Rose Hill Manor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Rose Hill Manor
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Rose Hill Manor in November, 2022
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 Location in Maryland
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1611 N. Market St., Frederick, Maryland |
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| Area | 43.4 acres (17.6 ha) |
| Built | 1792 |
| Architectural style | Federal / Georgian, Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000374 |
| Added to NRHP | December 9, 1971 |
Rose Hill Manor, also known as Rose Hill Manor Park & Children's Museum, is a historic house in Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland. It is a large brick house with two and a half stories. A special part of the house is its big two-story front porch. This porch has tall columns. The columns on the first floor are simple (Doric style), and the ones on the second floor are fancy (Ionic style).
Rose Hill Manor was the retirement home of Thomas Johnson. He was the very first elected governor of Maryland. He also became a judge on the United States Supreme Court. His daughter and son-in-law built the house in the mid-1790s. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. This means it's an important historical site.
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History of Rose Hill Manor
The land where Rose Hill Manor stands was once part of a huge area called "Tasker's Chance." This land was owned by Benjamin Tasker in 1726. Later, in 1737, a group of German farmers wanted to buy this land. They thought it was a great place to build homes. However, they didn't have enough money.
So, these farmers asked Daniel Dulany, a lawyer, for help. Dulany bought the land himself. Then, he sold smaller pieces to the German farmers. In 1746, a German farmer named Hans Peter Hoffman bought 225 acres for 20 pounds. He named his farm "Rose Garden."
Years later, in 1778, Thomas Johnson bought the entire "Rose Garden" farm from Hoffman's family. He paid 4,000 pounds for it.
A Wedding Gift and New Owners
Governor Thomas Johnson gave the 225-acre farm to his oldest daughter, Ann Jennings Johnson. It was a wedding gift when she married Major John Colin Graham. After his wife passed away, Governor Johnson lived at Rose Hill with his daughter Ann for the last 25 years of his life.
Major Graham made the Rose Hill property even bigger. But by the 1820s, he faced money problems. He sold off some parts of the property, including 100 acres of Rose Hill. When he wrote his will, he told his wife to sell the estate after he died. She was to use the money to pay off debts and keep what was left.
Who Lived Here After?
- In 1833, Captain John McPherson bought Rose Hill. He was married to Mrs. Graham's niece. He didn't live in the house right away. This allowed Mrs. Graham to stay there until she died in 1837.
- In 1837, Colonel William Slater bought Rose Hill. He was a rich merchant from Ireland.
- In 1843, Colonel Slater sold the estate to his brother George.
- In 1845, John J. Willson bought the property. He spent a lot of money making it new and better.
- In 1853, David Ogle Thomas bought the estate. He was related to one of the first people who bought land from "Tasker's Chance." When he died, his wife inherited the property. She sold it in 1894 and moved away.
- The estate was empty for 12 years. Then, an agent named Noel Cramer bought it. He lived there until the mid-1920s. He gave it to his son, James. James thought it was too far from town. So, the house was empty for 25 years. For a short time in 1930, it was used as a hotel and restaurant.
- In the 1950s, the Cramer family returned and fixed up the house. But the owner died in 1957.
- In 1968, Frederick County bought the remaining 43 acres of the property. They used money from the government to buy it. Today, the county owns the house. It is run as part of the Rose Hill Manor Park & Children's Museum.
- In 1972, a special "see and touch" children's museum opened in the mansion. It was a project between the county's parks department and the school board.
What Rose Hill Manor Looks Like
The Rose Hill manor house started being built soon after Ann Jennings Johnson married Major John Colin Graham. It took about eight years to build this two-and-a-half-story brick house. People think local builders constructed it. The family moved in around 1798.
The house sits on a low foundation made of fieldstone (natural stones). The front of the house faces south. The bricks on the front are laid in a special pattern called Flemish bond. Other parts of the house use a common brick pattern. A large porch with white columns was added later.
You can reach Rose Hill Mansion by a driveway. This driveway connects to a road near Governor Thomas Johnson High School.
The Grand Porch
The big front porch has two levels. The first level is at the main entrance. It has four simple (Doric) columns. These columns hold up a structure with decorative parts like an architrave, frieze, and a fancy carved cornice. The second level is above the first. It has four fancy (Ionic) columns. These columns support a triangular roof section called a pediment. This pediment has a half-moon shaped window called a lunette.
On each side of the large pediment, the roof has a dormer window. These windows have a round arch and a low wall (parapet) around them. A similar pediment and lunette window are also on the back of the house. A chimney rises from each end of the main house. The design of the mansion mixes two old styles: late Georgian and Greek Revival.
Inside the House
At the back of the wide entrance hall, there's a large staircase. It goes up to a landing with a window looking out over the north garden. The stairs continue up to the third floor. The railings and banisters are simple and light.
To the east of the entrance hall is a large drawing room. It's 26 feet square and has a high ceiling. This room has six windows, a fireplace mantel, and a big chandelier with crystal pieces.
To the west of the entrance hall is a dining room. It's just as big as the drawing room. It reminds us of a time when people lived well and had many parties.
On the second floor, the middle hall has a door that opens right onto the upper part of the front porch. This porch faces the high school. On each side of the upper hall are two large bedrooms with fireplaces. There are also two smaller bedrooms that have had a section added for a bathroom.
A kitchen with a fireplace and a special "beehive oven" is attached to the west side of the mansion. It has a brick chimney. There's an entrance for servants at the front. A covered porch (verandah) is at the back, looking over the formal gardens. There are also several small rooms above the kitchen.
The windows on the first floor have nine panes of glass on the top and nine on the bottom (nine-over-nine sash). The second-floor windows have nine panes on top and six on the bottom (nine-over-six sash). All windows have old-fashioned shutters with wide slats and handmade metal parts. They also have special arches above them called jack arches.
The attic has two large finished rooms. It gets light from nine-over-six sash windows in round-arched dormers. These dormers have a local style of stepped gables on the front and back.
Gardens and Other Buildings
A beautiful garden with stone walls and an orchard with old trees is located on the north side of the mansion. It covers about half an acre. The garden has a pretty two-tier cast iron fountain. Its base and bowls are decorated with Greek acanthus leaves. A small statue of a cherub hugging a swan used to be on top.
Other buildings on the property include:
- A brick smokehouse (used for curing meat) with special vents.
- A summer kitchen with a sloped roof.
- An ice house (used to store ice).
- An old tool shed.
- An 1835 log cabin.
- A new building called the Robert H. Renneberger Carriage Museum. It shows off old carriages and sleighs that have been fixed up.
- A carriage repair shop and a blacksmith shop.
- Three exhibit buildings with steam engines, old farm machines, and a barn for animals.
- The Farm Museum, which displays tractors, farm tools from the 1800s and early 1900s, and shows what farm family life was like. It also has a carpentry shop and a broom shop.
Rose Hill Manor Park & Children's Museum
Address: 1611 North Market Street, Frederick, Maryland 21701
The Rose Hill Manor Park and Museums work to keep the history of the Rose Hill property alive. They want to show what life was like from 1746 to 1950. The museums offer a fun, hands-on way for kids to learn. You can explore the daily life of Thomas Johnson, Maryland's first governor. You can also learn about the history of farming and transportation in Frederick County.
