The Perry Hall Mansion is a historic structure located in the area to which it gave its name, Perry Hall,

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

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. Erected on a hill above the

Gunpowder River The Gunpowder River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tidal inlet on the western side of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, United States. It is formed by the jo ...

Valley, the mansion is an excellent example of late colonial and early 19th-century life in eastern Baltimore County.

History

Construction began under Corbin Lee, who died in 1773. It was completed under Harry Dorsey Gough, a wealthy

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

merchant, in 1776.Colwill, Stiles T. ''Francis Guy, 1760–1820''. Maryland Historical Society, 1981. Gough named the estate Perry Hall, after his

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

's ancestral home of the same name within what is now

Perry Hall Park Perry Hall Park or Perry Hall Country Park, and previously Perry Hall Playing Fields, is a park in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England, at . It was in Staffordshire until 1928.'The City of Birmingham', in A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, ...

, in

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, a northern suburb of

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. From the 16-room mansion, Gough administered his vast plantation operation, where dozens of slaves tended cattle, various food crops, and stands of tobacco. The Perry Hall estate was so influential that maps from the period typically identify modern-day Bel Air Road (

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...

) as "Perry Hall Road" or "Gough's Road." Gough died on May 8, 1808. Due to his statewide prominence, more than 2,000 people attended his funeral, which was held at the Perry Hall estate. The mansion was generally viewed as being at its zenith during the early Nineteenth Century. Visitors commented on the distinctive architectural features of the home as well as the lush gardens on the surrounding grounds. When one looks at the mansion as it existed in Gough's time, it is clear that the house included features that mirrored the diverse facets of Harry Dorsey Gough's life. The impressive wine cellars and expansive grand hall used for entertaining symbolized Gough's socially prominent life before his conversion to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

. After his conversion, Gough built a chapel near the mansion's eastern wing that allowed him to quietly pursue his religious worship, along with his family, servants, and other neighboring landowners. Perry Hall remained under the ownership of Gough's descendants until 1852 when it was sold to investors who subdivided much of the property among immigrant families who built dozens of farms. The mansion remained in private ownership for over two centuries, and by 2001, the vast estate had been whittled down to approximately four acres. That year, the mansion was sold to Baltimore County for future use as a museum and community center. The home in its original form appears in three large paintings made about 1803 by

Francis Guy Francis Guy (1760–1820) was an English-born American Colonial Era painter. Mostly remembered for his topographic views of Brooklyn, Guy is today highly regarded as one of America's earliest and most important landscape artists.http://dallasmu ...

. It 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 1980.

Friends of the Perry Hall Mansion

Since its acquisition by the Department of Parks and Recreation for Baltimore County, the Perry Hall Mansion has received a comprehensive exterior renovation. In addition, a structure has been created to allow the public to be directly involved in shaping the future of this historically significant property. The Friends of the Perry Hall Mansion is a freestanding organization, formed in September 2007, that aims to work to complete the renovations at the mansion, and care for the structure once the project is finished. The officers and directors will work to achieve the group's mission to educate the public about the Perry Hall Mansion and provide input to the Baltimore County government on its uses and operations. The Friends' agenda includes continued fund-raising for the interior renovation of the building, the initiation of an archaeological dig on the property, and the completion of a master plan to help guide the future use and continuous improvement of the mansion and grounds. Current members of the board of directors are as follows: Jeffrey Smith, president, Neil Miller, vice president, Tim Kosiba, treasurer, Linda Polesne, secretary, Colleen Bowers, membership chairperson, and Wayne Schaumburg, Vince Pecora, Ann Palrang, Laura Kimball, Melissa Redmer, and Peggy Neidlinger, directors.

Gallery

Image:Perry Hall Mansion.jpg, Artist Francis Guy's (1760-1820) portrait of Perry Hall Mansion, painted in 1803 Image:Perryhallhouseeastwing.jpg, The East wing of the mansion

References

External links

*, including photo from 1976, at Maryland Historical Trust *
Friends organization
{{Authority control African-American history of Baltimore County, Maryland English-American culture in Maryland Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Houses in Baltimore County, Maryland Houses completed in 1773 Georgian architecture in Maryland Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore County, Maryland Plantation houses in Maryland

History

Friends of the Perry Hall Mansion

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links