Star-Spangled Home

What: Four bedrooms, two baths in 3,663 square feet on 150 acres

Where: Keymar, Md.

Amenities: Six fireplaces, slate-roofed 5,772-square-foot hay barn, stone smokehouse, guest house with hot tub.

Asking Price: $1.995 million

Opening Bid*: $1.8 million

Agent: Charen Rubin, Historic Properties Associates-Real Estate Teams, (301) 695-3577

Due Diligence: "Star-Spangled Banner" author Francis Scott Key was born on this site in 1779, though that house was destroyed in a storm in 1856. Key visited often until his death 64 years later. At the time, the home was part of a 3,000-acre plantation owned by his father John Ross Key, a circuit judge, and friend of Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette. After the 1856 storm, Key's descendants rebuilt it on the same foundation. Since 1978, the property has been on the National Register of Historic Places. William Chaney, a retired stockbroker, purchased it two years ago for $1.3 million and spent $400,000 to "demodernize" it, burying outside electrical wires, among other things, and restoring the house. Mr. Chaney is selling the home to move closer to his grandchildren. His agent, Charen Rubin, says the land, designated an agricultural preserve, can't be developed.

Additional Photos

*The opening bid is Weekend Journal's estimate of a reasonable starting point for negotiations to buy the property, based on past sales, prevailing market conditions and interviews with local real-estate experts.

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