Plumb Grove
Jonathan and Anne Nesbitt built Plumb Grove, a 137 acre farm located along Broadfording Road, Clear Spring, MD, in 1831. It was built using slave labor. They raised their 5 children in the home. (Three daughters died before they were 4 years old.) Both Jonathan and Anne lived in the home until their deaths—Jonathan in 1877; Anne in 1885.
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The house was sold in 1893 to Rosa Warner, owner of a hotel in Clear Spring, MD. They used the farm to provide fresh milk, eggs, produce, and meat for the hotel and the house was rented.
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In 1967, the farm was sold to the Board of Education. The Board used the property to build a Middle and High School Complex. The area where the home on the property was located was to become an Agricultural Center for Western Washington County.
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The home on Plumb Grove was uninhabited from 1967 to 1981. It was used for storage for the Board of Education. Over the years, the building began to deteriorate, become vandalized, and fell into disrepair.
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Local residents began to see the potential of preserving Plumb Grove. Joan Hull, a resident of Clear Spring, saw the home as a treasure that needed saved. For over 10 years, she spoke with others about the potential of the home for the community, attended School Board meetings, and through her effort, the Clear Spring District Historical Association was formed. This group continued to fight to save the home from destruction. In one of the Board meetings she attended, they offered to tear the building down and put up a plaque where the house stood. Mrs. Hull and the CSDHA declined their offer.
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Joan Hull, the CS Mayor, Town Council, and the CSDHA worked for over 10 years to convince the Board of Education that Plumb Grove was worth saving and restoring. They explained the historical and community value, provided options of how the property could be used, including educational opportunities for the area schools, research into history of the area, and a museum. They were able to convince the Board that Plumb Grove that there was historical and community value in restoring the house instead of tearing it down.
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In 1981, the Board deeded a .91 acre of land that the house is situated on to the CSDHA. The group has worked over the past 40 years to continue to restore, research, and share the home with the community. In 2012, the house was added to the National Register of Historical Places.
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More information about Plumb Grove and the Nesbitt family can be found in the
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For information about private tours, email clearspringhistory@gmail.com
