Mount Harmon
Encyclopedia
Mount Harmon is an historic home, located at Earleville
, Cecil County
, Maryland
, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1974, and is currently open to the public.
and pineapple keystone
supported by Ionic
pilaster
s.
. The plantation was created in 1651 as a land grant from Lord Baltimore to Godfrey Harmon.
From 1760 to 1810 Mount Harmon flourished as a tobacco plantation owned by the Louttit and George families. Mount Harmon eventually fell out of family hands and into disrepair.
In 1963, Marguerite duPont de Villiers Boden, a direct descendant of the Louttits and Georges, rescued the plantation, restoring the Colonial Kitchen and Manor House. Mrs. Boden filled the house with 18th century antiques, and restored the Tobacco Prize House as a reminder of the plantation’s days as a tobacco shipping center for the Sassafras River area. After Mrs. Boden’s death, her daughter Kip Kelso Boden Crist ensured the plantation’s future by forming Friends of Mount Harmon, Inc.
Mount Harmon gives water access to canoes, kayaks, and boats. The formal boxwood garden is used for weddings, and the spacious Manor House grounds are open for festive events and corporate meetings.
Earleville, Maryland
Earleville is an unincorporated community in Cecil County, Maryland, United States.Located at Earleville and listed on the National Register of Historic Places are: Bohemia Farm, Mount Harmon, Rose Hill, and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.-External links:*...
, Cecil County
Cecil County, Maryland
Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of the Delaware Valley. It was named for Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore , who was the first Proprietary Governor of the colony of Maryland from 1632 until his death in 1675. The county seat is Elkton. The newspaper...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1974, and is currently open to the public.
Style
Mount Harmon is an 18th century brick mansion built by Sidney George around 1788. In the late 1920s a frame wing was built on the south gable. It features a central door with a scrolled pedimentPediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
and pineapple keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
supported by Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s.
History
The Mount Harmon Plantation estate and nature preserve covers some 200 acre (0.809372 km²) adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay, on a peninsula by the north shore of the Sassafras RiverSassafras River
The Sassafras River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula in the United States. It is about long and starts in western New Castle County, Delaware, and along the boundary between Cecil County, Maryland on the north and Kent County, Maryland on the south...
. The plantation was created in 1651 as a land grant from Lord Baltimore to Godfrey Harmon.
From 1760 to 1810 Mount Harmon flourished as a tobacco plantation owned by the Louttit and George families. Mount Harmon eventually fell out of family hands and into disrepair.
In 1963, Marguerite duPont de Villiers Boden, a direct descendant of the Louttits and Georges, rescued the plantation, restoring the Colonial Kitchen and Manor House. Mrs. Boden filled the house with 18th century antiques, and restored the Tobacco Prize House as a reminder of the plantation’s days as a tobacco shipping center for the Sassafras River area. After Mrs. Boden’s death, her daughter Kip Kelso Boden Crist ensured the plantation’s future by forming Friends of Mount Harmon, Inc.
Friends of Mount Harmon
Today, the Friends of Mount Harmon (FOMH), almost all volunteers, preserve and interpret the plantation for the education and enjoyment of its visitors. FOMH conducts house and kitchen tours, hosts Colonial picnics, Yuletide tours, and special events, as well as operating educational programs for schools and maintain nature trails that wind around the property.Mount Harmon gives water access to canoes, kayaks, and boats. The formal boxwood garden is used for weddings, and the spacious Manor House grounds are open for festive events and corporate meetings.
External links
- Mount Harmon, Cecil County, including undated photo, Maryland Historical Trust
- Official website