The Lost Buildings of Middle Road
When you drive, walk or jog along Middle Road, you
may notice many beautiful old homes. Progress and development are
inevitable in many cases. While many of Bayport's old homes along Middle
Road still exist today, there are several which are no longer standing
as a result of private sale and development. Here, we will take a look
at two such homes.
The John Hawkins house:
In 1858 John Hawkins built his farmhouse on the south side of Middle
Road on the current site of the Methodist church's community center just
east of East Lane. John Hawkins, son of Gersham Hawkins, one of
Bayport's early settlers and a Civil War veteran, owned this home
pictured below from 1858 until 1871. The home was built using
interlocking frame construction with wooden pegs holding timbers
together. Mary Coger took ownership of the home in 1871. The Coger
family owned the home from 1871 until 1910 when John Hamburger bought
the home. The house was sold to the Bayport Methodist Church in 1956.
The church used it as a Sunday school and community house called Wesley
House until 1960 when the home was demolished to make room for a parking
lot which is still in use today.
The Homan Farmhouse:
On the North side of Middle Road at the site of what is now Sloan
Court, stood the farmhouse of Walter Homan, pictured below. In 1840
Daniel and Nancy Howell conveyed a 50 acre farm to Charles Homan. At
that time, the farmhouse or part of it was probably there. By 1858,
Charles's son Walter is shown on maps as the owner. Walter Homan is
listed as a farmer in census records of the time. For the years 1892 to
1894, Walter Homan served as Bayport's postmaster using part of his home
as Bayport's fourth post office. In later years it was the Isaac Homan
homestead. By 1902 the home and property were owned by Wood and Brown.
On a map of 1938 the house was still shown but by 1946 the house was
gone. The property is currently occupied by #545 Middle Road and the
Sloan Court development.
This
story was written by John Amato using resources created by Don
Weinhardt. This begins a series on the lost homes of Middle Road.
