This is the Covington Store, or "Still Pond Store," about 1910. Until a recent fire caused the owners to close it, it was in operation for more than 140 years.
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A nonprofit group called Still Pond Preservation Inc. is raising money to buy the store, repair the outside, clean it up, and find a new owner to being it back to a commercial - residential use.
There's a large apartment on the second floor with original 1870s Victorian woodwork (but, full disclosure, the plaster walls are shot).
Even $5 will help. Our deadline is October 5, and we are about 10 or 12 percent of the way.
Donate by PayPal: www.stillpondmd.com
Below: the store today:
Still Pond is a National Register Historic District, and it would be a great place for people whose business involves creative work. The store would be a great studio or shop. Restoration tax credits are available in the state of Maryland, and they include rebates on state-of-the-art HVAC and other building systems.
It is 52 miles to Washington DC, a little less to Baltimore, with Wilmington Del. and Philadelphia not far to the north. Still Pond is centrally located in the middle of nowhere!
Across the street is the fully restored Medders Store. It is now a boatbuilding shop and an artists' studio.
Damage is limited to a shed addition on the rear and one cornerpost. The fire was smoky, and that caused the post office to move out (lefthand door).
The fire department caused most ofthe damage to the store by breaking windows and cutting holes in the roof.
We'll probably never see our post office again. It was the second or third-oldest in the county.
Due to state environmental regulations, the owners have begun removing the unused and empty gasoline tank. The fuel pumps will eventually go.
Donate by PayPal: www.stillpondmd.com