Albert C. Greene, superintendent of the Borden Mining Company from 1850 to 1882, lived in this Italian Villa just north of Frostburg. Greene’s residence emphasized the labor hierarchy of the surrounding coal-mining community, with the fine house on a hill occupied by upper management. The L-shaped plan of the house is arranged around a three-story entrance and stair hall tower at the center, topped by a pyramidal roof with bracketed eaves. The house departed from local building traditions to follow, with minor variations in plan and elevation, Design XXII “Villa in the Italian Style” published in A. J. Downing’s widely popular architectural pattern book The Architecture of Country Houses (1850).
Greene successfully managed the Borden Mining Company through the economic and labor turmoil of the Civil War and its aftermath, making it one of the most successful coal mining operations in the region. The Borden family chartered the company in 1846 to supply coal for their varied manufacturing interests in Fall River, Massachusetts. Greene had moved from Rhode Island to manage the Borden mines, which transported coal primarily via the C&O Canal to the port in Alexandria, Virginia. Thus, the fashionable superintendent’s house signifies the presence of national business and transportation interests in Allegany County.