Saving Rich Hill

[Anita]

So happy to learn Rich Hill , as you said Laurie, "now belongs to the people!" Thanks for this great news.

[brtmchl]

That IS great news.

[L Verge]

I spoke to soon - there is a slight hitch to the final signing. Rich Hill is in a rural area and shares a septic field with another property. A minor problem and usually an easy adjustment, but it will delay the final announcement of the acquisition.

I'm a little confused because there is only one other structure near Rich Hill, and I thought that house was part of the acreage of the historic house. I think the occupant has served as sort of a caretaker for the property. Why is nothing ever easy in this day and age?

[L Verge]

As you know, we have been very concerned with the fate of Rich Hill, home of Samuel Cox and a stop on the Booth escape route. Last month, we were happy to announce that the house and property had been purchased by the Charles County, Maryland, government. We now wish to correct that statement – the house and land were donated to the county for preservation by the owners, Delegate and Mrs. Joseph Vallario of Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Delegate Vallario is a longtime representative to the Maryland House of Delegates, and we thank his family for their generosity and support of historic preservation.

[Anita]

Great news and a wonderful gift to the people by Delegate and Mrs. Joseph Vallario. Thanks for the update Laurie.

[Dave Taylor]

I just hope this bill gets passed to help pay for the remodeling Rich Hill needs: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMai...&ys=2014RS

[L Verge]

If I am not mistaken, the bond bill was written by Senator Mike Miller (who caught the snafu in the original contract on Rich Hill), who is President of the Maryland State Senate, a Civil War buff, a grandson of the man who donated Surratt House to The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission back in the 1960s, and a Life Member of the Surratt Society. The bill is co-sponsored by State Senator Mac Middleton, who is very popular in Charles County, has been in the State Senate for years, and whose family goes back for generations in the county and Southern Maryland.

In addition, it has popular support from the Charles County Historical Society and from the President of the College of Southern Maryland, himself a Civil War scholar and author. If this bond bill doesn't pass, something's rotten in Denmark.

P.S. I believe that Del. Vallario is head of the state appropriations committee and has been in office as long as I can remember.

[L Verge]

Full steam ahead on the Rich Hill project (hopefully). I just received an email from the president of the Charles County Historical Society announcing that the Maryland State Legislature has approved $750,000 to begin the rehabilitation of Rich Hill.

[RJNorton]

Here is a link to a story in today's Southern Maryland Newspapers Online:

http://www.somdnews.com/article/20140416...-preserved&template=southernMaryland

[Gene C]

Thanks for posting this Roger. Some good photo's in the article. The photo in the slide show of the left side of the home with the fireplace brick work is interesting. In its day, this must have been quite a nice home.

(How do you find out about all these news articles? Do you subscribe to a service, or do friends just email them to you)

[RJNorton]

Gene, I have signed up for Google Alerts on a few topics, and this is one of them. Google then automatically sends you links to articles that you are interested in. It's a neat service.

[BettyO]

Agreed! I have Google Alerts sent all the time - and they do contain some useful information -

[Dave Taylor]

Michael Mazzeo, vice president of the Charles County Historical Society, said the house was built in the early to mid-1700s by Rev. Richard Brown, the brother of Dr. Gustavus Brown, who was one of George Washington’s physicians. The name Rich Hill comes from Richard Brown.

Actually, the house was built by Rev. Richard Brown's father, Dr. Gustavus Brown, Sr. Both Rev. Richard Brown and Dr. Gustavus Brown, Jr. (Washington's physician) grew up in the house. When their father died, Rev. Richard Brown inherited the house and made improvements on it.

Also the name "Rich Hills" was around before Rev. Richard Brown was born and even before the house was built. In April of 1666, a recent immigrant from Wales named Hugh Thomas was assigned and patented “600 acres of land, called Rich Hills, on the west side of the Wicomico river, in Charles county, Md.”

For more, see my article "A History of Rich Hill" in the Surratt Courier, January 2014.

[L Verge]

If one views the slide that Gene is referring to of the chimney end of the house, one sees two small windows between the chimneys. This is a rather unique architectural feature known as a "pent." There is actually a small (closet-size) room between the chimneys both upstairs and down. I'm not sure what the purpose is/was.

[RJNorton]

Thanks to Laurie for sending the following note and image:

"The Maryland Independent newspaper of July 19, 1987, carried the following architectural drawing of what historic Rich Hill looked like in its original, colonial form. The roof style is termed a “jerkin head” and note the more symmetrical façade than what the later renovations show. Much more impressive looking in the 1700s…"