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Commission debates excluding outbuildings from Boswood Morris nomination; owner describes smokehouse and stables
Summary
Commission members questioned why outbuildings were omitted from the Boswood Morris landmark nomination and suggested adding historical context about the family's horse-raising and racing history; the owner said the smokehouse is now a workshop and that stables once located on the property relate to family history.
During the Boswood Morris House nomination discussion, several commission members pressed staff and the applicant about why the nomination focused on the main house and excluded some outbuildings that may have been part of the property's historic function.
A commission member said, "We seem to be doing that all the time is we're taking the main house, and we're not including the buildings that are surrounding it that influenced the building." The member argued ancillary structures, such as stables tied to the Morris family's horse-raising activities, contribute important historical context that the report did not fully capture.
The owner, identified in staff comments as Ms. Rhonda Morris, replied that the smokehouse "has been covered in tin" and that it currently serves as a workshop. She also said other outbuildings were stables "built by pop, Chester Morris," and that the broader property historically included a racetrack used for training race horses, though that track is now on a different parcel called Waynes Park. Commissioners and staff discussed adding an addendum or additional historical information to the landmark report before forwarding the recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.
Staff noted the owner had not asked to include the house interior or outbuildings in the nomination and that the commission could request additional documentation or a future amendment to incorporate the ancillary structures and related history.
