HISTORIC HOUSES OF DORCHESTER COUNTY
MULBERRY GROVE – 1684
In 1671 Thomas Pattison came from Calvert County and settled on James Island. From here he removed to Taylors Island and was granted a patent to 400 acres of land.
On April 21, 1688 he was appointed his Lordship’s Attorney for Dorchester County and in 1689 was Clerk of Dochester County Court.
Among the Pattison descendants is Hon. John R. Pattison former Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Maryland and a member of the Court of Appeals. Judge Pattison’s wife is a descendent of Raymond Staplefort, the first High Sheriff of Dorchester County.
Mrs. James Keene Spicer, one of the present owners, is also a descendent of Thomas Pattison.
The property was transferred several times, but among the Pattison clan. It was owned by Richard Pattison and attained the name Mulberry Grove from one of his progressive ideas.
China and Japan had a monopoly on the silk trade due to the fact that climatic conditions were such that the silk worm throve there and that its natural food was the mulberry tree.
Death was the penalty for removing the mulberry tree from of either of these countries. The enterprising Richard Pattison by some means, managed to get some of these trees and planted them at Dover (as the estate was then known) with the idea of propagating the silk worm.
Whether it was the severity of the winters or whether the change of air or climate did not agree with them, the silk worms did not prosper, and the venture failed.
One of the original trees was standing until the mid-thirties when a storm blew it down. In its place is growing a scion from the original tree.
In 1861 Dover, or Mulberry Grove, was purchased by Mr. James Spicer’s father.
During the War of 1812, when the British plundered the farms along the shore of the Little Choptank River, one of their tenders with the crew and commander were captured by a company of Dorchester County Militia. The cannon, now the famous Becky Phipps, was also taken.
In this company of militia were Mr. Spicer’s great grandfather, Jeremiah Spicer, and his grandfather, Travers Spicer. In Mr. Spicer’s possession is a flint musket and bayonet that was part of the British small arms on board their vessel.
Mr. and Mrs. James Keene Spicer are now the owners and occupants of Mulberry Grove.
The interesting old dwelling was built in 1684. It faces east and west, the front facing the east or toward the road approaching the dwelling.
The center section is the original house. This portion has solid walls of brick 18 inches thick. The outside is covered with weather boarding, the inside walls being plastered over the brick. The end of this section has brick gables. Abutting the south end is the large, old fashioned kitchen. The old section of the dwelling is 1 ½ stories high. The north end built by Mr. Spicer’s father, is two stories high. Connected to the rear of the old section is a wing underneath which is a cellar with a dirt floor that has never leaked. A most interesting feature of this section is that the weatherboarding is nailed on with hand made nails. The old dwelling is so solidly constructed that the heaviest wind passes it without a quiver of its sturdy frame. Another interesting feature is that the sills of the house are placed on cedar blocks about two feet square. These blocks must have come from a cedar tree at least four or five hundred years old as this species of tree grows very slowly and to obtain a block two feet square from one, the tree must be ancient indeed. The dining room is a large square apartment in which was an enormous old fireplace. The room is attractively furnished with old fashioned furniture in keeping with the atmosphere of the dwelling. An attractive point in the construction of this room are the braces of the corner posts, which are exposed and painted like the rest of the woodwork. Beyond this is the distinctive, well proportioned hall. The walls are in straight paneling from first growth pine and it is all hand work. Two hundred- and fifty-years age boards were whip-sawed, that is, cut from logs by hand. The unusually attractive work causes one to respect the early builders. The stairway is very graceful wit easily mounted steps and with newell posts carved by hand. At the top step is a little platform on each side, the top of which is lever with the floor. This makes it easier to start downstairs without the risk of stumbling on the topmost step.
Behind the house is a little building fifteen feet square, built of white pine. The original door of this building is still in place and is one of the old type battened doors. This little building, at least 150 years old, is distinctive because it was the first school on Taylor’s Island. The children of the prominent families attended school here, the teacher being paid by the parents.
South of the house is a spring that from time immemorial had furnished a constant supply of pure. water.
Above the grounds are a number of large old trees including locust and mulberries that are the offspring of some of the original mulberry trees brought from China by Richard Pattison.
Without exception, Mulberry Grove is one of Dorchester’s most ancient and interesting landmarks.
** Editor's note - the date that this document was written is not known. However it must have been written before the death of James K. Spicer on January 11, 1957.
MULBERRY GROVE – 1684
In 1671 Thomas Pattison came from Calvert County and settled on James Island. From here he removed to Taylors Island and was granted a patent to 400 acres of land.
On April 21, 1688 he was appointed his Lordship’s Attorney for Dorchester County and in 1689 was Clerk of Dochester County Court.
Among the Pattison descendants is Hon. John R. Pattison former Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Maryland and a member of the Court of Appeals. Judge Pattison’s wife is a descendent of Raymond Staplefort, the first High Sheriff of Dorchester County.
Mrs. James Keene Spicer, one of the present owners, is also a descendent of Thomas Pattison.
The property was transferred several times, but among the Pattison clan. It was owned by Richard Pattison and attained the name Mulberry Grove from one of his progressive ideas.
China and Japan had a monopoly on the silk trade due to the fact that climatic conditions were such that the silk worm throve there and that its natural food was the mulberry tree.
Death was the penalty for removing the mulberry tree from of either of these countries. The enterprising Richard Pattison by some means, managed to get some of these trees and planted them at Dover (as the estate was then known) with the idea of propagating the silk worm.
Whether it was the severity of the winters or whether the change of air or climate did not agree with them, the silk worms did not prosper, and the venture failed.
One of the original trees was standing until the mid-thirties when a storm blew it down. In its place is growing a scion from the original tree.
In 1861 Dover, or Mulberry Grove, was purchased by Mr. James Spicer’s father.
During the War of 1812, when the British plundered the farms along the shore of the Little Choptank River, one of their tenders with the crew and commander were captured by a company of Dorchester County Militia. The cannon, now the famous Becky Phipps, was also taken.
In this company of militia were Mr. Spicer’s great grandfather, Jeremiah Spicer, and his grandfather, Travers Spicer. In Mr. Spicer’s possession is a flint musket and bayonet that was part of the British small arms on board their vessel.
Mr. and Mrs. James Keene Spicer are now the owners and occupants of Mulberry Grove.
The interesting old dwelling was built in 1684. It faces east and west, the front facing the east or toward the road approaching the dwelling.
The center section is the original house. This portion has solid walls of brick 18 inches thick. The outside is covered with weather boarding, the inside walls being plastered over the brick. The end of this section has brick gables. Abutting the south end is the large, old fashioned kitchen. The old section of the dwelling is 1 ½ stories high. The north end built by Mr. Spicer’s father, is two stories high. Connected to the rear of the old section is a wing underneath which is a cellar with a dirt floor that has never leaked. A most interesting feature of this section is that the weatherboarding is nailed on with hand made nails. The old dwelling is so solidly constructed that the heaviest wind passes it without a quiver of its sturdy frame. Another interesting feature is that the sills of the house are placed on cedar blocks about two feet square. These blocks must have come from a cedar tree at least four or five hundred years old as this species of tree grows very slowly and to obtain a block two feet square from one, the tree must be ancient indeed. The dining room is a large square apartment in which was an enormous old fireplace. The room is attractively furnished with old fashioned furniture in keeping with the atmosphere of the dwelling. An attractive point in the construction of this room are the braces of the corner posts, which are exposed and painted like the rest of the woodwork. Beyond this is the distinctive, well proportioned hall. The walls are in straight paneling from first growth pine and it is all hand work. Two hundred- and fifty-years age boards were whip-sawed, that is, cut from logs by hand. The unusually attractive work causes one to respect the early builders. The stairway is very graceful wit easily mounted steps and with newell posts carved by hand. At the top step is a little platform on each side, the top of which is lever with the floor. This makes it easier to start downstairs without the risk of stumbling on the topmost step.
Behind the house is a little building fifteen feet square, built of white pine. The original door of this building is still in place and is one of the old type battened doors. This little building, at least 150 years old, is distinctive because it was the first school on Taylor’s Island. The children of the prominent families attended school here, the teacher being paid by the parents.
South of the house is a spring that from time immemorial had furnished a constant supply of pure. water.
Above the grounds are a number of large old trees including locust and mulberries that are the offspring of some of the original mulberry trees brought from China by Richard Pattison.
Without exception, Mulberry Grove is one of Dorchester’s most ancient and interesting landmarks.
** Editor's note - the date that this document was written is not known. However it must have been written before the death of James K. Spicer on January 11, 1957.
