Bellefields is a manor house located in

Croom Croom () is a village in County Limerick, Ireland. It is located just off the N20 (which has bypassed the town since 2001) on the River Maigue. It is 8 km southeast of Adare on the N20. The village is in a townland and civil parish of t ...

Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

. It was constructed about 1720. It is a brick structure in

Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...

with random glazed headers, and two stories over a high basement. The structure is rectangular, with gabled roof sections, paired interior end chimneys, a front center entrance, wide raised belt course above the first floor, flat arched openings, and flanking symmetrical single-story wings. It is in the Georgian style. It was the home of Patrick Sim, Scottish immigrant and of his son, Col. Joseph Sim, Maryland patriot.

History

Later, sometime after 1849, William Duckett Bowie lived there with his second wife. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1974. It was removed from the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 1986. On August 31, 2021, three of the farm's 39

zebras Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped Animal coat, coats. There are three Extant taxon, living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and t ...

escaped from the farm and began wandering around the woods of Upper Marlboro. In September, one of the zebras died in an illegal

snare trap Animal trapping, or simply trapping or ginning, is the use of a device to remotely catch and often kill an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including for meat, fur/feathers, sport hunting, pest control, and wildlife ma ...

. In October, the

Maryland Department of the Environment The Maryland Department of the EnvironmentMDE is a government agency in the state of Maryland that implements and enforces environmental protection laws and programs. The agency's stated vision is "Healthy, vibrant and sustainable communities and ...

and the Prince George's County Animal Services announced a plan to use two zebras from the herd at Bellefields to lure and corral the zebras back to the farm. Three animal cruelty charges were filed against the farm's owner on October 20. On December 15, the two remaining zebras were captured and returned to the farm.

Notable people

* William Williams (c. 1793–1814), born Frederick Hall on the Bellefields Plantation and as an escaped slave enlisted in 38th U.S. Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army dying from his wounds after the British bombardment of

Fort McHenry Fort McHenry is a historical American Coastal defense and fortification, coastal bastion fort, pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, Baltimore, Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

References

External links

*, including photo in 1974, at Maryland Historical Trust website * Houses completed in 1720 Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland Houses in Prince George's County, Maryland Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Georgian architecture in Maryland Scottish-American culture in Maryland Bowie family National Register of Historic Places in Prince George's County, Maryland 1720 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies {{PrinceGeorgesCountyMD-NRHP-stub