Bowieville is a historic home located near Upper Marlboro in

Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is an elegant two-part

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

of the late

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

style, built of brick and covered with

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

. The architectural detail is transitional between the

and

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

styles. Bowieville is one of the finest examples of the Federal style in Prince George's County. Features such as its symmetry, elliptical fanlights at the entry and between the parlors, tripartite windows, bowed rear porch, and other Adamesque details exemplify the Federal style. Bowieville reflects the prosperity of the tobacco economy of Prince George's County, as well as the prominence of the Bowie family. Bowieville once held 54 slaves. The Bowie family had extensive landholdings in the county and were important politically. Bowieville was built in 1819-20 by Mary Wooton Bowie, daughter of

Robert Bowie Robert Bowie (March 1750 – January 8, 1818) served as the 11th Governor of the state of Maryland in the United States, from 1803 to 1806, and from 1811 to 1812. He was the third child born to Captain William Bowie and Margaret Sprigg, at M ...

Governor of Maryland The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

, on property she inherited from her father, and is very similar in styling to his home, ''

Mattaponi The Mattaponi () tribe is one of only two Virginia Indian tribes in the Commonwealth of Virginia that owns reservation land, which it has held since the colonial era. The larger Mattaponi Indian Tribe lives in King William County on the reserva ...

'', which is also of brick covered with stucco. After the death of Mary Bowie in 1825, the plantation was entangled in legal issues until the house was sold in 1846 to William J. Berry, one of the county's wealthiest planters. Bowieville was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1973.

References

External links

*, including photograph in 1989, at Maryland Historical Trust web site * {{National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland Houses completed in 1820 Houses in Prince George's County, Maryland Federal architecture in Maryland Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Plantation houses in Maryland Bowie family National Register of Historic Places in Prince George's County, Maryland