Blacksmithing was an essential aspect of life at Sotterley. Farmers needed to be able to repair plows, fix blades, and make horseshoes, tasks which would be far more difficult without the aid of a blacksmith's forge.
Early forges used a . . . — — Map (db m297663) HM
Building farm wagons took many skilled craftsmen and artisans. Some were specialists and some were skilled in more than one trade. Taking care of an repairing wagons, carriages and other equipment was a necessity to keep a farm or plantation . . . — — Map (db m297761) HM
All of Sotterley's families, whether aristocrats, servants, tenant farmers or enslaved, were large by today's standards. Elizabeth and George Plater III had five children. Emeline and Walter Briscoe had 13. Hilry Cane, an enslaved man, had 18 . . . — — Map (db m297765) HM
Coopering is an ancient trade that dates back to approximately 2690 BC. The cooper made casks or barrels for the storage and transport of trade goods, buckets and tubs for household use, hogsheads for the transport of tobacco to England. . . . — — Map (db m297711) HM
What you see at Sotterley today reflects primarily the imprint of its 20th-century owners. The property was farmed even before James Bowles built his house here in 1703, but nothing remains of the outbuildings from that era. Many of the . . . — — Map (db m297762) HM
Food served at Sotterley was a melting pot of English, African, and Native American foodways, adapted to what was available at the start of the colonial period and evolving into a distinctly American cuisine as the years passed and food . . . — — Map (db m297781) HM
Agriculture was the basis for plantation life at Sotterley. The fertile land yielded export crops, such as tobacco and corn, and subsistence corps that fed Sotterley's owners and laborers. The landscape owned by Historic Sotterley today will . . . — — Map (db m297774) HM
Sixth Governor of the State of Maryland
Lifetime resident of Sotterley
Delegate to Lower House; Upper House; Naval officer of Patuxent; Council of Safety; Delegate to State Convention; Delegate to Continental Congress, President of . . . — — Map (db m297775) HM
Since the origin as Bowles' Preservation by 1703, Sotterley Plantation's ownership changed numerous times. In some cases, it quietly passed to heirs; in others, it was sold or auctioned. Sotterley's size increased and decreased as owners bought and . . . — — Map (db m297764) HM
Presented to
Mabel Satterlee Ingalls
by the Board of St. Mary's County Commissioners in recognition of her contribution of Sotterley Mansion as an educational foundation and her personal efforts in furthering the education of the students . . . — — Map (db m297776) HM
The Middle Passage was the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas. In 1720, the ship Generous Jenny carried enslaved Africans to Sotterley. Of 260 people, 29 died during the voyage. Sotterley owner James Bowles . . . — — Map (db m297794) HM
During colonial days, English government has hopes of exporting furs, foodstuffs, timber, flax and other products from Maryland's ports to the home county. In reality, tobacco was the only notable item produced and exported to England in large . . . — — Map (db m62630) HM
The Price of Prosperity
By the latter part of the 17th century, the development of the plantation economy of Maryland was well established. The shift of political power from English nobles to wealthy planters and fewer indentured servants . . . — — Map (db m146563) HM
Part of Resurrection Manor
An original grant in 1650 of 4000 acres to
Thomas Cornwaleys, Esq.
with Court Leet and Court Baron
"and all things belonging therunto
by law and custom of England"
Dedicated May 1972 by the National Society of . . . — — Map (db m62460) HM
For over a quarter of a century, Historic Sotterley has been dedicated to ensuring that the stories of all who lived and labored on these grounds are told. In this Sacred Space, we remember the families torn apart by slavery, those left behind in . . . — — Map (db m297792) HM
The Civil War drew some of Sotterley's slaves into service in the Union army, while their owners' sons joined the Confederate forces. On at least one occasion, a Sotterley slave, George Barnes, and his owner's son, Henry Briscoe, were . . . — — Map (db m297787) HM
Slavery existed in Maryland from the colony's founding in 1634 until it was abolished by constitutional amendment in 1864. African slavery had been formally regulated through a series of laws in the 1660s. By the end of the 17th century, the . . . — — Map (db m297789) HM
Sotterly
has been designated a
National Historic Landmark
This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America
Sotterly is an important Maryland Tidewater plantation surviving . . . — — Map (db m297625) HM
When the war began in 1861, Sotterley Plantation still relied on slave labor as did other plantations in Southern Maryland. Sotterley's owner, Dr. Walter Hanson Stone Briscoe, served as the surgeon for the Smallwood Vigilantes, a local . . . — — Map (db m297759) HM
The estate we know as Sotterley was carved out of a 4,000-acre land grant called Resurrection Manor by James Bowles, an Englishman who arrived in Maryland in 1699. Bowles was ambitious for his 2,000 acres, called "Bowles' Preservation," and for . . . — — Map (db m297661) HM
James Bowles could look with pride over the 2,000 acres he had acquired by 1703. With frontage on navigable water from which to import and export goods, he had all the makings of an independent, sustainable and very comfortable life. . . . — — Map (db m297719) HM
In the 18th century, enslaved African Americans were housed in outlying barns and buildings of the plantation, as well as in the passageways of the manor house. By the 19th century, approximately ten slave cabins were constructed between the . . . — — Map (db m62593) HM
Members of Sotterley's enslaved community lived near their work. Field hands sheltered in barns or shacks near their crops or cattle; some may have lived with tenant farmers who worked on the property. Those who labored transporting goods to and . . . — — Map (db m297791) HM
Farmers constructed buildings in which to process and store their various crops in specialized ways. Corn cribs (or corn houses) had to be sturdy to hold significant loads and to keep their walls from pushing out when filled. They had to be well . . . — — Map (db m297716) HM
"I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th instant which announced to us the disagreeable intelligence of Mrs. Plater's death. Mrs. Washington and myself sincerely condole you, your Lady, and the other friends of . . . — — Map (db m297778) HM
Sotterley and other nearby plantations paid a heavy price in the War of 1812. British blockades impeded trade of their principal cash crop -- tobacco -- and enemy raids plundered the region.
In June 1814 British forces landed near . . . — — Map (db m62610) HM
Sotterley's prime location on the Patuxent River, with access to the Chesapeake Bay, inevitably drew it into conflicts during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War.
The Plater families had been prominent in service to . . . — — Map (db m297628) HM
A Wheelwright was on the plantation to build and repair wheels for the various wagons used at Sotterley. Before the automobile horse drawn wagons were used to carry people and goods around the country. Horse and oxen pulled wagons carried tobacco . . . — — Map (db m297760) HM
You are entering Historic Sotterley's Sacred Space
Reflect on the lives of those who lived, labored, and walked this land before you.
May this space foster peace, connection, and insight as you reflect upon the past, its impact on the . . . — — Map (db m297793) HM
