Brief History of the Delaplaine Building in Downtown Frederick

by | Jun 27, 2019

Preservation Maryland will host Maryland’s annual historic preservation conference in Frederick on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. The historic Delaplaine Building will host many of the event’s sessions with some sessions at McClintock Distilling and several opportunities to explore Frederick as a living classroom for preservation.

The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center

The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center currently serves the Frederick region as a community arts center, providing educational opportunities and experiences in the visual arts through classes, exhibits, and programs. Prior to the extensive renovations in 1993, the historic building that now houses the Delaplaine was a significant structure for the Frederick County community. Constructed in the 1850s, the building was initially built as a whiskey rectifying house and was converted to a steam flour mill only a few years later. The building housed one of the county’s largest mills and became the Mountain City Mill company in 1906 after many years of revolving ownership.

Preservation Conference: Registration is open for the Old Line State Summit on Wednsesday, July 24, 2019 in downtown Frederick! Sessions will follow three general tracks focused on historic preservation, smart growth, and hands-on training.

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Almost 50 years later, the property was acquired by the Great Southern Printing and Manufacturing Company in 1958. The building then served as a storage facility for the Frederick News-Post, which was located just across Carroll Creek.

In 1986, the mill property was donated by the Delaplaine and Randall families to the City of Frederick for use as a visual arts center. Renovations began on the historic Mountain City Mill building in 1993 and were completed in 1999. The building’s exterior and even some mechanical remnants of the historic mill have been preserved and are viewable from the third floor; today, the building stands as a successful example of adaptive reuse.

The Delaplaine Arts Center is proud of its part in preserving the community’s rich heritage while adapting this important landmark to serve the community in a new and vital way. Allow this setting and its history to motivate you to join Preservation Maryland for the Old Line State Summit!

learn more about the Delaplaine Arts Center

Register for the Old Line State Summit