Yesterday my fiancé, Crystal, and I visited the historic home in Trappe, Maryland, in which my grandfather, Charles Diefenderfer, was born in 1924. The circa 1790s house, known as Katling’s Plain according to the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties, appears to have been owned by Edward Stevens in 1858 (the house is labeled “E. Stevens” on a map from that year) and by an “M. Merrick” in 1877 according to the Lake, Griffing, and Stephenson Atlas. Subsequently the house was owned by generations of the Diefenderfer family. Though I haven’t taken the time to research the history of the property beyond looking at the aforementioned maps, I’ll probably do so in the future.
The following photo of the structure is dated 1977 and credited to Merry Stinson in documentation prepared by the Maryland Historical Trust at that time. All other photos were taken by Crystal Stanley on April 27, 2019.
Front view of the structure in 1977.
The grand old home is in poor condition, but is strikingly beautiful nonetheless.
The roof line of a long-vanished front porch is still faintly visible on the bricks.
With two stories, an attic, and tall chimneys, the house looms above the visitor.
The front door. Note the “D” for Diefenderfer.
The kitchen door.
The back yard.
The back door.
– Chris Slavens
