It is considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of the early plantation houses of Worcester County. The house is believed to have been built in 1732 by Major John Purnell. During the Revolutionary War, a battery was authorized to be built nearby to repel possible attacks from British ships in Sinepuxent Bay. Significant characteristics of Genesar include glazed brickwork in diamond and
chevron patterns (now obscured by stucco) and unique interior paneling (now gone). The house is alternatively known as "Genzar," "Genessar," "Genezir," and "Genezer" and is pronounced "Gen-ay-zee" by locals. It sits on 4.7 acres (of the original 2,200-acre land patent) on South Point Road off of Rte. 611 in close proximity to Berlin, Ocean City and Assateague Island in Worcester County. Residential housing surrounds the 4.7-acre tract. Genesar has been vacant for decades and is currently in a state of dilapidation. It was vandalized in the 1940s at which time its interior woodwork paneling was stolen. Tax documents indicate that the house was purchased by Donald and Caroline Humphrey in 1966. Genesar was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and is listed in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties. At the time of its listing in 1971, the house was in very poor condition and it remains in a deteriorating state. At some point after acquiring Genesar, the Humphrey family stabilized the house to keep it from falling down, and despite plans to restore it, no significant efforts materialized on that front. Humphrey passed away in 2004, and ownership of the property passed to his wife and grown children. Genesar is currently being cared for and maintained by the Humphreys to the best of their ability, but properly restoring a structure of this type in its present condition would be an enormous effort and expense, a project likely too large for the current owners. It does not appear that any local preservation organizations have been formed to preserve the landmark. The Rackliffe House, a similar plantation house that was a part of the original 2,200-acre Genesar land patent, was recently restored to its former glory by an organization called the Rackliffe House Trust. In February 2012, rumors circulated that some of the people connected to that organization were considering taking up the challenge of restoring Genesar. As of August 2012, it's unclear what steps, if any, the Rackliffe people have taken to preserve or restore Genesar. The following is from the Maryland Historical Trust description of Genesar:
Genesar is a 2 1/2-story brick dwelling. Originally, the south facade, forty-five feet in length, had four bays at the first floor level and three bays at the second floor level, symmetrically placed. The two center bays of the first story were formerly doors, one leading into the stair passage, the other into the "Great Room". The first story of the north side was similar, but had only two windows on the second story. It had one small window at the stair landing level. Each gable end, 19'-3 1/2" wide, had small windows at the first and second floor levels flanking the fireplaces at each floor level. On the gable at the attic floor level there is a projecting belt course, above which is glazed diapering. The gable roof, pitched 51 degrees, has a "kick" to the eave. Originally there were three dormers on the south front, matching the one existing dormer on the north side of the roof. The interior originally had two large rooms, approximately 15' x 16' and 18' x 16', opening from either side of a central passage from which a staircase rises. The ceiling joists were exposed with molded edges. There was probably a partition parallel with the front of the fireplace, creating closets beside the fireplace, which would have been lighted by the small windows in the gable wall, according to local practice. The second story rooms had similar treatment but had plaster ceilings, as the beams are unmolded. Photographs and drawings are extant for the "Great Room Chamber" (second story west room), which had three walls with raised paneling. The fireplace wall was plastered, with closet doors and a Federal style mantel. Its 1971 appearance was little more than a ruin. The south facade was braced with poles extending from a trench in front of the house to the second floor level. A portion of brickwork in the east corner had fallen away from the ground level to the roof. Only a few frames remained at the windows and doors. Temporary supports had been installed to deter further decay. Large portions of the main cornice remained in place and the chimneys were structurally sound above the roof. It has extensive diamond and chevron glazed brickwork patterns, which are covered with a 19th century thin coat of stucco. As transitional architecture, it represents the hold-over forms of medieval work and the earliest development towards the more formal Georgian ideals in plan and design. Drawings exist of the unique interior woodwork, which has since been removed. Because of these unusual architectural features it is considered an important early MD building.
