If you live in the Ag Reserve, you’re probably familiar with the John Poole House. The log cabin portion was built in 1793 by John Poole Jr. (the more traditional white section of the home was built sometime around 1866).
Despite the fact that Poolesville is named for John Poole, how much do you really know about him?
We know that around 1760, John Poole Sr. and his brother Joseph came to the area after buying a 160-acre tract of land known as “Elizabeth’s Delight” from Charles Hoskinson. It was on this tract of land in 1793 that John Jr. built the home we see today and used the downstairs of the log home as a store. In 1810 the store became the town’s first post office (It’s kind of interesting because there are some records to indicate that the town was actually named “Poole’s Store, MD” before becoming Poolesville).
John Poole Jr. married Mary Prisilla Woodward Spring in 1799 and they had 10 children. It’s worth noting that sometime in the early 1800s John and Mary moved from the small home to a farm in Barnesville.
There are many accounts to indicate that John was Episcopalion and very religious. Upon his death in 1828, he was interred at the farm in Barnesville but his remains were later moved to Monocacy Cemetery, where they rest today.
