Posted on 02/15/2006 9:56:54 AM PST by Pharmboy
Tucked in the rolling hills of western Howard County, Doughoregan Manor is a hidden touchstone to America's founding. It is the ancestral home of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, one of the 56 revolutionaries who signed the Declaration of Independence. Some consider it Maryland's Monticello.
Unlike the famed Virginia estate, however, the 892-acre Doughoregan (pronounced "Doe-RAY-gun") property is owned by the Founding Father's direct descendants, who still live there. The intensely private family is considering selling some of Doughoregan for development and seeking tens of millions of dollars from the state and county to permanently preserve the rest.
Perched on the edge of suburbia, Doughoregan Manor was described as "not like any other 892 acres because of the history."
For developers and preservationists alike, the stakes are huge.
"It's right in the middle of the county," said Steven K. Breeden, a principal in Security Development of Ellicott City, which has developed residential subdivisions on former Doughoregan parcels. "There's a huge demand for any land in the county."
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"It's just so unique," said Ann Holmes Jones, vice president of the Howard County Conservancy, a local land trust. "It's not like any other 892 acres because of the history."
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The earliest portion of the manor house dates to 1727, but the Carrolls have owned the land, named for their ancient Irish homeland, for about 300 years. Charles Carroll, the only Roman Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, met at Doughoregan with the leaders of the Revolution: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, James Monroe and the Marquis de Lafayette. Carroll -- who died in 1832 at age 95, the last of the signers to die -- is buried in the small chapel that adjoins one wing of the manor house.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Maybe they can get a quick infusion of cash by allowing Mel Gibson to film another revolutionary war movie there.
"Some residents say that the family is pursuing public money even though it has assiduously blocked public access"
So, they want public money to preserve a "piece of history" but don't want any public access to the history.
Doesn't fly. Prepare for McMansions.
Carroll the Signer was certainly a great man, but his descendants act like the Old World Royalty the Signer risked his life to remove from these shores.
I have to agree with you. I can understand how they feel, but they have to make a decision about what is more important. Personally, I think all efforts should be made to preserve this piece of history. But that means that the Carrolls will have to either leave or take residence in a small part and open it up. They can't have it both ways.
This is a complex story, but the family is considering selling land to raise money, and they also want millions from the county and state for preservation.
It would be possible for them to raise some money by opening the estate to the public, but they are intensely private. I would hate to see most of that property become a housing development.
Agreed--would like to see that property maintained as close to how Carroll the Signer had known it. But the family seems strange...
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