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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

The Exchange (La Plata, Maryland)

building in Maryland, United States

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ7732749 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Exchange is a historic home located at La Plata, Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is a narrow, one-story, two-bay, gambrel-roofed frame house built about 1778, for a family of moderate economic means. Among its most notable features is its interior woodwork. Also on the property is a small, late-18th century frame tobacco house, a 20th-century frame garage, well house, and a swimming pool.

The Exchange was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “The Exchange (La Plata, Maryland)” as building in Maryland, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Exchange, Plata and Maryland.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1778, 1984—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Exchange, Plata and Maryland providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The Exchange (La Plata, Maryland)”, the useful work is to connect “building in Maryland, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7732749. Authority coordinates are 38.515, -76.973. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1778 and 1984.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Exchange (La Plata, Maryland)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Exchange (La Plata, Maryland) primary sources, The Exchange (La Plata, Maryland) archive and Exchange research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Exchange (La Plata, Maryland)”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “The Exchange (La Plata, Maryland)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.