National Register Nomination for Captain William Henry Burtis House, Annapolis, Maryland

Abstract

The Burtis House, at 69 Prince George Street Annapolis, Maryland, is located within the Annapolis Historic District and is the last waterman’s house directly on the city waterfront. Burtis House was constructed circa 1882 and its period of significance spans from ca. 1882 to 1910, the years William Burtis, the house’s original owner, resided there. The property has a Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (MIHP) number, AA-1152, although the nomination form, which was written in 1983, contains only cursory information about the house. The form has no information about who William Burtis was, why Burtis or the house is significant, or even context about its location. Recent research illuminates the history of the Burtis family, Burtis House, and the working-class Annapolis neighborhood it was once a part of, known as Hell Point. This study examines the historical context of Burtis House to create a new understanding of the property, which will emphasize the importance of William Burtis in Annapolis’s history, tell the story of the Burtis family, reveal the largely forgotten history of Hell Point and nineteenth century Annapolis, and illustrate the significance of Burtis House’s survival to the present day.