Brandler—Mudge House

03/31/2026

01/19/2026

Here is a photo of Cumberland taken from McKaigs' Hill in 1878. The house to the left with the light-colored walls and the sides where the brickwork rise above the roofline is the mansion built by Thomas Jefferson McKaig in the late 1830s-early 1840s; it was sold to Frederick Mertens about 1887 and demolished in 1924 to be replaced by the YMCA building. The house to the right with the gabled roof was purchased by the State of Maryland in 1932 from Lorenzo Rohrer and demolished for the connection between Baltimore Avenue and the new Henderson Boulevard.

11/26/2025

2025 November 25th (Tuesday) — picked up the Deed at City Hall today. I bought the house via online auction on Friday, May 30th for $2,875.00. I was subsequently told by a city staffer that that amount was less than they had invested in the property and they were going to nullify the sale and auction it again, so I offered $10,000.00, and my offer was accepted. The Deed is dated October 15th. Still waiting on closing for the financing.

11/25/2025

2025 November 13th (Thursday) — Here's a tour of the Third Floor . . . the tower room is last and has some surprises!

11/25/2025

2025 November 13th (Thursday) — Here's a tour of the Second Floor.

11/25/2025

2025 November 13th (Thursday) — Here's a tour of the First Floor.

11/18/2025

212 Baltimore Avenue occupies lots 8 & 9 on the plat below. John Nicholas M. Brandler paid $400 to the trustees of the John Glenn Estate for the Deed dated April 28th, 1887. For $200, he purchased more land from Estate of Charles M. Thruston in a Deed dated July 30th, 1889. The earliest documented existence of the brick house is the 1890 Polk City Directory for Cumberland, Maryland, which lists J.N.M. Brandler at "12 Baltimore Avenue" (the house number was changed to 212 in a city-wide update by the postal system in 1922). The property and house were transferred by the Brandler heirs in a Deed dated March 20th, 1928, to Miss Kathleen D. Keating, who, on the same day, transferred title to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore. Miss Keating and her brother donated the property and a twenty thousand dollar bequest to the archdiocese to open the "Keating Memorial Day Nursery" as a memorial to their parents. The city's first day care center operated until 1960. The property was transferred from the archdiocese to Carey & Rose Selby in a Deed dated September 4th, 1962, and for the next thirty years, they operated the day care center as "Pied Piper." Then, by a Deed dated December 8th, 1995, it was transferred to "Baltimore Avenue Apartments Limited; and on May 24th, 1999, to the Y.M.C.A.; then on November 17th, 2000, to the Y.M.C.A. Family Services; and finally, on October 10th, 2003, to Interfaith Housing of Western Maryland, and shortly after to a private owner, Matthew Hunt. Under litigation for code enforcement violations, Matthew Hunt donated the property to the Mayor & City Council of Cumberland by a Deed dated June 24th, 2024. he present Deed to Michael Andrew Mudge is dated October 15th, 2025.

11/17/2025

2025 November 13th (Thursday) — That's me and my house on the first day I worked there.

11/17/2025

2025 November 13th (Thursday) — There used to be another house very close to this one. It was owned by a Mr. Lorenzo Rohrer. It was purchased by the State of Maryland and demolished to create a link from Baltimore Avenue to the new Henderson Boulevard. This millstone was erected when the new boulevard was dedicated in April 1933.

11/17/2025

2025 November 13th (Thursday) — Details of the West Side towards Shinbone Alley. Today was the first day we got any "demo" works done — I dug-out a plastic pond-liner from the yard, and Dad banged on the landing and steps until he could push the whole staircase over on its side.

11/17/2025

2025 November 13th (Thursday) — Details of the South Side.