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Whittaker Chambers Farm

Historic residence · Maryland, United States

Writers & poets

Whittaker Chambers Farm
Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

History

The Whittaker Chambers Farm, also known as the Pipe Creek Farm, is a historic cluster of farm properties near Westminster in rural Carroll County, Maryland. The farm's historic significance comes from its ownership by Whittaker Chambers (1901-1961), a pivotal figure in American Cold War politics. In December 1948, Chambers hid the "Pumpkin Papers" (microfilm) while awaiting a subpoena from the House Un-American Activities Committee to relinquish any intelligence stolen from the US Government by members of the Soviet spy rings within the federal government. Chambers also wrote his best-selling 1952 memoir Witness there. The property was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1988, in a somewhat controversial decision. The property remains in the Chambers family and is not accessible to the public.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Whittaker Chambers Farm”, CC BY-SA 4.0.

About Whittaker Chambers

Whittaker Chambers was an American author, journalist, and spy. After dropping out of Columbia University, Chambers joined the open Communist Party in 1925. He wrote and edited for the New Masses and the Daily Worker, before being ordered to go underground as a secret agent for the Soviet intelligence services. From 1932 to 1938 he was part of the clandestine "Ware Group", based in Washington, D.C. Disillusioned by Joseph Stalin's rule and by communism more broadly, Chambers defected from the Soviet spy ring and eventually found employment at Time magazine, where he rose to become a senior editor.

From the Wikipedia article “Whittaker Chambers”, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Visiting

This building is recorded as a residence of the people listed; it may be privately owned and not open to the public. Opening times, tickets and access change, so check the official website before you travel. Get directions.

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