This house presents an architectural puzzle with much to tell about the adaptation of ordinary dwellings and the life of free Black residents of Annapolis. Sections of the wood house with wrought nails and distinctive framing features are thought to represent two early construction campaigns dating to c. 1780s and the late 1790s, with the second floor added in the later period. Between 1838 and 1847 the dwelling was moved to its current site and placed on a galleted stone foundation and a new circular-sawn sill and floor joist system.
In 1847 the property was sold to John T. Maynard, a free Black man who lived here with his family, including his wife, Maria, and a daughter, both of whom he had purchased out of bondage. Evidence suggests that almost immediately following Maynard’s purchase a fourth period of work commenced, representing a major reconfiguration of the main elevation from three bays to four, with doorways at each end bay in the manner of semidetached houses from the period. In the 1870s a two-story shed-roofed rear ell was added, which appears to have repurposed older materials, perhaps from a former detached kitchen. Also the door at the east bay was changed into a window, leaving the street front largely as it appears today. Maynard died in 1875, but the house remained in the family until 1914. At that time a former boarder, Willis Burgess, purchased the property, which remained in his family until 1990. Efforts to study the historic fabric of the house and conduct archaeological investigations are ongoing, with partnerships among various groups including Historic Annapolis Inc. and the City of Annapolis.