Maryland Department of NATURAL RESOURCES

Herrington Manor House at Herrington Manor State Park

Photograph of the Herrington Manor house in 1940.The State Park in Garrett County derives its name from this former estate that included a large frame house, barns, and several outbuildings. A Baltimore land investor, Abijah Herrington, built the house in the mid-1800s.

The state purchased the property in 1935. A portion of the land now forms the 53-acre Herrington Lake constructed during the Civilian Conservation Corps era shortly after the state purchased the land. Near the present park office, visitors can still see the site of the manor house though only a foundation remains. Authorities razed the building in 1964.

Herrington Manor House on the hill.The Herrington Manor House served in the 1930s as the headquarters for Swallow Falls, now Garrett – Potomac State Forest. State Forester Fred W. Besley held annual meetings at the Herrington Manor House. Some of the earliest pioneering Maryland forest conservation initiatives were formulated and launched at meetings in this building.

Abraham Lincoln Sines, first resident Forest Warden of Potomac Forest Reserve, lived in the Herrington Manor House. Sines was one of the first two forest wardens employed by the Maryland Board of Forestry, the other forest warden being Edmund George Prince (Patapsco Forest Reserve). Both Sines and Prince served as forest wardens as early as 1913.

Two photos of Resident Wardens in 1932 in front of the Harrington Manor House

GPS Waypoint:

N 39 27 15.5
W 79 27 03.2

Note: The 1913 Board of Forestry lists just two forest wardens employed by the Board of Forestry. Although the report does not give their names, the two forest wardens were Abraham Lincoln Sines of Garrett County, and Edmund George Prince of Baltimore County.

Photographs (top to bottom):

  • Photograph of the Herrington Manor house in 1940.
  • Manor House on the Hill
    Manor House photographs prvided by Donnie Oates, Herrington Manor State Park Manager.
  • The "Suspender Brigade at Herrington Manor - Resident Wardens Conference: Wardens Sines, O'Keefe and Marin, 1932, photo by Fred W. Besley. This picture was taken at The Herrington Manor House front steps.
  • Resident Wardens Martin, Marin, Buckingham, Lohr, O'Keefe, Sines, and Fred W. Besley at Herrington Manor, July 1932, photo by K.E. Pieffer. Identity of one of these gentleman is unknown.

Acknowledgements:

Maryland State Forests and State Parks
Significant Monuments and Landmarks In Garrett County, Maryland
By Offutt Johnson and Champ Zumbrun
July 11, 2013

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