old Eighth Ward, 1890-1917," Pennsylvania History, A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 72:4 (Autumn 2005) PP 428-442

U.S . Decennial Census, 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940, downloaded from HeritageQuest and Ancestry.com March 3, 20 17

Woloson, Wendy, Refined Tastes, Sugar, Confectionery and Consumers in Nineteenth Century America (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002)


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Maryland State Highway Administration Cultural Resources Section

Photo Log

Project No.: AL297B51 Project Name: MD 36 over Jennings Run, Replacement of SHA Bridge No. 0100800 MIHP No.: AL-V-A-168 MIHP Name: John Collin Graham Store (also Graham's Confectionary) County: Allegany Photographer: Anne E. Bruder Date: 04/15/2015 Ink and Paper Combination: Epson UltraChrome pigmented ink/Epson Premium Luster Photo Paper CD/DVD: Verbatim, CD-R, Archival Gold

Ima2:e File Name Description of View AL-V-A-168 2015-04-15 01.TIF Looking north at south (store) fa9ade AL-V-A-168 2015-04-15 02.TIF Looking south at north (house)fa9ade and east - -

elevation AL-V-A-168 2015-04-15 03.TIF Looking east at west elevation AL-V-A-168 2015-04-15 04.TIF South elevation looking north AL-V-A-168 2015-04- 15 05.TIF Stone wall supporting house - looking northwest at - -

south elevation AL-V-A-168 2015-04- 15 06.TIF Basement interior showing bead board and linoleum - -

floor

AL-V-A-168 Graham’s Confectionery (John Collin Graham Store) Mt. Savage Road (MD 36) & Old Row Road, Mt. Savage Sanborn Map 1926, Sheet 2

MHT GIS 03/21/2012 JKC

AL-V-A-168 Graham’s Confectionery (John Collin Graham Store) Mt. Savage Road (MD 36) & Old Row Road, Mt. Savage Allegany County Tax Map 3m, p. 134


AL-V-A-168 Graham’s Confectionery (John Collin Graham Store) Mt. Savage Road (MD 36) & Old Row Road, Mt. Savage Frostburg 7.5’ Topographic Quadrangle 1949, Photorevised 1981

National Web Map Service 6” Orthophoto Map, c. 2017

AL-V-A-168


AL-V-A-168 Graham's Confectionery Allegany Co., MD David A. Dorsey 10/9/80 S elev.

AL-V-A-168 Graham's Confectionery Allegany Co., MD David A. Dorsey 10/9/80 Detail: E elev.

al-v-a-168 graham's confectionary, (john collin graham store)

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