Description:
According to the 1875 Atlas of Germantown, Jacob Ployd had a house on a large lot on the south side of East Haines Street, four doors west of Baynton Street (then called Hancock). The two-story residence had an older one-and-a half story wing facing the street as well as an addition to the rear. The main part of the house had a three register facade with a pilastered entrance and single pedimented dormer. The one-and-a-half story wing facing the street had two six-over-nine casement windows and a door (with transom) on the first floor facade and a single dormer above. Both sections of the house facing the street had stone and stucco with a shingle roof and wood cornice, paneled shutters on the first floor and Venetian shutters on the second floor.
A stone and wood outbuilding stood to the right of the side yard. Ployd's hat factory-a Revolutionary era, one-and-a-half story log house with a brick chimney was located to between the house and Baynton Street. The facade of this building included a door on the left and two windows. Under the eaves on the right side was a four paned window; another small window was in the front of the shed addition to the left. Ployd's hat industry was carried on here for one or two decades before the Panic of 1842; this log building was demolished about 1850.
Background:
Jacob Ployd was one of the pioneers of the fur hat-making industry in Germantown. Ployd married Susannah Shriver in 1826 and later acquired the large farm of the deceased John Smith, another resident of Haines Street and a relative of Mrs. Ployd. The Smith-Ployd farm extended from Haines to High, as far as Magnolia Street. Ployd opened up Morton and Mechanic Streets in this area.
Additional Sources: