What moves events? Is it great men (or women)…Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth I?…Or is it the separate decisions of thousands of individuals… farmers, shopkeepers, mothers? In this talk I’d like to consider American women in the early 19th century, between 1800 and 1865. This was a period during which America was forming itself – […]
Read MoreBy Executive Director Carter Lively It’s hard to explain why our roofs and their underlying structures have presented us with so many challenges. The answer lies not at the time of construction in the 1770’s, but before that when the colonists in Maryland and Virginia were trying to build their first houses in the 1600’s. […]
Read MoreIt seems like everyone collects something – heirloom furniture, baseball cards, vintage purses… Sometimes it’s a purposeful process and sometimes you look around the house and realize that your possessions seem to have multiplied. At least, I do. Whether the collection is intentional or accidental, the outcome is usually the same: you have objects you […]
Read MoreBy Office Manager Jeanne Langdon I was looking through the old Maryland’s Way cookbook to find something to bake, to help advertise the soon to be released 50th anniversary edition of the cookbook, when a sentence in one cookie recipe caught my eye: “These will keep indefinitely.” I thought of Patrick. Patrick is a young […]
Read MoreThis week’s blog post is the first (but not last!) from new volunteer Katie Adams. By Volunteer Katie Adams I have been reading through my mother’s old copy of the Maryland’s Way cookbook, which she (according to a note on the flypage) picked up during an “architectural tour of Annapolis” with friends in April 1964. […]
Read MoreWe at Hammond-Harwood House think that old buildings are pretty special, and try to convince other people of that fact too. We appreciate it when someone else who feels the same way makes a clear, cogent argument for saving old houses. The Preservation Journey blog recently shared a short but sweet list of 6 reasons […]
Read MoreIt’s official: I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole. Like Alice in Wonderland, I am lost in a swirling mass of information, unsure of where it will all end. Unlike Alice, however, I love every second of it. You see, I have spent the past few days madly researching the Harwood family, trying to find information […]
Read MoreIt’s that time of year again! This weekend is our annual Secret Garden Tour from noon to 5pm Saturday and Sunday. Attendees will be able to tour 13 beautifully landscaped gardens within the heart of Annapolis’ historic downtown that are otherwise closed to the public. The tour this year features such historic gems as the […]
Read MoreTomorrow we are having a Pride and Prejudice-themed tea at Hammond-Harwood House, so my brain has been all Austen, all the time. And I’m not the only one; since this year is the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s best-known work, people all over the world are celebrating. The most impressive commemoration was put together by […]
Read MoreI love reading 18th century recipes but have never been brave enough to try to actually use one. For one thing, the quantities of ingredients used are staggering to a modern cook, with recipes often including multiple pounds of butter. It’s very clear that they weren’t quite as health-conscious as we are today. Luckily, Colonial […]
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