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Please enjoy our latest featured article on St. Mary's County
Newtowne Manor House
St. Mary's County
St. Mary’s County, the first area discovered by Englishmen and women on Maryland Day, March 25, 1634 is a place to visit during the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage (MHGP) tours. This is where the new colony that would become Maryland was established. Leonard Calvert and 140 fellow pilgrims brought to our State the belief in religious freedom. A large cross erected on St. Clements Island in the Potomac River marks the site of the original landing and first celebration of mass by these Roman Catholic colonists. Afterwards they relocated to St. Mary's City, the first seat of Maryland's colonial government prior to moving the capital to Annapolis in 1694/5.
Newtowne Manor House is a perennial favorite on the MHGP tour. Its’ fascinating evolution from a 1720 structure to house the fledgling Jesuit community to a Georgian two and a half story unoccupied brick building illustrates the history of the rights to practice religious freedom in the Free State of Maryland. MHGP works in conjunction with local garden clubs and non-profits to showcase architecturally significant properties and gardens in Maryland. St. Mary’s Garden Club showcased Newtowne Manor House in the 2018 St. Mary’s County tour and proceeds from the tour helped the continued efforts to restore the Manor House.
The Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage is fortunate to have private home owners and non-profit organizations share their properties. It is a unique opportunity to see homes built on the water’s edge, such as Dragonfly on Breton Bay, where tour attendees enjoyed its series of garden rooms.
We look forward to a 2022 MHGP tour, so set your Spring clocks a year from now! You will learn about Maryland’s history and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us in this “Land of Pleasant Living.”
Mansion at Haberdeventure, Credit: National Park Service
Charles County
The Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage continues to draw from Maryland’s rich history that has set the scene for our tours. This month we will be providing a glimpse into the early history of Charles County in Southern Maryland.
Charles County has a long affiliation with the pilgrimage and their willingness to share their homes and gardens. Throughout the years, many have appreciated these tours. Proceeds help Charles County residents maintain historically-significant projects, recommended by the tour committees.
Charles County’s origins date back to 1608 when Captain John Smith explored the Potomac River region and discovered an Indian town named Potopaco, today known as Port Tobacco. Other explorers followed and by 1650 the area grew into a prosperous county due to the cash crop tobacco and accessible shipping waterways.
The county grew, and to date, approximately 90 of the original dwellings are still standing. These include private homes, museums, and other carefully preserved structures.
Charles County first became involved with the Pilgrimage in 1940. After a hiatus due to the war years, tours resumed in 1948. The Charles County Garden Club began their affiliation with the tours in 1961, and that partnership continues. Every third year, they traditionally share a spring tour with their neighboring counties, St. Marys and Calvert.
This is a country with a bountiful and engaging history. John Hanson, who was president of the Continental Congress, resided at Mulberry Grove, which is a private home today.
Thomas Stone, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, also made his home at Habre de Venture, in Charles County. The surrounding property is now a national park. The MHGP continues to enjoy this special relationship with a county so rich in its beauty and history.
Credit: Hammond-Harwood House Museum
Historic Annapolis
Maryland’s capital, Annapolis, played a significant role in the early years of the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage.
In 1937, senator Millard E. Tydings recognized the pilgrimage with the following sentiment, “The Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage has undertaken a very worthy cause of aiding the restoration and preservation of the capital of Maryland -- the city of Annapolis.”
For three years, the pilgrimage was able to support projects throughout the city. However, the Hammond Harwood House was then chosen as the sole beneficiary and remained so until it became a more self–supporting museum. At that time, other worthy restoration projects throughout the state were able to benefit from the Pilgrimage proceeds.
From 1941-1945 (the war years) there were no garden tours. While the previous four years required a shuttering of the organization’s activities, in April of 1946, the Pilgrimage organized seven days of tours, which included 14 counties in the state of Maryland. The Anne Arundel County tour featured an opening of the Government House in Annapolis.
The following year, Governor William Preston Lane and Mrs. Lane graciously opened their home to all ticket holders for tea.
Beginning in 1955 cruises on the Chesapeake Bay were offered. The S.S. Tolchester, carried pilgrims from Baltimore to Annapolis for $3.50, which included a tour of Annapolis. In 1972, pilgrims were ferried from Baltimore to Annapolis, where they were greeted by guides from “Historic Annapolis”. They enjoyed a walking tour through the city, ending with tea at the Hammond-Harwood House.
Continuing the tradition, Annapolis and Anne Arundel County both offer tours showcasing their historic properties, homes and gardens.
Our History
This year marks the ninetieth anniversary of tours organized and sponsored by the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage Committee. The first tour was held in 1930 and, with the exception of four years at the beginning of its history and three “war” years, the Pilgrimage has been part of springtime tradition in Maryland.The continued popularity and growth of the tours is testimony to the foresight and persistence of a few Baltimore women inspired by friends in Virginia who organized Virginia Garden Week to raise money for restoring the gardens at Kenmore, home of George Washington’s sister. The Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland suggested that Maryland open houses and gardens following the week in Virginia.
Although the idea was totally new, owners of many of the most interesting houses in Maryland were persuaded to share their houses with the public for a day. Fifty cents was charged for admission to a single house and a hard-back guide book was available for one dollar. In 1930 there were many country roads which were still unpaved and Schedules of the Chesapeake Bay ferries were listed in the first Maryland tour book. One must realize the undertaking and time involved to reach the Eastern Shore, those first visitors were pilgrims indeed!
There have been wars, riots, gas shortages and inflation, and at the same time great advances in technology and the building of super highways have been made. Constant, however, have been the hospitality and generosity of the homeowners who shared their collections , their furnishings and their gardens with the public. Visitors have been enriched with a deeper appreciation of history, architecture, garden design and decorative arts while supporting historic preservation in the state of Maryland.
- Summarized from History of The Maryland House and Garden Pigrimage by Hally Brent Dame p. 1987
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