Elliot-Bester House, historic house in Maryland, United States
The Elliot-Bester House is a two-story brick structure in Hagerstown painted yellow with black and white trim details. It features seven bays across its front facade, windows set under brick arches with Victorian-style sashes, and a slate roof with projecting gables, plus a rear two-story extension connected to a 20th-century concrete-block addition.
Built around 1790, the house exemplifies late 18th-century construction with 19th-century modifications including added gables and windows. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 for its significance as an early brick dwelling in western Maryland and its connection to Commodore Jesse D. Elliott, who spent his childhood there.
The house is named after the Bester family who later owned it and ran a flower shop in a rear addition. Its yellow paint with black and white trim reflects how residents of the era personalized their homes through color and detail.
The house is located on South Potomac Street in Hagerstown and is easy to spot from the street due to its distinctive yellow color. As a listed historic site, visitors should expect to view it from outside and respect the property's boundaries.
The brick patterns on the house show two different historical laying techniques: Flemish bond on the front with its decorative arrangement and common bond on other walls. These details reveal the craftsmanship of 1790s bricklayers and how construction methods varied even within a single building.
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