Gambrill water pump house

This unassuming building provided running water to the Gambrill Mansion in the 1870s.

NPS

Quick Facts

Location:

Frederick, Maryland

Significance:

Battle of Monocacy

Designation:

National Battlefield, National Register of Historic Places, National Historic Landmark

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

Amenities

6 listed

Audio Description, Cellular Signal, Parking - Auto, Picnic Table, Trailhead, Wheelchair Accessible

A small dilapitated shed located next to the Gambrill Mill Trail boardwalk contains the remnants of equipment that was used to pump water to the Gambrill House on the hill. The land the pump house sits on was part of a large land holding originally owned by James Marshall. In 1830, Araby Mill, was built by the following owner, John McPherson. 
The mill was purchased in 1855 by James H. Gambrill, who had been an assistant miller to George Delaplane, who owned the mill for several years after McPherson. Shortly after Gambrill purchased the mill, he went into business with neighbors John Wheatley and T.A. Ball to operate a distillery built at the Gambrill Mill complex. The distillery failed in 1860. The mill itself was very successful until 1897, when Gambrill faced financial hardship and had to sell the property. 

At its peak, the mill could produce up to sixty barrels of flour per day. James Gambrill employed three mill hands to manufacture the flour, along with two coopers to produce barrels for its transport. A contemporary newspaper account gave the following description: 

By far, the Gambrill's mill did the most extensive business of all. The neat, well-appointed mill was up-to-the-minute...it was a pleasure to accompany the big wagon team on its slated trips to Gambrill's. The squat, neat old mill, the more than comfortable atmosphere of the place, and last, but not least, the handsome jolly miller, all combined to make one's visits a genuine pleasure. 

James and his wife Antoinette were married in 1860 and lived with their growing family in a house next to the mill. In 1864, James Gambrill purchased land to build the Gambrill house, which was completed in 1873. The house was a richly ornamented, okra-colored brickhouse built in the Second Empire Style. One of the modern amenities associated with the house was hot and cold running water for the indoor plumbing. The equipment in the pump house made this modern marvel possible. 

When the house was first built, toilets, located on the first and second floors at the southeast end of the ell, were enabled to work by pipes which ran from a hydraulic ram positioned at a spring at the pump house, to a cistern atop the ridge behind the house, several hundred yards to the southeast, and then downhill to the house. The downward race of the water created enough power to propel water to a ceiling tank on the second floor. Another length of pipe, almost half a mile long, took the sewage northeast to empty into Bush Creek.  

Duration:

3 minutes, 31 seconds

Two Medals of Honor were earned for actions during the Battle of Monocacy. This video discusses the two Vermont soldiers that received the Medals of Honor and covers the final shots of the Battle.