Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

The Brookeville Tannery

Brookeville, Montgomery County, Maryland
Owned by Thomas Moore, 1806-1818

Information:

In 1806, Thomas Moore purchased a two acre parcel of land adjacent to Newlin's Mill at the edge of Brookeville, Maryland from Caleb Bentley for $23.75.1 By 1813, Moore had established a tannery on the property, which significantly increased the property's value to $400.2 In 1818, Moore sold the tannnery to Henry Howard and William Woodward for the hefty sum of $1,200.3 Under Howard and Woodward's ownership, the tannery employed three men and three boys to produce sole and upper leather for shoes which they sold for 25 to 30 cents per pound in 1820.4

Kyle Bacon, DAR Research Fellow, 2012

Notes:

  1. MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURT (Land Records) July 24, 1806, Deed, Caleb Bentley to Thomas Moore, 2 acre parcel of land on "Addition to Brooke Grove," Liber M, pp. 694-695 [MSA CE 148-13].
  2. MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THE TAX (Assessment Record), 1813 Tax Assessment (District 4), Lots and Houses in Brookeville, MdHR 20,115-3-1 [MSA C1110-3, 01/18/14/019]. The values stated in tax assessments do not necessarily represent true property values, and likely understate values significantly.
  3. MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURT (Land Records) September 29, 1818, Deed, Thomas Moore to Henry Howard and William Woodward, two acre parcel of land on "Addition to Brooke Grove," Liber U, pp. 273-274 [MSA CE 148-22].
  4. Fourth Census of the United States, 1820, Manufactures (Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1965) p. 199, 22, 239.
For additional information, please see: MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST (Inventory of Historic Sites) Brookeville Historic District, M: 23-65, Montgomery County [MSA SE5-17391].



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