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Hampton National Historic Site

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Hampton National Historic Site
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Nearest cityBaltimore, Maryland
Area62.04 acres (0.25 km²)
EstablishedJune 22, 1948
Visitors24,407 (in 2005)
Governing bodyNational Park Service

Hampton National Historic Site, in the Hampton area north of Towson, Maryland, United States, preserves a remnant of a vast 18th century estate including a Georgian manor house, gardens and grounds, and original stone slave quarters. The estate was owned by the Ridgely family for seven generations, from 1745 to 1948. The Hampton Mansion or manor house, once known locally as the "Hampton House", was the largest private home in America when it was completed in 1790 and is considered today to be one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the U.S.[1] Its furnishings, together with the estate's slave quarters and other preserved structures, provide a comprehensive insight into late 18th century and early 19th century life of the landowning aristocracy. Hampton is the first site selected as a National Historical Site by the U.S. National Park Service for its architectural significance.[2]

In addition to the mansion and slave quarters, visitors today may tour the overseer's house and grounds. Hampton National Historic Site is 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Baltimore at 535 Hampton Lane, near interchange #27B of the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) and Dulaney Valley Road (Maryland Route 146).

Hampton Mansion in 1861

History

1700s

The property now known as the Hampton estate was originally part of a land grant called Northampton given to Col. Henry Darnall (c. 1645–1711), a relative of Lord Baltimore.[2] His heirs sold the land on April 2, 1745, to Col. Charles Ridgely (1702–1772), a tobacco farmer and trader. The bill of sale records that the property included "...houses, tobacco houses (tobacco barns), stables, gardens, and orchards".[3] By the late 1750s, Hampton extended to more than 10,000 acres (4,047 ha) and included an ironworks.[2] His son, Captain Charles Ridgely (1733–1790), expanded the family business considerably, including gristmills, apple orchards, and stone quarries. During the American Revolutionary War, the ironworks was a significant source of income for the Ridgelys.[2] In 1783, Capt. Ridgely began construction of the main house, or Hampton Mansion. When it was completed in 1790, the Hampton Mansion was the largest private home in the United States.[4] When Capt. Ridgely died that same year, his nephew Charles Carnan Ridgely (1760–1829) became the second master of Hampton. An avid horseman, Charles Carnan began raising Thoroughbred horses at Hampton, where he had a racetrack installed. A 1799 advertisement promotes the stud services of his racehorse "Grey Medley". Another of Ridgely's Hampton-raised racehorses at the time, "Post Boy", won the Washington City Jockey Club cup.[2]

1800s

Thomas Sully. Lady with a Harp: Eliza Ridgely. 1818. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.[5]

Under Charles Carnan Ridgely, Hampton reached its peak of 25,000 acres (39 sq mi; 101 km2) in the 1820s. The mansion overlooked a grand estate of orchards, ironworks, coal mining, marble quarries, mills, and mercantile interests.[6] The vast farm produced corn, beef cattle, dairy products, hogs, and horses.[2] In 1820, an orangery was built on the grounds. Charles Carnan Ridgely served as the governor of the state of Maryland (1816–1819).

When Governor Ridgely died in 1829, he freed Hampton's more than 300 slaves in his will.[1] The Hampton estate was split among various heirs, with his son, John Carnan Ridgely (1790–1867), inheriting the mansion and 4,500 acres.[6] The ironworks closed and thereafter the Ridgelys' income was primarily derived from farming, investments, and their stone quarries. His wife, Eliza Ridgely (1803–1867), purchased many artworks and furnishings for the mansion. She was noted as a horticulturist, and had successively larger and more elaborate terraced gardens cultivated on the grounds, with a large variety of flowers and shrubs grown in the estate's greenhouses and tended by some of the 60 slaves purchased by John Carnan Ridgely.[1][2] By the mid-19th century, the Hampton estate had one of the most extensive collections of citrus trees in the U.S.[2]

As the Civil War raged across the farmlands of Maryland and Pennsylvania at the Battle of Antietam (1862) and the Battle of Gettysburg (1863), the Ridgelys' Hampton estate remained untouched. Although Maryland, as a border state, was exempted from U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, the state legislature eliminated slavery in 1864. With the end of slavery, Hampton began to decline.[6] A number of the former slaves continued to work at Hampton as paid household servants and other hired hands worked the farm.[2] With the deaths of John and Eliza in 1867, their son Charles became the next master of Hampton. The mansion and the remaining 1,000 acres were subsequently inherited upon Charles' death in 1872 by Captain John Ridgely (1851–1938).[6]

1900s

As nearby Baltimore grew and local agriculture declined, the Ridgelys found it increasingly difficult to maintain the property. Beginning in the 1920s and accelerating in the 1930s, Captain John Ridgely sold off large portions of the estate for suburban housing development. The Hampton Mansion remained in the Ridgely family until 1948, when John Ridgely, Jr. (1882–1959), moved to the smaller Farm House on the property and the Mansion was acquired by the Avalon Foundation (now part of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation).[2] The last generation of Ridgelys to live at the mansion was John Ridgely III (1911–1990) and his wife Lillian (1908-1996).[2]

It was designated a National Historic Site by the Secretary of the Interior on June 22, 1948, the first site to be so selected on the basis of its architectural significance.[2] Beginning in May, 1949, Hampton Mansion was opened to the public in the care of Preservation Maryland for the next thirty years (1949-1979).[7] On October 15, 1966, Hampton was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since October, 1979, it has been operated and managed by the National Park Service.[2]

2000-present

Starting in January 2005, the mansion closed for almost three years as it underwent a major restoration project. It re-opened to the public on November 30, 2007.[8] As part of the 2005-2007 renovations, the drawing room and two bedchambers were completely refurbished. The drawing room's furnishings were extensively researched to reflect accurately the Mansion in the 1830-1860 period.[8] The ornate cupola atop the mansion was restored, including the spherical ornament above the cupola, which was refinished in gold leaf. The Park Service's chief ranger for the Hampton National Historic Site said afterwards of the $3 million in renovations, "I don't think the mansion has ever looked better".[9]

"Preservation Maryland", a statewide preservation advocacy organization, conferred its Stewardship Award in 2007 on the Hampton National Historic Site for refurnishing the mansion's rooms with historical accuracy while unobstrusively installing modern fire suppression and climate control systems.[8]

Currently

The remaining 63-acre (25 ha) estate, straddling Hampton Lane, is managed by the National Park Service. In addition to the mansion itself, visitors may view nine surviving original structures built during the 1790s to mid-19th century period:[2]

  • Farm House - the residence of the farm manager or overseer, a portion is believed to predate the Ridgelys' purchase of the property in 1745. After the last Ridgely family member (John Ridgely Jr.) vacated the mansion in 1948, he and his wife Jane lived here.[2]
  • Two slave quarters built of stone, now provided with interpretive exhibits on slave life.
  • Dairy, built of stone before 1800.
  • Mule barn, built of stone c. 1845.
  • Long house/granary.
  • Ash house, wooden log building, and dovecote.

Self-guided tours may be made of the grounds during hours when the park is open to the public, including the farm, formal garden, family cemetery, and two stables built of stone for Thoroughbred horses.[8] A replica of the original orangery (built in 1824) may also be toured.[10] One surviving 34 ft (10.4m)–deep underground icehouse is visible near the mansion, but not open to visitors. The Park Service provides ample free parking, a gift shop, and wheelchair accessibility at the mansion. Chamber music and harpsichord performances are occasionally presented in the mansion's ornate "great hall".

The local community actively supports the site's preservation through a friends' group, "Historic Hampton Incorporated", which has assisted the National Park Service in achieving historical accuracy and interpretive potential of the interiors.[8]

  • Images of Hampton
  • Front facade detail
    Front facade detail
  • The Farmhouse
    The Farmhouse
  • Farmhouse and grounds, slave quarters to the right
    Farmhouse and grounds, slave quarters to the right
  • The terraced gardens in 1872
    The terraced gardens in 1872

The Tea Room controversy

When the Hampton estate first opened to the public in 1949, the mansion's kitchen was converted into a small restaurant. Known as the Tea Room, it was operated by a concessionaire for the next 50 years, serving lunches featuring Hampton Imperial Crab (backfin lump meat from the blue crab, baked and seasoned with spices) and other Chesapeake Bay seafood delicacies, served with a glass of sherry. A local newspaper columnist described the Tea Room as "offering gentility...a fireplace nearly as big as a wall and mullioned windows with sills that are nearly 2 feet thick. The view is rolling lawns...".[7][11]

When the Tea Room was closed by the National Park Service on January 1 1999, officials said they did so because of the potential fire hazard posed by operating a kitchen in the main park building and the possibility of insect or rodent damage to historic items in the mansion. While it "may be a pleasant place to enjoy a meal...that is clearly less important than the need to preserve Hampton's buildings, objects and landscapes for future generations", the Park Service stated.[11] Officials of Preservation Maryland said they were "disappointed" by the restaurant's closure, saying it helped attract visitors to the historic site. The former chairwoman of the Hampton women's committee — which raises money for various projects at Hampton — also criticized the decision.[7] Since 2006, the women's group has renewed efforts to have the Tea Room re-opened, saying it would draw more visitors and repeat business from locals to the park. A Park Service spokesman was quoted as saying in October, 2006, that "The mansion is not going to be the site of any food operation", but has made no further comment since then.[12][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c Ben Nuckols (2008-01-05). "Baltimore mansion Georgian treasure". Associated Press.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Ann Milkovich McKee (2007). Images of America — Hampton National Historic Site. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-4418-2.
  3. ^ Hastings, Lynne Dakin (1986). A Guidebook to Hampton National Historic Site. Towson, Md.: Historic Hampton.
  4. ^ "Hampton Mansion awaits rediscovery". CNN.com. December 31, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Lady with a Harp: Eliza Ridgely, 1818". National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 2008-02-05. Thomas Sully's painting Lady with a Harp, a portrait of Eliza Ridgely (1818), was in the Great Hall of Hampton Mansion from the 1820s to 1945, when it was sold to the National Gallery of Art. A replica is now displayed at the Hampton Mansion.
  6. ^ a b c d "A Hampton Chronology, Hampton National Historic Site". U.S. National Park Service. 2006-07-14. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  7. ^ a b c Suzanne Loudermilk (1998-09-15). "Hampton Mansion's tearoom to become another piece of history after Dec. 31". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Hampton National Historic Site". U.S. National Park Service. January, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Loni Ingraham (2007-11-28). "Hampton Mansion goes 'green', reopens tomorrow". Towson Times. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  10. ^ The original wooden orangery, which burned down in 1926, was reconstructed on the original foundations in 1976
  11. ^ a b "Steeped in tradition, tea room was place for genteel". Towson Times. 1999-01-28. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  12. ^ Loni Ingraham (2006-10-18). "'Brewhaha': Ladies want tea room opened". Towson Times. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  13. ^ Mary Katherine Scheeler (2008-01-02). "Hampton house named Towson Person of Year". Retrieved 2008-01-19.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hampton_National_Historic_Site&oldid=190688596"