Waverly (Marriottsville, Maryland) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Waverley
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Waverly, January 2011
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 Location in Maryland
Location in the United States
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| Location | 2319 Waverly Mansion Drive, Marriottsville, Maryland |
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| Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Built | 1800 |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000958 |
| Added to NRHP | October 18, 1974 |
Waverly Mansion is a historic house located in Marriottsville, Maryland. It's found in Howard County, Maryland, USA. The main part of the house was built around 1756. It is a two-and-a-half-story stone house covered with stucco. Later, around 1811, a connecting part and an addition were built. On the property, there's also a small one-and-a-half-story stone cottage. There's also a two-story barn made of wood and stone. You can also see the ruins of a log cabin where enslaved people lived.
Waverly was built on land first claimed by Charles Carroll of Carrollton. This land was later part of a survey called "Ranter's Ridge" in 1703. It was owned by Thomas Browne. The land was surveyed again in 1726 and named "The Mistake." John Dorsey bought it and gave it to his son, Nathan Dorsey, and his wife, Sophia. They became the next owners.
The property is connected to the Dorsey and Howard families. From when it was first built until the end of the Civil War, Waverly was a plantation. Enslaved people were forced to work there without pay. Their labor helped the Dorsey and Howard families become wealthy. Records like deeds, census information, and an inventory from 1846 show details about the enslaved people. An old article from 1965 claimed 999 enslaved people worked there. However, research shows that between 7 and 25 enslaved men, women, and children is a more accurate number. The 1965 article did not have strong evidence to support its claim.
Contents
Waverly Mansion's Story
The Dorsey Family's Time
In 1750, Daniel Carroll sold a piece of land called "The Mistake" to John Dorsey. John Dorsey was buying land for his four sons. On March 30, 1756, his youngest son, Nathan Dorsey, received 700 acres of land. He also received seven enslaved people: Peter, Robin, Joo, Ben, Hagar, Pol, and Jenny. The deed also included all the farm animals on the property. Nathan married Sophia Owings in 1748. He likely started building a plantation at Waverly to support his growing family. Nathan and Sophia had three children by 1756.
Research suggests Nathan built the main part of the mansion around 1756. This makes sense because this section of the house is from the 1700s. In 1758, Nathan bought more land. By 1764, the property had grown from 700 to 875 acres. In 1769, Nathan gave some of the land to his brothers, Vachel and Edward.
The Howard Family Takes Over
Nathan Dorsey died in 1773. But the property stayed with the Dorsey family until 1786. Then, Nathan's brother Edward Dorsey sold the farm to Colonel John Eager Howard of Baltimore. By 1798, James Frost was renting or managing the farm. John Eager Howard also bought more land nearby when it became available. He started doing this in 1793. By 1817, he had almost doubled the size of the farm.
In 1811, he gave the farm, which was 1,313 acres, to his second son, George Howard. This was a wedding gift. George had married Prudence Gough Ridgely on December 26, 1811. George and Prudence named the property Waverly. They named it after a popular novel by Sir Walter Scott, Waverley. It's not known why they dropped the second 'e' in the name. The Howards probably moved into the farm soon after their marriage. John Eager Howard officially gave the property to his son in November 1822. George Howard hosted events there, like partridge hunts.
An addition to the house, including a kitchen wing, might have been added as early as 1811. This would be if George moved in then. Or it could have been added sometime after 1822, once he owned the farm. The Howards raised thirteen children at Waverly. Eight of them survived to adulthood.
At Waverly, George lived as a country gentleman and farmer. He owned enslaved people. However, he also supported the idea of helping free Black people move to Africa. In 1842, Howard helped create the Maryland Slave-Holders Convention. He served as its chair.
Howard became a member of the Governor's Council in January 1831. He worked closely with the previous governor, Daniel Martin. When Governor Martin died in July 1831, Howard became governor. He took the oath of office on July 22 of that year. When Martin's term ended in January 1832, the Maryland General Assembly elected Howard for a full year. He received most of the votes. He supported creating a State Bank. He was against lotteries. He also encouraged supporting Maryland colleges.
Howard retired to Waverly after his term ended. He helped choose the president in 1836 and 1840. He supported the Whig candidate. He died at his home on August 2, 1846. He was likely buried first in the family burial ground at Waverly. His remains were later moved to the Western Cemetery. His body was moved again, and its current resting place is unknown. It is believed he is buried in the Howard family vault. This vault is at Old Saint Paul's Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, John Eager Howard, is also buried there. There is a tombstone at Waverly for George Howard's son, John Eager Howard, dated 1838. This stone was placed against the house. The actual grave site on the property is not marked. It is thought this stone is the middle part of a tall monument. The top and bottom parts might have been lost when remains were moved from Waverly.
When George died, a list of everything he owned was made. This included 25 enslaved men, women, and children. Their names were Elias, Jim, Peter, Henry, Jolen, Jake, Bell, Dan, William (Mimah's son), Joshua, Henry, Joe, Mary, Prudence, Lizzie, Frances, Sidney, Sally & child, Mimah & child, Fanny & child, Betsey, and Old Nancy. More research is needed to find out if any of the enslaved people lived in the mansion. It's also unknown if there were enough cabins for all 25 people. Today, there are ruins of one slave cabin on what is now the Waverly Woods Golf Course. More research is needed to see if enslaved people were buried on the grounds. This could be done using special ground-penetrating radar.
After Prudence died in 1847, she left Waverly to her son, George Jr. A few years later, he divided the farm into four parts. These parts were for himself and three of his brothers: Dr. Cornelius Howard, Captain Charles Ridgely Howard, and William Waverly Howard. A map shows that George Jr. lived on the part that included the mansion. The 1850 census shows Charles Howard owned 23 enslaved people. The census only listed their age and sex, not their names. There were four men (ages 54, 46, 45, and 19). There were two women (ages 60 and 21). There were nine girls (ages 12, 10, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 2, and 1). And there were eight boys (ages 14, 13, 12, 10, 5, 3, 3, and 1).
In 1854, William Howard sold 297.5 acres of the Waverly estate. This land was known as "Delaware Bottom." He said the land had a lime quarry and a lime kiln. He also said it was "heavily timbered" (had many trees) and good for growing wheat and corn. During this time, the nearby Roland Maxwell house was used as a place for enslaved people from Waverly to live. Another old stone building stands behind an office park. It's next to a pond at 10275 Birmingham Way. This building is known as the Alexander Hassan ruins. It was part of a 600-acre property when Joseph Judick owned the farm. It was kept in good condition until Hassan bought it.
Judick and Brosenne Families
George Howard, Jr. sold the mansion and 300 acres to Joseph Judick on November 23, 1858. Joseph Judick was a stock dealer and bank director from Baltimore City. He paid $15,462.28. He also added surrounding land, making the total 600 acres. The 1860 census for Howard County shows Judick owned eleven enslaved people. Four slave houses are also noted on the census. Like the 1850 census, only age and sex were listed. There was one 30-year-old woman. There were three girls (ages 16, 9, and 1). There were seven boys (ages 14, 12, 11, 7, 5, 3, and 2). The census listed their race as "M," which meant "Mulatto" at that time. This term was used for people of mixed race.
Judick was renting part of Waverly to Frederick Brosenne. Judick continued living on the property until he died in 1881. After his death, Brosenne bought Waverly from Judick's estate. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Waverly in the 1900s and Today
The Brosenne family owned Waverly until 1964. Then, the Larry Realty Co. bought it, and the house was left empty. Hassan-Glickfield and Larry Realty suggested the site become a landfill for Howard County. But another location, Alpha Ridge, was chosen instead. The property was then divided into smaller pieces. It went from 279 acres down to 25.2 acres, then to 9.8 acres, and finally to 3.4 acres. In 1975, this smaller piece was given to the Society for the Preservation of Maryland Antiques (now called Preservation Maryland).
In 1976, the State of Maryland provided $150,000 for restoration. The federal government added another $150,000 in 1978. Restoration work began in June 1979. This included a new roof and a modern kitchen. In 1981, the Maryland Historical Trust gave $32,000 to finish the restoration. A landscape architect named Robert Shaw helped with the design. Historic Waverly, Inc. was created in 1985. Its job was to manage the facility for meetings and parties. In 1988, Howard County hired Golf Resources Associates. They looked at land for building golf courses. The consultant suggested the Larry Realty property. They thought it could be expanded for a low-cost golf course. Howard County bought the estate property in 1989 for $450,000.
In 1991, 682 acres of the original estate were developed as Waverly Woods. This was a community with 932 homes. It was built by Donald R. Reuwer Jr.'s company, Land Design and Development. Today, Waverly Woods is a lively and diverse community. People living there can walk to town for groceries, ice cream, or dry cleaning. They can swim, play tennis, or golf without leaving their neighborhood. The community has colonial-style homes, modern condominiums, and stylish townhouses. These homes surround an 18-hole championship golf course. This 680-acre neighborhood is also next to Patapsco State Park. It also has an herb farm and rolling meadows with white-picket fences.
Donald Reuwer, the developer, said, "We wanted a place where kids could grow up and repeat some of the things we could do as kids. Like getting on a bike and going to the grocery store for milk. And not getting hurt by traffic." He added, "We wanted a sense of community." Reuwer and three Howard County landowners created the idea for Waverly Woods in the early 1980s. The landowners had large pieces of family land. Nearly half of this land had been owned by their families since the 1700s.
Today, Waverly Mansion is owned and managed by the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks. It is used for weddings, special events, and even paranormal investigations. It also hosts history events, scout programs, school groups, and living history summer camps.
Gallery
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Waverly Historic Marker, January 2011
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Waverly Overseer's House, January 2011
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Waverly Dairy, January 2011
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