The Edgar Perry House

The Edgar Perry House. Built in 1902. When Edgar was born on May 3, 1871, his father Thomas was a partner with Winfield Offutt in a mercantile operation at the intersection of River and Falls Road, then known as “Offutt's Crossroads.“ By the year 1880, when “Potomac Village” was established, the partnership had been dissolved and Thomas Perry began construction of a large brick store on the northwest corner of the crossroads. (Perry's original store remains standing.) Thomas died on November 8, 1884, before Edgar's 14th birthday. Edgar and his mother, Marion, continued operations at the store and by the turn of the century it was flourishing. Consequently, he decided to construct a home for his family which was more reflective of his property. , On October 12, 1900, Edgar purchased a 22 acre lot from Kate Stone, widow of Philip Stone, and proceeded to move her house up River Road to make room for his new home. Sand was hauled from Watts Branch, near Glen Mill, to the site by means of horse-drawn wagon. Each block was formed by hand out of a single mold and when a sufficient number were completed, the blocks were laid in place. The finished building is believed to have been standing by the end of 1902. A journalist viewing the house in 1919, noted that Edgar Perry's home was “one of the best and most substantial in that part of Montgomery County.” , The two story house served as Edgar Perry's residence until it was sold to his brother Bernard in 1922. Bernard converted it to a store which was later operated by Samuel Hunter, and afterwards by Samuel's son Howard. More recently the building housed Homer Welch's “Potomac Food Center”, the “Happy Pickle” restaurant , and later “Maryland National Bank.” It is one of only two “crossroads” buildings that have survived the construction of modern shopping centers in the area and continues to be a reminder of the earlier days of Potomac. , A good example of 19th century concrete formstone architecture, the Edgar Perry House was designated a Historic Site on the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation in 1979. It is also included in the Maryland Historic Site Inventory. , Information summarized from the survey and inventory prepared for the Maryland Historic Site Inventory in July of 1978. , Dedicated by: , W.C. and A.N. Miller Companies , 1995.