As you may have heard, the fate of the Clowser house in Shawneeland hangs in the balance of the Frederick County Board of Supervisors. The meeting will be held Wednesday, May 11, 7 PM in the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting Room, 107 North Kent Street, Winchester. All meetings are open to the public.
Never heard of the Clowser house? If you’ve ever heard rumors of an Indian attack and local settlers being taken hostage, this was the place where it happened and one of the families involved. The tale is remarkable in itself, but perhaps even more amazing is the story of how some family members escaped a situation that seemed like certain death. The Clowser family lives on among many well-recognized local family names today, including Snapp, Frye, and Schultz. To read the relevant excerpts of the account of the attack and the aftermath, Jim Moyer of the French and Indian War Foundation has compiled a page of resources. You may also read the Preliminary Information Form for the Clowser house at the Department of Historic Resources (PDF), which includes Maral Kalbian’s assertion that it is “the only surviving structure to tell of that interesting part of this area’s early history.”