Union Mills Homestead

03/19/2026

Nobody knew it at the time, but this man was about to be an enemy.

While vacationing at Bleak House in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the Shrivers made acquaintance with Count Johann von Bernstorff, German ambassador to the United States. This was 1912, just two years before the outbreak of the First World War.

Bernstorff would direct secret sabotage operations against arms production, communications, and transportation across the U.S. and Canada. The Shrivers, on the other hand, supported American efforts in 1917 through food production, fundraising, and Red Cross training.

Image credit:
Louis E. Shriver, "Count Von Bernstorff, German Ambassador to the U.S., June 14, 1912," the Union Mills Homestead Foundation Collection, 000.5043a.

03/18/2026

We think history is pretty neat. Apparently, so did the 19th and 20th century residents of the Homestead!

Mary Winifred Shriver was born here at the Homestead in 1875. It was her sons, the Klein brothers, whose devotion to history ensured that our site would become the museum it is today.

Her love of history is expressed in this excerpt from her 1895 diary, still in our collection:

"History is one of the most interesting studies. The history of England, particularly. It is so full of romance and there are so many interesting, pathetic, and amusing stories connected with the more solid part.

"The story of the little princes in the tower will always be remembered by those who have heard it."

Source:
Mary Winifred Shriver diary, 1894-1895, the Union Mills Homestead Foundation collection, box 2025.06, MS.Jour.3.

Image credit:
Detail from portrait believed to be Mary Winifred Shriver Klein, c.1910, the Union Mills Homestead collection, 000.5407a.

03/13/2026

This one of a kind object on display in our museum is a draft for a campaign poster supporting Henry Clay's 1844 run for the presidency.

Apparently never sent into print, it contains a long song or poem about the virtues of Clay and was intended to be printed in red and white stripes, mimicking the American flag.

Image credit:
"Old Allegany," the Union Mils Homestead Foundation collection, H75.681.

03/11/2026

Our staff and volunteers are hard at work crafting an impressive school tour experience for students of all ages to enjoy!

03/11/2026

Countless brides and grooms have spent the most important day of their lives here at Union Mills.

The 1923 wedding of Marian Shriver and Clinton K. Macsherry was no exception.

Make your timeless event one to remember at the Union Mills Homestead:
https://unionmills.org/weddings/

Image credit:
Detail from Louis E. Shriver photograph, "Shriver - Macsherry. The fine daughters of Avalon." October 11, 1923, the Union Mills Homestead Foundation collection, 000.5949.

03/10/2026

The combined History Day and History Expo 2026 on February 28 was a big success! An impressive collaborative effort to keep local history alive and integrated with our public school curriculum! Great job by Carroll County Public Schools and its social studies team, and all our Celebrating America - Carroll County partners!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

03/09/2026

Who doesn't like a good treasure hunt? Be sure to check out Nick Redding's podcast with Emily Huebner from the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area as she describes a geotour in our region. Geocaching provides a great opportunity to explore historic sites with compelling stories tied to America's 250th Birthday!

PreserveCast is an award-winning podcast about where historic preservation and technology meet. New episodes are released on Monday and available anytime on our website. PreserveCast is powered by Preservation Maryland and hosted by our Executive Director, Nick Redding.

03/09/2026

In this photograph taken in 1927, a pair visit the Homestead in an early automobile identified as "Leaping Lena."

Image credit:
Detail from "Leaping Lena, Aug. 8, 1927," Louis E. Shriver, the Union Mills Homestead Foundation collection, 000.6515.

03/07/2026

Spring is just around the corner... and so is the wedding season at the Union Mills Homestead! Need the perfect place for your wedding or special event? Check out our website for all the details!

Looking for a unique venue for your wedding? Union Mills is the perfect place! The beautiful gardens and rustic Tannery provide a scenic setting for your special occasion. The barn-like Tannery holds up to 150 people. Space is available off the back to add an optional large tent so you can host a si...

03/05/2026

National prohibition was fully enacted in 1920, though the state of Maryland ratified the 18th Amendment in early 1918.

The law was unpopular through most of Maryland, but Carroll County was a different case. Beating the state and the nation to the punch, Carroll County voted in local prohibition in 1914.

Louis E. Shriver, a resident of the Homestead, wrote in his diary on the day of the vote:
"Election day Vote of Myers District.
There was not much attention paid to politics in our county this year, as far as the candidates were concerned. It was all local option. What was the absorbing question, was the county has “gone dry” by about 1200. On principle I was opposed to this way of stopping drunkenness, but as the other side has now carried I hope it may turn out well."

It did not turn out well. Louis later joined the Carroll County Anti-Prohibition Committee.

Source:
Entry of November 3, 1914, Louis E. Shriver diary, Shriver Family Papers, Maryland Center for History and Culture, microfilm, MS.2085, box 18.

Image credit:
"VOTE AGAINST PROHIBITION" in faded letters on brick building, Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland, photography by Colin Ford, 2008, via Wikimedia Commons.

03/04/2026

On this day in 1833, Andrew Jackson was inaugurated as President of the United States for the second time.

Shortly before this event, Mary Elizabeth Shriver, a teenage girl writing back to her grandparents in Union Mills, recalled meeting the general:

"We...found him a very agreable [sic] old gentleman and not near as ugly and ferocious as is represented by all the pictures of him I have ever seen."

Image credit:
Detail from Andrew Jackson, president of the United States / painted by W.J. Hubard ; C.G. Childs Lithr.; drawn by A. Newsam, pupil to C.G. Childs., 1833, Library of Congress.

Source:
Mary Elizabeth Shriver (1817-1787) letter to Andrew and Eliza Shriver, February 22, 1833, Union Mills Homestead Foundation archives, MF.2025.01.03b_Box 6 1826-1837, digital scan.

03/03/2026

"Wouldn't you sooner work hard all day long than be compelled to almost kiss the a-- of your fellow man for the sake of the profit in the goods you might (or might not) sell him?"

Henry Wirt Shriver, longtime resident of the Homestead, was fed up with working a shoe store in Baltimore in 1859, and longed to be back here working with his hands. He did return shortly thereafter.

Decades later, he lamented that his son only started to feel nostalgia for the Homestead when he shipped out for the Spanish American War:

"This experience will be a good one for Harry, if he ever gets back again, and now he talked about work on the old farm, as a delightful prospect for the future!

"How hard I tried to get him to see the merits of 'life on a farm', when he was here _ but, he would not."

Sources:
Letter from Henry Wirt Shriver to Frederick Austin Shriver, August 9, 1859, page 2, Shriver Family Papers, Maryland Center for History and Culture, MS.2085, box 9.

Letter from Henry Wirt Shriver to Bessie Shriver, June 12, 1898, pages 3-4, the Union Mills Homestead Foundation collection.

Image credit:
Detail from CDV portrait of H.W. Shriver, Bendann Brother Galleries of Photography, c.1860, the Union Mills Homestead Foundation collection, 000.5314.