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Laytonsville Landmarks

Read all about the Town of Laytonsville Below

Enjoy the Prints and Holiday Ornaments in the
GALLERY LANDMARKS COLLECTION

Laytonsville Town Hall, Laytonsville, MD - The William and Della Bell House, built in 1883
Laytonsville Town Hall, a print by Barbara Hails
The William and Della Bell House, built in 1883

Laytonsville, Maryland

As described in almost identical wording in the HISTORY OF THE TOWN on the Laytonsville Historical Center page of the Town of Laytonsville web site and on Relocate America´s site:
Laytonsville is a small municipality about 25 miles north of the White House, located in beautiful Montgomery County, Maryland. It has stood as a crossroad to the history of Maryland for over two centuries. The intersection of the northern district of the town provides a route to the major metropolitan areas of the state: Damascus and Frederick County, to the east to Baltimore, to the south toward Washington, D.C., and to the west the Potomac River.
Laytonsville was originally known as Cracklintown. This name originated from the popular cracklin bread, which was baked in the locale. This recipe, essentially a bacon corn bread, also leant the entire area the name of Cracklin District.
Laytonsville farmers were blessed by the quality of the soil, a Manor loam or Chester loam, very fertile and well drained, but a soil which doesn't dry out too quickly. Under the loam lies a subsoil of red clay which assists in holding the moisture for roots even during hot, dry summers, great farming land.
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Laytonsville History, Heritage, Memories, and Local Landmarks



Temperance Hall

Laytonsville, Maryland
Temperance Hall, Laytonsville MD
Click HERE to See the Complete Annual Laytonsville Holiday Ornament Collection

Constructed in 1852 by the “Mountain Dew Division” of the sons of Temperance for their use, Temperance Hall #152 still stands gracefully at 6920 Sundown Road close to the intersection that is the heart of Laytonsville.

Around the time of the Civil War, Frank Bell, the blacksmith, became its owner. Since then, the classic frame building saw several reincarnations: at one time as a medical office and at another as the location of a livestock business. Now it is the home of offices for St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church.

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The Fire House, & Minnie, the Brockway

Laytonsville, Maryland
The Fire House, & Minnie, the Brockway, Laytonsville MD

The 5th Annual Design in the Series features the Laytonsville Fire House as it appeared in 1953, and Minnie, the Brockway, a 1930 pumper, the first piece of equipment purchased by the new Fire Company.

In spring of 1952, community leaders met to form a fire department for the town, and, by June, the Laytonsville Fire Department obtained a State of Maryland Charter of Incorporation to operate within the town limits. The Department's Fire House and property were purchased from Modern Woodmen of America, and the Company purchased "Minnie" from the Hyattstown Volunteer Fire Department for $100.00 by "passing the hat". Over the years, new, more modern equipment replaced the Brockway, but she was kept as a historical reminder.

In February 1965, the Fire House building caught fire and was a total loss. Only Minnie, stored off site in one fireman's shed, escaped the blaze. Newspaper stories paint a dramatic account of heroism by Firemen trying to save the equipment and building.

Equally impressive is the community's swift and generous response to the need to rebuild. On October 15, 1966, the new fire house was dedicated. Today the Laytonsville Fire Department is staffed by both professionals and volunteers, men and women, who provide firefighting, ambulance service, and first aid. Minnie, Laytonsville's first fire engine, was dedicated in 1972 "to the men who served a bygone era." She is kept in like new condition and is often a featured highlight in community celebrations.

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The Griffith House

Laytonsville, Maryland
The Griffith House, Laytonsville MD
The 4th Annual Design in the Laytonsville Series features The Griffith House, a charming historic home at 21415 Laytonsville Road, in recent years a popular antique shop. According to a Walking Tour of Historic Cracklintown (Laytonsville) dated 1982, Hezekiah and Marion Weeks built Griffith House and a blacksmith shop in 1874 on 10 acres purchased from the Aytons. It passed through the Houck and Magruder families to William Griffith the town plumber, and was eventually occupied by Dorothy Techter, owner of Griffith House Antiques.
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The Barber House

Laytonsville, Maryland
The Barber House, Laytonsville MD
The 3rd Annual Design in the Laytonsville Series depicts the Barber House, a beautifully preserved historic home situated close to Laytonsville’s Town Hall. Built in 1871 by Francis Bell, it passed through several historically important and well-known Laytonsville families. Richly colored, the ornament is a handsome addition to your collection.
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The William Bell House

Laytonsville, Maryland
May 2002 marked the opening of Laytonsville´s new Town Hall. (See the full color print at the top of this page.) As the Town Hall, it became the center for the Mayor and Town Council activities but this building has long been part of the center of life and business in the area. Located right in the center of town, the house had always remained in the Bell family until the town acquired it in late 1999. In 1883, William and Della Warfield Bell began construction on the home.
Laytonsville was incorporated in 1892.
The William Bell House, Laytonsville, MD
2003 marked the debut of the First Annual Laytonsville Holiday Ornament in a new collection featuring landmarks of the town. One of its loveliest buildings, the Bell House, built in 1883 by William and Della Bell, is featured. The ornament comes gift boxed.
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The Layton House

Laytonsville, Maryland
Layton House - 2004 Laytonsville Ornament
Layton House is situated at 7000 Brink Road, the southwest corner MD 108 and MD 420 in Laytonsville, Maryland. Located in Montgomery County, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It consists of 2 buildings on less than 1 acre, currently owned by Tom and Chris Wilkinson.
Layton House is of historic significance because of its architecture, constructed of brick in the Federal Style in 1825. It was built by Alexander Case for the owners, Henry and Margaret O'Neal, at a time when most buildings were made of wood. This house and the tavern across the street were constructed of bricks made from clay dug on the property and fired on the premises. Margaret O'Neal bequeathed the house to her sister. John Layton inherited it in 1847.
John Layton, a farmer, the first postmaster of the town, named the post office "Laytonsville" after his family in 1850. They owned the brick house at the corner and built a saddle shop across the road that also functioned as the post office. The town continued under two names, Cracklintown and Laytonsville Post Office. When it was incorporated as a town in 1892, the name Laytonsville became official.
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The following is directly quoted from the Maryland Historical Trust:

Property name: Layton House
Alternate name(s): Brooke Grove, Weeks-Hawkins House
Date Listed: 9/25/1975
Inventory No.: M: 14-37-1
Location: 7000 Brink Road, Laytonsville, Montgomery County

Description: The Layton House is a 2-story brick Federal-style house with a three-bay Flemish bond main (north) facade and a gable roof. The front door, in the west bay, has three-light sidelights and a multi-paned transom. The windows, all 6/6 double hung sash with shutters, have stone sills and wooden lintels, the latter ending with bulls-eye design impost blocks. A cornice below the eaves consists of three courses of brick, the lowest of headers, the middle of angled bricks, and the highest of stretchers. On the east end, which is laid up in common bond, the double chimney stacks are joined by a curtain which rises above the ridge of the roof. There is a single window between the stacks at the attic level, and there are two second-floor windows at the extreme ends of the walls.
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A later, gable-roofed addition projects from the end wall at the first floor level and shelters the entrance to the Lower Level. The west end wall, also of common bond brick, is blank except for a single window centrally positioned at the first floor level. On the south end is a common bond brick, two-story addition with a two-story galleried porch along the east side and a shed roof sloping from west to east. The addition has a brick stack rising in the southwest corner and a second stack along the west wall.
Several outbuildings stand on the property, including a log slave quarters which was moved here from its former location up the road. It has a three-bay facade with a central doorway and flanking windows. A small internal chimney on the north end is intended for a stove flue. The quarters is one room with a small, boxed staircase leading to the loft. In construction, the inner and outer surfaces of the logs are squared, while the upper side has an inverted V profile so that it fits into notches on the lower side of the adjoining perpendicular log. The gable ends are clapboarded.
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Significance: The Layton House, built by the family from whom the town takes its name, is in a part of Montgomery County that was sparsely settled by holders of large tracts of land until the Revolutionary War era and that was never to see many houses built in a formal Federal or Greek Revival style. It is remarkable, therefore, that the first house built in the present town and the focal point around which Laytonsville developed, is a self-consciously Federal-style house of a plan and form that was very popular in early 19th century Montgomery County.
Lying at the intersection of the Old Baltimore Road and the road from Washington and Mechanicsville (now Olney) to Damascus and Frederick, the house stood on a natural site for a small commercial and trade center. Since it lay in Cracklin District, the earliest name for the town was Cracklintown. As late as 1878, the G. M. Hopkins Atlas refers to it as "Cracklintown or Laytonsville P.O.," the first name reflecting the geographical location and the second the name of the postmaster. Both names are found in the 1850 census, but in the list of principal villages, only the nomenclature "Laytonsville" appears. Thus, by 1850, the Layton family were prominent enough to have imprinted their name on the town although the older usage persisted.
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The National Register of Historic Places describes Layton House as follows:

Layton House ** (added 1975 - Building - #75000911)
SW corner MD 108 and MD 420, Laytonsville
Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Unknown
Architectural Style: Federal
Area of Significance: Commerce, Architecture
Period of Significance: 1825-1849
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Domestic
Historic Sub-function: Single Dwelling
Current Function: Vacant/Not In Use
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Further information may be obtained from:

About The Laytonsville Ornament Collection

2003 marked the debut of the First Annual Laytonsville Holiday Ornament in a new collection featuring landmarks of the town. Every year a different historic site is featured. The ornament comes gift boxed. It is available for purchase in person at Hails Art Gallery in Olney, or online by clicking the BARBARA HAILS Online Store button at the top of the page.

The Complete Collection of
Historic Laytonsville Landmark Holiday Ornaments


To Order Online, click the BARBARA HAILS Online Store button at the top of any page.
To Order by Phone, call toll-free 800-451-6411.
Purchase in Person at Hails Art Gallery.
2009 Anna Amelia
Allnutt House
2008 Temperance Hall 2007 Fire House
with Minnie, the Brockway		 2006 Griffith House
2005 Barber House 2004 Layton House 2003 Bell House
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