Wells-Robertson House

Wells-Robertson House. Built: 1885. The Wells-Robertson House is sited on land that was once part of the 1723 land grant known as Deer Park. William R. Hutton, a well-known engineer, and his heirs began dividing and selling the land during the last half of the nineteenth century. In 1885 Henry and Rosa Miller acquired this lot, convenient to the recently erected B&O Railroad Station, and had William T. Hilton and Sons, the county's best-known builder, constructed this Victorian Queen Anne style house. Henry Miller was part owner of the Gaithersburg Milling and Manufacturing Company and involved with several other early Gaithersburg business ventures. In 1895, the Millers moved into the house that is now the Gaithersburg City Hall. From 1895 to 1918 Kate and Dr. Isreal Warfield, a dentist, occupied the house and for a few months in 1904 so did many of the boarding students from Fairview Seminary, after a fire destroyed their school. The Wells family purchased the house in 1925 and their daughter, Mary Wells Robertson continued to live here until 1987, when the house was sold to the city. This Victorian landmark was restored by the city in 1988 and dedicated to the community as a transitional house for the homeless. The project's success has made it a model for other jurisdictions and the house stands as a testimony to the partnership of government,business and community that forged together to define problems, identify solutions and take action to benefit the community.