national register of historic places u.s. national historic landmark montpelier in may 2007 show map of maryland show map of the us nearest city laurel maryland coordinates 39 3 54 n 76 50 42 w 39.06500 n 76.84500 w 39.06500 ; 76.84500 coordinates 39 3 54 n 76 50 42 w 39.06500 n 76.84500 w 39.06500 ; 76.84500 area 110 acres 45 ha 1 built 1748 2 or 1783 3 architect unknown architectural style georgian nrhp reference 70000852 significant dates added to nrhp april 17 1970 2 designated nhl april 15 1970 4 located south of laurel in prince george s county maryland united states montpelier mansion is a five part georgian style plantation house most likely constructed between 1781 and 1785 . 3 it has also been known as the snowden long house new birmingham or simply montpelier . 2 built by major thomas snowden and his wife anne the house is now a national historic landmark operated as a house museum . the home and 70 acres 28 ha remain of what was once a slave plantation of about 9 000 acres 3 600 ha . 5 it was declared a national historic landmark in 1970 . 1 4 contents 1 history 2 famous visitors 3 description 4 gallery 5 references 6 external links history edit richard snowden originally migrated to america in 1658 from birmingham england 6 where his family had settled for many years after originating in wales . 7 richard the immigrant had a son richard junior 1719 1753 8 who had a son richard the iron master 9 d. 1763 . 10 richard the iron master acquired much wealth through an iron forge mining local iron . 10 richard then had a son thomas 1722 1770 who had a son major thomas 1751 1803 11 so called because of his service in the american revolution . 9 major thomas married anne ridgely 11 who was raised at an earlier estate named montpelier in fulton maryland and built the mansion circa 1783 . 3 their son nicholas snowden who had been born at the mansion in 1786 was its next owner until he died in 1831 . his son nicholas n. snowden also born at the mansion became a farmer next to avondale mill and died at manassas while serving in the 1st maryland infantry csa . 12 the home then passed to nicholas daughter julianna maria who married dr. theodore jenkins there in 1835 . dr. jenkins died in 1866 and upon mrs. jenkins later death the mansion passed to her children 9 who kept ownership in the family until 1890 . 3 the home was later owned by speculative investors w.p. davis and martin w. chollar . in 1895 it was sold to josephine d. taylor of new york as a summer home . its title went to lewis h. blakeman of new york in 1900 then to new york writer edmund h. pendleton who lived there from 1905 until his death in 1910 9 having made it his winter home . 13 pendleton s estate sold the mansion to otto v. von schrader in 1911 . 9 after a succession of other owners mansion ownership transferred in 1928 14 to breckinridge long undersecretary of state 15 under franklin d. roosevelt and united states ambassador to italy from 1933 to 1936 . 16 long s daughter christine l. willcox the mansion s last private owner 17 donated the property to the maryland national capital park and planning commission in 1961 . it was shown to the public as part of the u.s. bicentennial celebrations in 1976 . the same year a barn budgeted to become a public arts center was destroyed by arson . 18 the mansion was renovated in the 1980s with funds from a state grant . the historic home was opened as a public tourist attraction in 1985 19 reflecting its ownership by nicholas snowden 5 in 1830 . the mansion can be rented for conferences and weddings and the grounds serve as a cultural center hosting special exhibitions and performances . 20 famous visitors edit abigail adams 21 franklin d. roosevelt 16 george washington at least twice may and september 1787 on his way to and from philadelphia as a delegate to the constitutional convention 22 martha washington on the way to her husband s first presidential inauguration in 1789 22 woodrow wilson 16 description edit montpelier is a five part georgian country house with a central block and flanking end pavilions connected to the main block by hyphens . the two story central block has a five bay elevation with a projecting three bay pavilion topped by a pediment . the hipped roof features large projecting chimneys emerging about halfway up the roofline . the front and rear doors are similar in character with flanking pilasters and an open pediment the interior features carved woodwork . the paneling in the drawing room conceals a secret doorway leading to a set of stairs . 1 in 1970 the house was set in formal gardens . three terraces were outlined in boxwood hedges and arranged as an all e. a boxwood maze near the south wing was stated to be more than 200 years old . 1 most of the boxwood hedges have since been removed . a hexagonal eighteenth century summerhouse is located at the end of the all e. 1 gallery edit montpelier in may 2007 the montpelier summer house in may 2007 the gardens at montpelier the gardens at montpelier the gardens at montpelier references edit a b c d e mrs. preston parish january 15 1970 . national register of historic places inventory nomination montpelier snowden long house new birmingham pdf . national park service . and accompanying three photos exterior from 1970 pdf 32 kb a b c national park service 2008 04 15 . national register information system . national register of historic places . national park service . a b c d montpelier mansion history . maryland national capital park and planning commission . retrieved 2008 04 13 . a b montpelier . national historic landmark summary listing . national park service . retrieved 2008 10 29 . a b historic homes in maryland . self guided walking tours of women s history sites . national museum of women s history . retrieved 2008 07 15 . morley dr. l.b. c. 1948 . early history of patuxent wildlife research center pdf . patuxent wildlife research center . p. 9 . retrieved 2008 07 15 . snowden and warfield family genealogy website . dr. george a. sheele md. retrieved 2008 07 15 . ridgely helen w. 1908 . historic graves of maryland and the district of columbia . new york the grafton press . p. 89 . retrieved 2008 07 15 . a b c d e hammond john martin 1914 . colonial mansions of maryland and delaware . philadelphia j.b. lippincott . pp. 91 95 . retrieved 2008 07 15 . a b hammond 1914 p. 101 a b browning c.h. ed . 1883 . americans of royal descent . philadelphia porter & coates . p. 190 . retrieved 2008 07 15 . ruffner kevin conley . maryland s blue & gray a border state s union and confederate junior . p. 326 . isbn 978 0 8071 4182 3 . warfield joshua dorsey 1905 . the founders of anne arundel and howard counties maryland . baltimore kohn & pollock . p. 363 . retrieved 2008 07 15 . lavoie catherine c. february 1991 . montpelier pdf . historic american buildings survey . washington d.c. library of congress . p. 6 . retrieved 2008 07 16 . bryant katherine d. ; schneider donna l. 1999 . images of america prince george s county maryland . arcadia . p. 47 . isbn 0 7385 0265 0 . retrieved 2008 07 15 . a b c colbert judy 2007 . maryland and delaware off the beaten path . guilford connecticut globe pequot . p. 88 . isbn 0 7627 4418 9 . retrieved 2008 07 15 . st. george s day awards . prince george s county historical society . retrieved 2008 07 15 . two girls arrested in laurel barn fire . the washington post . 18 december 1976 . montpelier . laurel art guild . retrieved 2008 07 15 . what works best practices for sensible & sustainable growth pdf . a greater washington . november 2003 . retrieved 2008 07 13 . montpelier mansion introduction . maryland national capital park and planning commission . retrieved 2008 04 13 . a b george washington really did sleep here . evergreen press releases . maryland office of tourism . february 2004 . retrieved 2008 07 15 . dead link external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to montpellier mansion . official website montpelier prince george s county including undated photo at maryland historical trust historic american buildings survey habs no . md 140 montpelier montpelier drive & state route 197 laurel vicinity prince george s county md 50 photos 24 data pages 2 photo caption pages habs no . surveymd 140 a montpelier garden house 3 photos 1 photo caption page v t e u.s. national register of historic places in maryland topics contributing property keeper of the register historic district history of the national register of historic places national park service property types lists by county allegany anne arundel baltimore county calvert caroline carroll cecil charles dorchester frederick garrett harford howard kent montgomery prince george s queen anne s somerset st. mary s talbot washington wicomico worcester lists by city baltimore central north and northwest west and southwest east and northeast south and southeast other lists bridges national historic landmarks category national register of historic places in maryland portal national register of historic places retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title montpelier mansion laurel maryland & oldid 740921102 categories houses completed in 1785georgian architecture in marylandhouses in prince george s county marylandbuildings and structures in laurel marylandnational historic landmarks in marylandhouses on the national register of historic places in marylandhistoric house museums in marylandhistory of marylandplantation houses in marylandmuseums in prince george s county marylandwelsh american culture in marylandhistoric american buildings survey in marylandnational register of historic places in prince george s county marylandhidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from october 2010coordinates on wikidatacommons category with local link different than on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article 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