Hickory Ridge or White Hall is an historic property located in

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

in Howard County,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, United States. It is registered in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties. The 500-acre property known as Hickory Ridge was surveyed by Henry Ridgely III (1690–1749) ("Col. Henry Ridgely"), a grandson of pioneering surveyor Henry Ridgely (1640–1710) who had been granted land by

George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; ; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Em ...

. On Henry Ridgely III's death in 1749, the tract was deeded to his son Greenberry Ridgely (1726–1783), who built a stone cottage the same year, which still stands. In 1760 or 1789, Ridgely began building the

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...

primary residence. The building is a two-and-a-half-story structure made of

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 ...

brick. The farm had enslaved labor who worked in fields of tobacco and wheat, and were housed in stone "Quarters". Greenberry Ridgely's son Nicholas Greenberry Ridgely (1764–1829), a rich wine merchant in Baltimore, inherited the property in 1800 and added on to the main house. The property was then acquired by the Adams family. Samuel and Martha Smith Hopkins acquired the property in either the 1850s or 1877, naming it "White Hall" after the birthplace of Samuel, and his uncle the hospital/university founder

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where he remained for mos ...

. The Hopkins family lived there for 75 years. It is where Maryland State Senate President James A. Clark, Jr.'s mother Alda Hopkins was born and raised. It was sold to Henry H. Owens who restored the "Hickory Ridge" name. The following owners Richard Jenkins and his wife restored the property to its historical character, beginning in 1972, and oversaw its inclusion in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties, in 1977. Jenkins sold the property in 1983 to John McDaniel, founder and Chief Executive Officer of

MedStar Health MedStar Health is a not-for-profit healthcare organization. It operates more than 120 entities, including ten hospitals in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area of the United States. In 2011 it was ranked as the private sector employer ...

(ret. 2006). "Since I've been there, we’ve hosted every governor," McDaniel said, who listed the property for sale in 2019. Horses have long been a tradition. Samuel Harold Hopkins, son of the Samuel Hopkins who bought the property, was a founder and former president of the racetrack in Laurel, Maryland. He held the Horse Show at Highland on the estate. John McDaniel was a longtime Maryland racing commissioner, and expanded the equestrian facilities to breed thoroughbreds.

References

{{reflist, 2 Houses in Howard County, Maryland Farms in Maryland Houses completed in 1749 Ridgely family Brick buildings and structures in Maryland 1749 establishments in Maryland

See also

References