Rowland Homes and Buildings

Many historic homes and buildings carry the Rowland name. Some have been designated as National Historic Landmarks.

Historic Homes and Buildings

Agreed In Peace — Washington County, Maryland

“Agreed In Peace” is the name bestowed upon the lands owned by Jacob Rowland (1717-1794) near Hagerstown in Washington County, Maryland. The tract of 725 acres was acquired in 1788, and his home was erected about 1790. The property is also home to the Agreed In Peace Cemetery and at one time the Mennonite Meeting House on Agreed In Peace.

Rowland-Pitzer House — Botetourt County, Virginia

Rowland-Pitzer House; aka the Mayhew House, aka Wheatland Manor was built by Col. Thomas Rowland (1741-1814) between the years 1798 and 1803. In the original insurance filing, the property was described as being “on the Mays Road, within four miles of Fincastle. . . .situated between Francis Preston and the west and William Martin on the east.” Included in the same policy with the dwelling was “a separate 2-story kitchen with a smoke-house (10 ft. from the house); a 40 x 30 wooden still-house (100 yds from the house); and a two-story mill (about 400 yds from the house).” In his renewal policy dated 31 May 1811, Thomas added six buildings, including a one-story log house, a gunpowder mill, a blacksmith shop, a malt house, and a whiskey distillery. The house was listed with the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 as Wheatland Manor by its current owner, Richard Jones, who is doing extensive work to save and restore the house. See Wheatland Manor: The Rowland-Pitzer House for additional information.

John Albert Rowland House — City of Industry, California

John Albert Rowland (1791-1873) was a co-leader of the Rowland-Workman expedition of the first American band of settlers to reach Southern California in 1841. He built his home in 1855 in Greek Revival architecture, and it is noteworthy as being the oldest surviving brick structure in Southern California. The old coach house on the property is now home to the Dibble Museum. The house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

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James Harvey Rowland Home — Port Deposit, Maryland

The residence of James Harvey Rowland (1819-1908) in Port Deposit, Cecil Maryland. Built before 1877 (date of illustration). Rowland’s mansion still stands (as of 2013). It is the only house in Port Deposit with a north-facing front door. Built of Port Deposit granite with an impressive interior showcasing beautiful varieties of wood and carving techniques, the Rowland Mansion once served as the manse for the Presbyterian Church.

Henry Augustus Rowland House — Baltimore, Maryland

The Henry Augustus Rowland House was built in the 1880s and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975. It was the home of Henry Augustus Rowland (1848-1901) from 1889 until his death.

Rowland House (aka The Shovel Shop) — Cheltenham, Pennsylvania

Rowland House, also known as the Shovel Shop, is a historic home located at Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1774, and expanded about 1810–1820, with additions built in the early 1900s and 1920s /1930s. The structure is a 3 1/2-story, stuccoed stone building with a steep gable roof and one-story, frame addition. The sign in front says it is the Thomas Rowland & Sons Shovel Works, produced by the Rowland Mill, and founded by Benjamin Rowland (1777-1824) in 1795. This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Alfred Rowland House — Lumberton, North Carolina

The Alfred Rowland House, also known as Riverwood, is located on the south side of Carthage Road just west of Lumberton, Robeson County, North Carolina. Lumberton is the county seat of Robeson County. The house was built between 1875 and 1880 for Alfred Rowland (1844-1898) and his wife, Susan. It was listed in the North Carolina National Register of Historic Places RB0532 on 17 Jan 2008.

Rowland’s Castle — England

Once upon a time, Rowland’s Castle stood in England, about 65 miles southwest of London, and 10 miles northeast of Portsmouth. Unfortunately, it no longer stands, and there is no known image of the structure. It is also known as, or recorded in historical documents, as Rolokecastel. Today, all that remains is the village of Rowland’s Castle. The image here, depicting a castle, is from the Rowland’s Castle Brick, Tile & Pottery Works.

Rowland Theatre — Philipsburg, Pennsylvania

The Rowland Theatre is located at 127 North Front Street, Philipsburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania. It is a historic single-screen movie theater built in 1917 by Charles Hedding Rowland.

The Rowland Building — Tacoma, Washington

The Rowland Building was designed by renowned Tacoma architect C. A. Darmer in 1908 for Charles Rowland of California. The Rowland has had an interesting and colorful history in the heart of Downtown Tacoma.

Rowland School — Manitoba, Canada

The Rowland School District was established formally in August 1886. A school operated at SW24-4-18W, in what is now the Rural Municipality of Prairie Lakes, from 1897 to 1963. The school was destroyed by fire in 1963, after which students from the local area went to Buttrum Consolidated School No. 679.

Rowland House — Cayuga Lake, Aurora, New York

The Rowland House was built on the shore of Cayuga Lake in Aurora, New York by Alonzo Morgan Zabriskie in 1903. Today, it is an Inn with ten guestrooms and many luxury amenities. Restoration of the property began in 2013 under the stewardship of philanthropist Pleasant T. Rowland, an alumna of Wells College, noted educator, author of early childhood literacy programs, and founder of American Girl. Dotted with art and furnishings from her personal collection, Rowland House pays tribute to both Pleasant’s vision and philanthropic legacy.

Newer Buildings

Rowland Institute at Harvard — Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Rowland Institute was originally founded by the late Edwin H. Land in 1980 as The Rowland Institute for Science, a privately endowed, nonprofit, basic research organization, conceived to advance science in a wide variety of fields. The Institute is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts near the Longfellow Bridge over the Charles River, a few miles downstream from the main campus.  It was named for Professor Henry Augustus Rowland.

Rowland High School — Rowland Heights, California

John A. Rowland High School is located in Rowland Heights, California. It was established in 1964 and is the home of the Rowland Raiders. The school, and the city of Rowland Heights, are named for John Albert Rowland.

Rowland Hall — Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

Shippensburg University’s Rowland Hall was constructed as a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project in 1939. “Built as the campus training school,” the building “was dedicated to President Albert Lindsay Rowland in 1941.”

Rowland Hall — University of California Irvine

UCI’s Rowland Hall was officially designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society in a campus ceremony Tuesday. The building is named after F. Sherwood “Sherry” Rowland, a founding faculty member whose groundbreaking research in the 1970s demonstrated the potentially catastrophic effect of chlorofluorocarbons on the Earth’s ozone layer, which protects against the sun’s powerful ultraviolet radiation.

Rowland Place — St. Petersburg, Florida

Rowland Place is a luxury condominium building located at 146 4th Avenue NE, Saint Petersburg, Florida. It was built in 2014-2015.

Rowland Grocery — Warren, Ohio

Frank F Rowland (1867-1953) built and owned the Rowland Building in Warren, Ohio. He was the founder and owner of Rowland Grocery which operated at this location for many years.

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