Belmont Estate

Belmont Manor and Historic Park
50
Map
TypeCounty
LocationElkridge, Maryland
Area68-acre (0.28 km2)
CreatedApril 11, 2015[1]
Operated byHoward County
StatusOpen
Website
Belmont Estate
Belmont Estate is located in Maryland
Belmont Estate
Belmont Estate is located in the United States
Belmont Estate
Nearest cityElkridge, Maryland
Coordinates39°13′12″N 76°43′53″W / 39.22000°N 76.73139°W / 39.22000; -76.73139
Built1730
ArchitectMultiple
Architectural styleQueen Anne, Georgian, Gothic Revival
Part ofLawyers Hill Historic District[2] (ID93001000[3])
Added to NRHPSeptember 23, 1993

The Belmont Estate, now Belmont Manor and Historic Park,[4] is a former plantation located at Elkridge, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Founded in the 1730s and known in the Colonial period as "Moore's Morning Choice",[5] it was one of the earliest forced-labor farms in Howard County, Maryland. Its 1738 plantation house is one of the finest examples of Colonial Georgian architectural style in Maryland.[4][6]

From the late 17th century until 1962, the property was privately owned and associated with important personages from the late 17th century to the 20th century, including Dr. Mordecai Moore, Caleb Dorsey,[5] Alexander Contee Hanson, and David K. E. Bruce.[7]

The property was then successively owned and maintained as the Belmont Conference Center, by the Smithsonian Institution, the American Chemical Society, and Howard Community College. It is now the 68-acre[4] Belmont Manor and Historic Park, owned by Howard County and its Department of Recreation and Parks. It adjoins Patapsco Valley State Park. Facilities on the estate include the Belmont Manor House, a carriage house, a cottage, a large barn,[4] formal gardens, a pond, and an aqua garden.[8]

It is listed on the Maryland Historic Trust (MHT), Inventory of Historic Properties (MIHP), and is on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as part of the Lawyers Hill Historic District, Elkridge, Maryland.

  1. ^ Yeager, Amanda (April 13, 2015). "Elkridge's historic Belmont Manor reopens". The Howard County Times. Baltimore Sun Media Group. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  2. ^ Lawyers Hill Historic District, includes photo of Belmont Manor House (photo credit: Amy Worden, 09/1991)
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d Gunts, Edward (September 20, 2012). "The past is prologue for Elkridge's Belmont Manor". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Stein, p. 197.
  6. ^ Hammond, John Martin (1914). Colonial mansions of Maryland and Delaware. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and London, England: J. B. Lippincott Company. pp. 174–175.
  7. ^ Besse, Ruth (May 17, 1985). "Traveling Back in time". The Washington Post.
  8. ^ "Belmont Manor and Historic Park map" (PDF). Howard County, Maryland Recreation and Parks. Retrieved September 25, 2014.[permanent dead link]