Belair Mansion (Bowie, Maryland)

For the historic property in Tennessee, see Belair (Nashville, Tennessee).
Belair Mansion
Front of Belair Mansion, August 2007
Location12207 Tulip Grove Drive in Bowie, Maryland, USA
Nearest cityBowie, Maryland
Coordinates38°57′57″N 76°44′48″W / 38.96583°N 76.74667°W / 38.96583; -76.74667
AreaArchitecture, Landscape Architecture, Politics/Government, Social History
Builtc. 1745
ArchitectBenjamin Tasker Sr. (original)[1]
Delano & Aldrich (1914 expansion)[2][3]
Architectural styleGeorgian plantation house
NRHP reference No.77001520[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 16, 1977

The Belair Mansion, located in the historic Collington area and in Bowie, Maryland, United States, built c. 1745, is the Georgian style plantation house of Provincial Governor of Maryland, Samuel Ogle. Later home to another Maryland governor, the mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]

Belair is recognized as the only great colonial estate where breeding of race horses was conducted over the course of three centuries.[4] The estate significantly influenced the development of thoroughbred horse racing in the new world,[5] having one of only two stables to raise two Triple Crown champions.[6] The mansion and its nearby stables both serve as museums, operated by the City of Bowie.

  1. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ Baltz, Shirley Vlasak (1984). A Chronicle of Belair. Bowie, Maryland: Bowie Heritage Committee. pp. 74–76. LCCN 85165028.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pennoyer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Fiehler, Leonard E; Baltz, Shirley (1976). National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form: Belair Mansion (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service.
  5. ^ Baltz, 1984, 14–19
  6. ^ Duke, Jacqueline (1999). Thoroughbred Champions: Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century. Lexington, Kentucky: The Blood-Horse, Inc. p. 105. ISBN 1-58150-024-6.