Maryland Daily PhotoEvery Week Day a New Picture from MD

This is Darnall’s chance, one of the oldest homes in Upper Marlboro.  

It was built in 1742 by James Waldrop on lands formerly held by the Darnall family, from which the property takes its name.   Mr. Waldrop married a young woman named Lettice Lee, who lived on the land until 1776, when she passed away.  Lettice led a very interesting life as the wife of a wealthy man, the manager of a home, later as a widowed landowner, and again as a wife.  

Her life is full of interesting happenings that don’t often come to mind when thinking of the 18^th century.  The impact of pre-nuptual agreements, wills, education, mortality rates,  land ownership are all explained through her life.  

The house now offers tours, which focus on Lettice and on the lives of women like her and around her, as examples of the 18^th century world as it was for women.  It specifically offers interesting contrasts between her life and the life of enslaved women who also lived on the grounds.  Go visit for a walk in tour on a Friday or Sunday or by appointment on other days.   

Also of note:  I wrote this post shortly after I visited the site, but I didn’t care too much for the picture and had intended to go back and take a better one.   However, I just got tangled up in my new job and never got the chance to 1) go back or 2) go to the marylanddailyphoto email account, which hadn’t been used much.   To my suprise, when I did my monthly check of the account there was an e-mail there from the very nice woman who had given me a tour, asking where the posting was.  So, I wrote an apology for my delayed post and I’m promptly posting this one.  Even if you don’t like this picture,  go take a tour now.  It’s even better than the Inner Harbor dragon boats.   

You all might know by now that I’m constantly looking for historic houses to feature on this site.  Sadly, like the crystal pool, they aren’t all in the best of shape.  What Melwood Park still has going for it is some serious security.  There was a fence, camera and alarm that kept me from getting close, but I managed to super-zoom my way to this picutre, as the house was a solid 100 yards or so away. 

The sign on the outside of the driveway, which denotes it as a histoic house, reads,

“Melwood Park

Patented 1672

The home of Ignatius Digges whose daughter, Mary, married Thomas Sim Lee, Twice governor of Maryland.  Lee died here in 1819.  General George Washington visited here four times and Martha Washington once.  In the War of 1812 British officers stopped here briefly

Marlyland Historical Society”

I wonder what those british officers did.  

Either way, I think its good to enjoy the history of all our old homes, even if they aren’t in the same shape as before. 

Today is the anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.   Everyone associates this action with Ford’s theatre, and rightfully so.  However, the plot to kill the President and the escape route of the assassin encompass much more, including a manhunt through southern Maryland and northern Virginia.      

 This house in Prince Georges County was the place where, after assassinating the President, John Wilkes Booth came to get guns and other supplies that had been hidden there for him.  

Mary. Surratt, for whom the house is named, was owner of the house and of a small inn in downtown DC near Ford’s theater.   Though she was in DC at the time of the Assassination, she told the tenant who was occupying this building to have the guns and other supplies ready for Booth as he was leaving the city.  

As Mary Surratt was well aware of the plot to kill the president and was also involved in enabling Booth too escape, she was eventually tried and convicted of conspiracy to kill the President.  She was the first woman to be executed by the U.S. government. 

 While here, Booth was still dealing with his broken leg.  There is a lot of controversy about this leg and whether it was broken as he jumped from the balcony of the theatre or not.  What is certain is that his leg was not set here.  Booth continued further south, to have his leg set. 

For those who are interested in more information, you can go to www.surratt.org. 

Some of you might want to know what the home referenced in this picture actually looks like.   

What I find interesting about this place is that its primary function is that of a catering/banquet hall.   It seems like most of the historic houses that have not been adopted by the NPS are used for these purposes to raise money for maintenance and probably to raise money for other reasons.  I have mixed feelings about this as I would like for every historic home to be museum that is free to the public, but at the same time I appreciate the fact that these places are not easy or cheap to run and that they require funding.  

So, as I am trying to fulfill wishlist requests this week, I have posted this photo in partial response to the zoo request.   Though there are zoo pictures in our future, I had to put this one up anyway.  Here’s why: 

I was on assignment photographig His Lordships Kindness in Prince Georges county for furture MDDP posts.   I was disappointed becasue, though the signs say tours are available from 10-4 on thursdays, I later found out from the internet that such times don’t apply in February.   So I was walking around the grounds by myself.  Coming, at last, to the perfect spot, to frame the the house in a shot between some bushes, I looked down and said, “(expetive) (expletive) is that a peacock?”  
But I looked again, and there it was.  I thought, “What’s a peacock doing in Clinton?”

Then, I took a photo, examined the photo, and looked up to find that he had moved.  Then I realized he hadn’t moved but that there were two of them…. and then a third.  Upon my return to the office and the wikipediaing of peacocks, I found out that only the males are peacocks and that I can’t really tell what kind this is.  So, what I have for you today is a picture of free state peafoul.