Already known for its picturesque landscape, by the mid-nineteenth century the Darlington area was appreciated for its architecture as well, beginning with the country houses built by the Silver family. The family’s architectural legacy started with the purchase of Calvert Vaux’s Villas and Cottages (1857). Equipped with inspiration, and with land and a stone quarry inherited from their grandfather, Benjamin, Jeremiah, Silas, and William Silver built an exceptional group of houses between 1853 and 1859. At least two of the houses were designed by Baltimore architect Reasin, a Harford County native who maintained his own country house here. Jeremiah Silver’s classically inspired house (1853; 337 Fox Road) was the first that Reasin designed for the family. Benjamin Silver built the next house (1856; 3646 Harmony Church Road) in a striking similar pattern. Reasin was also responsible for physician Silas B. Silver’s house (1859; 3643 Harmony Church), built in the Italianate mode, as was the house for William F. Silver (1857–1858; 521 Darlington Road). They were the first of many villa or country house retreats built in Harford County and designed by Baltimore- and Philadelphia-based architects.