Carrollton Manor
Encyclopedia
Carrollton Manor was a 17,000 acre (69 km²) tract of land in Frederick County
, Maryland
which extended from the Potomac River
on the south, Catoctin Mountain
to the west, the Monocacy River
to the east, and Ballenger Creek
to the north. It included the towns of Lime Kiln, Buckeystown
, Adamstown
, Doubs, Licksville, Tuscarora
and Point of Rocks
.
Charles Carroll of Annapolis
granted the entire estate
to his son, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
. It is from this tract of land that he took his title, "Charles Carroll of Carrollton." While Charles Carroll of Carrollton never lived on Carrollton Manor, he erected a manor house
there, Tuscarora, where he spent a few days or weeks at a time. The eldest daughter of Charles Carroll of Carrollton married Richard Caton and was the mother of the "three American graces" who married British noble men: the eldest, Marianne, marrying the Marquess Wellesley, K.G., a brother of the 1st Duke of Wellington; the second, Louisa Catherine, the 7th Duke of Leeds ; and the third, Elizabeth, the 8th Lord Stafford. These titled ladies continued for years to retain possession of portions of the Manor and to collect large rental revenue from the Manor's many fertile farms. The Manor House was the home of his favorite granddaughter, Marianna Caton, and her husband, Robert Patterson.
The house is a large three story mansion
of late Georgian architecture
, built of native limestone
around 1764, situated in Adamstown
, Maryland
. Originally the mansion
had 14 room
s; more were added later until there were 21. The wall
s are twenty-four inches thick, the floors are oak and many doors still have the original latches
. Partition
s through most of the house are solid brick
. Beyond the wide front door
is a rectangular reception hall with access to the room
s. There are twin drawing room
s and a stairway
that sweeps from the basement
to the attic
. Each room has its own fireplace
. The manor house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1997.
The manor hummed with industry
in the early 19th century with mills
operated by water power built on the Monocacy River
to grind grain
. Wheat
supplanted tobacco
in Carroll's agricultural
policy. Kiln
s were established to burn lime
to fertilize
the fields
.
The Pattersons lived at Tuscarora only a few years. When cholera
broke out in the neighborhood, they fled to Baltimore, Maryland
, but Mr. Patterson died a few days later. After Mr. Patterson’s death, Tuscarora was occupied by tenants. The Manor was reduced in size by being divided into small farm
s until only about two thousand acre
s (8 km²) remained.
After the death of Charles Carroll of Carrollton
, the estate was deeded to his descendants. Since the heirs of Charles Carroll were scattered over the world, they employed agents or overseers to look after their interests. Soon most of Carrollton Manor had been sold or leased. Among the large purchasers was Louis McMurray, who was the first to start the corn
canning
industry
in Frederick County
. He also canned pea
s and other vegetables. Two large canning
plants
were located on Carroll Manor, one at Buckeystown, Maryland
, controlled by the Baker Brothers, the other at Adamstown
controlled by the Thomas Brothers.
Careless tenants neglected and abused Tuscarora. Turkeys were raised in a bedroom
, hogs
in the basement
and cured
ham
s dripped from the attic
. The descendants held Carrollton Manor as absentee landlord
s until around 1923 when it was bought by the Baker family. About 1949 two of the original farm
s of the Manor were sold to Mr. & Mrs. Pascal Renn. They made extensive improvements to Tuscarora and furnished it with antiques and reproductions of the colonial period
. It was thrown open for a Garden Pilgrimage in 1953. Surprisingly the banisters and stairway
survived and the woodwork was in good condition and the cupboard
s, inner window shutter
s and door
s stayed in place. In the 1950s, the Renns sold the farm to Eastalco, which erected a large aluminum plant
on the farm
. Tuscarora is still standing and is used by Eastalco's successor owner, Alcoa
as guest house and meeting
center.
There is also a Carrollton Manor in Anne Arundel County
, Maryland
.
Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
which extended from the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
on the south, Catoctin Mountain
Catoctin Mountain
Catoctin Mountain, along with the geologically associated Bull Run Mountains, comprises the easternmost mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are in turn a part of the Appalachian Mountains range...
to the west, the Monocacy River
Monocacy River
The Monocacy River is a free-flowing tributary of the Potomac River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay. The river is long, with a drainage area of about...
to the east, and Ballenger Creek
Ballenger Creek
Ballenger Creek is a tributary of the Monocacy River in Frederick County, Maryland. The headwaters of the creek are located on the east slope of Catoctin Mountain, about west of the city of Frederick. The stream runs roughly southeast to the Monocacy National Battlefield and the confluence with...
to the north. It included the towns of Lime Kiln, Buckeystown
Buckeystown, Maryland
Buckeystown is an unincorporated community in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Buckeystown Historic District and Buckingham House and Industrial School Complex were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Carrollton Manor was listed in 1997.Current member of Congress...
, Adamstown
Adamstown, Maryland
Adamstown is an unincorporated community located in Frederick County, Maryland, USA. It is named for Adam Kohlenberg , a station agent and first town merchant who owned much of present-day Adamstown.- Events :...
, Doubs, Licksville, Tuscarora
Tuscarora, Maryland
Tuscarora is a small village in southern Frederick County, Maryland. Maryland Route 28 runs through the village. The community was named for Tuscarora Creek that runs in the area. There is an old, small post office that is in the area along Route 28. The area was formerly named Licksville after...
and Point of Rocks
Point of Rocks, Maryland
Point of Rocks is a community in Frederick County, Maryland. It is named for the striking rock formation on the adjacent Catoctin Mountain, which were formed by the Potomac River cutting through the ridge in a water gap, a typical formation in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians...
.
Charles Carroll of Annapolis
Charles Carroll of Annapolis
Charles Carroll of Annapolis was a wealthy Maryland planter and lawyer. His father was Charles Carroll the Settler, an immigrant to Maryland who had arrived in the colony in 1689 with a commission as Attorney General, and had accumulated a vast fortune, emerging as Maryland's wealthiest citizen...
granted the entire estate
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
to his son, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later as United States Senator for Maryland...
. It is from this tract of land that he took his title, "Charles Carroll of Carrollton." While Charles Carroll of Carrollton never lived on Carrollton Manor, he erected a manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
there, Tuscarora, where he spent a few days or weeks at a time. The eldest daughter of Charles Carroll of Carrollton married Richard Caton and was the mother of the "three American graces" who married British noble men: the eldest, Marianne, marrying the Marquess Wellesley, K.G., a brother of the 1st Duke of Wellington; the second, Louisa Catherine, the 7th Duke of Leeds ; and the third, Elizabeth, the 8th Lord Stafford. These titled ladies continued for years to retain possession of portions of the Manor and to collect large rental revenue from the Manor's many fertile farms. The Manor House was the home of his favorite granddaughter, Marianna Caton, and her husband, Robert Patterson.
The house is a large three story mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
of late Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
, built of native limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
around 1764, situated in Adamstown
Adamstown, Maryland
Adamstown is an unincorporated community located in Frederick County, Maryland, USA. It is named for Adam Kohlenberg , a station agent and first town merchant who owned much of present-day Adamstown.- Events :...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. Originally the mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
had 14 room
Room
A room is any distinguishable space within a structure.Room may also refer to:* Room , by Emma Donoghue* Room, Nepal* Room for PlayStation Portable, a social networking service* Thomas Gerald Room , Australian mathematician...
s; more were added later until there were 21. The wall
Wall
A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air...
s are twenty-four inches thick, the floors are oak and many doors still have the original latches
Latch (hardware)
A latch is a type of mechanical fastener that is used to join two objects or surfaces together while allowing for the regular or eventual separation of the objects or surfaces....
. Partition
Wall
A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air...
s through most of the house are solid brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
. Beyond the wide front door
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
is a rectangular reception hall with access to the room
Room
A room is any distinguishable space within a structure.Room may also refer to:* Room , by Emma Donoghue* Room, Nepal* Room for PlayStation Portable, a social networking service* Thomas Gerald Room , Australian mathematician...
s. There are twin drawing room
Drawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained. The name is derived from the sixteenth-century terms "withdrawing room" and "withdrawing chamber", which remained in use through the seventeenth century, and made its first written appearance in 1642...
s and a stairway
Stairway
Stairway, staircase, stairwell, flight of stairs, or simply stairs are names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps...
that sweeps from the basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
to the attic
Attic
An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building . Attic is generally the American/Canadian reference to it...
. Each room has its own fireplace
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
. The manor house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1997.
The manor hummed with industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
in the early 19th century with mills
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
operated by water power built on the Monocacy River
Monocacy River
The Monocacy River is a free-flowing tributary of the Potomac River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay. The river is long, with a drainage area of about...
to grind grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
. Wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
supplanted tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
in Carroll's agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
policy. Kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
s were established to burn lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
to fertilize
Fertilisation
Fertilisation is the fusion of gametes to produce a new organism. In animals, the process involves the fusion of an ovum with a sperm, which eventually leads to the development of an embryo...
the fields
Field (agriculture)
In agriculture, the word field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as:* Cultivating crops* Usage as a paddock or, generally, an enclosure of livestock...
.
The Pattersons lived at Tuscarora only a few years. When cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
broke out in the neighborhood, they fled to Baltimore, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, but Mr. Patterson died a few days later. After Mr. Patterson’s death, Tuscarora was occupied by tenants. The Manor was reduced in size by being divided into small farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
s until only about two thousand acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s (8 km²) remained.
After the death of Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later as United States Senator for Maryland...
, the estate was deeded to his descendants. Since the heirs of Charles Carroll were scattered over the world, they employed agents or overseers to look after their interests. Soon most of Carrollton Manor had been sold or leased. Among the large purchasers was Louis McMurray, who was the first to start the corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
canning
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
in Frederick County
Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....
. He also canned pea
Pea
A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
s and other vegetables. Two large canning
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
plants
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
were located on Carroll Manor, one at Buckeystown, Maryland
Buckeystown, Maryland
Buckeystown is an unincorporated community in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Buckeystown Historic District and Buckingham House and Industrial School Complex were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Carrollton Manor was listed in 1997.Current member of Congress...
, controlled by the Baker Brothers, the other at Adamstown
Adamstown, Maryland
Adamstown is an unincorporated community located in Frederick County, Maryland, USA. It is named for Adam Kohlenberg , a station agent and first town merchant who owned much of present-day Adamstown.- Events :...
controlled by the Thomas Brothers.
Careless tenants neglected and abused Tuscarora. Turkeys were raised in a bedroom
Bedroom
A bedroom is a private room where people usually sleep for the night or relax during the day.About one third of our lives are spent sleeping and most of the time we are asleep, we are sleeping in a bedroom. To be considered a bedroom the room needs to have bed. Bedrooms can range from really simple...
, hogs
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
in the basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
and cured
Curing (food preservation)
Curing refers to various food preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite or sugar. Many curing processes also involve smoking, the process of flavoring, or cooking...
ham
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
s dripped from the attic
Attic
An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building . Attic is generally the American/Canadian reference to it...
. The descendants held Carrollton Manor as absentee landlord
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
s until around 1923 when it was bought by the Baker family. About 1949 two of the original farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
s of the Manor were sold to Mr. & Mrs. Pascal Renn. They made extensive improvements to Tuscarora and furnished it with antiques and reproductions of the colonial period
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
. It was thrown open for a Garden Pilgrimage in 1953. Surprisingly the banisters and stairway
Stairway
Stairway, staircase, stairwell, flight of stairs, or simply stairs are names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps...
survived and the woodwork was in good condition and the cupboard
Cupboard
A cupboard or press is a type of cabinet, often made of wood, used indoors to store household objects such as food, crockery, textiles and liquor, and protect them from dust,vermin and dirt....
s, inner window shutter
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
s and door
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
s stayed in place. In the 1950s, the Renns sold the farm to Eastalco, which erected a large aluminum plant
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
on the farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
. Tuscarora is still standing and is used by Eastalco's successor owner, Alcoa
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
as guest house and meeting
Meeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
center.
There is also a Carrollton Manor in Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is named for Anne Arundell , a member of the ancient family of Arundells in Cornwall, England and the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Its county seat is Annapolis, which is also the capital of the state...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
External links
- Carrollton Manor, including 2006 photo, at Maryland Historical Trust