Melwood Park 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 a -story,

Flemish bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and Mortar (masonry), mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''Course (architecture), courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks ...

brick structure, with

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details. As of 2009, it is undergoing an extensive restoration. This unique dwelling was visited by

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

on several occasions and the British Army camped here during their march to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in August 1814, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. Melwood Park 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 1976.

Ownership history

The house is significant for its early owners, some of the most prominent men in all phases of the life of colonial Maryland; the Digges, Carroll, and Lee families. The home was originally believed to have been built by Ignatius Digges (1707–1785) c. 1750, and subsequently raised to its present two stories by his widow, Mary Carroll Digges, in about 1800. Recent

dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...

performed on the roof rafters of Melwood Park suggest an earlier construction date. The confirmed felling date of the timbers used in construction of the roof date to the winter of 1713 and spring of 1714. At the time Melwood Park was owned by Henry Darnell Jr. (1682–1737) who owned an adjacent plantation known as His Lordship's Kindness. His father,

Henry Darnall Colonel Henry Darnall (1645 – 17 June 1711) was a planter, military officer and politician in colonial Maryland. Darnall served as the Proprietary Agent in the colony for Lord Baltimore; he also briefly served as Deputy Governor of Mary ...

(1645–1711), had earlier built nearby "The Woodyard." The original Melwood Park land patent was for of which half were eventually inherited by the Digges family. William Digges, who inherited half of the property purchased the half where the manor house was located in 1729. Ignatius Digges, son of William, inherited Melwood from his father in 1740. Ignatius Digges left the plantation to his wife, Mary Carroll Digges, who went on to live at Melwood Park for the next 40 years after his death in 1785. Ignatius Digges grandson Ignatius Digges Lee, son of his daughter

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

(1745–1805) who was wife of Maryland Governor

Thomas Sim Lee Thomas Sim Lee (October 29, 1745 – November 9, 1819) was an American planter and statesman of Frederick County, Maryland. Although not a signatory to the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation or the U.S. Constitution, h ...

(1745–1819), was scheduled to inherit Melwood Park, but predeceased his grandmother. Lee and his wife were buried at Melwood Park until moved to a nearby Catholic cemetery in 1888. Melwood Park was sold to

William Pumphrey William Pumphrey (1817 – 1905) was an early photographer based in York. Pumphrey was a Quaker and started out as a science teacher at Bootham School, York. He bought his licence from Samuel Walker, York's first practising photographer, in Jul ...

in about 1825, following the death of Mary. The current owner now is Mellwood Parke Foundation. Mellwood Parke is now managed by William C. Hendricks, as executive director.

Structure history

Exterior

The 1713–1714 dwelling was a timber-framed structure approximately , 6 inches by , with an ell of equal size situated on the north side. This first dwelling was one and a half stories. This dwelling had an riven oak clapboard roof sheathing, a 17:12 pitched roof and likely clapboard siding. No drawings of the original structure have been located, nor are there references to this building in land records. However, the evidence of this original structure is present in the dwelling today. Further dendrochronology performed in the roof structure indicated that significant changes were made to the building between 1767 and 1768. These changes include; extending the dwelling on the east by and on the west by , extending the loft to a full story across the south facade only, the addition of two outward flanking chimney stacks, encasing the south facing facade with brick nogging and a veneer brick, adding 16/16 common sliding sash windows of the first floor and 9/9 common sliding sash windows on the second floor. The veneer brick and addition of solid masonry were set in an artful Flemish bond pattern with glazed headers, queen course and oyster shell lime mortar with a grapevine joint. During this expansion it is assumed that the northward ell was not modified, however this portion of the building was removed in a subsequent renovation likely to have occurred circa 1897.

Interior

The interiors of Melwood Park are as impressive as the exterior. The

dining room A dining room is a room (architecture), room for eating, consuming food. In modern times it is usually adjacent to the kitchen for convenience in serving, although in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level. Historically ...

was paneled wood from floor to ceiling, similar detailing is used throughout the dwelling. Recent paint analysis of the interior indicates that Ignatius Digges painted the renovated interior all one color, a rust red, common to the era with a high gloss varnished finish to aid in the reflectance of light. It appears likely that his wife Mary redecorated the interiors shortly after his death in 1785, completing her cosmetic changes sometime after 1800. Further paint analysis has revealed that the second finish applied to the wood work inside the dwelling was very bright and colorful. She appears to have chosen colors common to the wealthy of her day;

Verdigris Verdigris is the common name for blue-green, copper-based pigments that form a patina on copper, bronze, and brass. The technical literature is ambiguous as to its chemical composition. Some sources refer to "neutral verdigris" as copper(II) ac ...

and

Prussian blue Prussian blue (also known as Berlin blue, Brandenburg blue or, in painting, Parisian or Paris blue) is a dark blue pigment produced by oxidation of ferrous ferrocyanide salts. It has the chemical formula Fe CN)">Cyanide.html" ;"title="e(Cyani ...

among the color recently discovered. The

color in the central or entry hall of the house was applied in an unusual way, there are distinct layers, 7 to be exact, of color that is translucent. This was then covered with at least 3 layers of a translucent tinted varnish. The effect would have been magnificent and would today be very difficult to replicate. The

seen in the east parlor (sometimes referred to as the dining room is dated to after 1800 due to the fact that a chemical which made the pigment more opaque was added to the paint, this chemical was not discovered or available in the United States until after 1800.

References

External links