Waters House Special Park

The original bones of Waters House date back to the 1790s, when Basil Waters built the small brick portion of the house on the 200 acre plot of land he inherited from his father, William Waters. He called his homestead Pleasant Farms.

In 1799, Basil Waters married Anne Pottinger Magruder, daughter of the Revolutionary War Hero, Colonel Zadok Magruder (for whom a local high school is named). When Basil died, the youngest of his six children, Zachariah, inherited the plantation, which had grown to 656 acres.

Zachariah married his cousin, Eliza Waters, and built the brick and frame two-story addition that today makes up the center section of the house. In 1882, after Zachariah had passed on, Eliza sold the house to her brother, Dr. William Alexander Waters.

Dr. Waters built the third story frame addition in the 1890s to support his growing family. The highlight of this augmentation was a staircase in the center hallway that stretches from the ground floor all the way to the roof. He also added stylishly detailed porches to further beautify the house.

Charles Clark Waters, son of Dr. Waters, started a horse breeding program at Pleasant Farms, which produced a locally famous stud horse named Kinster. He built a bank barn, carriage house, and loafing shed on the property. 

In the late 1910s, Charles and his son William shifted their focus from horses to cars, opening a Buick dealership. The business failed as the Great Depression was starting in the late 1920s, and in 1932, the Waters House and lands (now 988 acres) were sold at auction in order to pay off family debts.

The farm passed through several owners until 1997, at which time the 3.9 acres of the original land, including the house and several historic buildings, were deeded to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

A small family plot on Hawks Nest Lane is the final resting place for Basil and Anne Waters, and several of their children and grandchildren who lived on Pleasant Farms.