How Many Marylanders Even Know About the Annapolis Tea Party?
There is always a lot to learn in any profession, and real estate is no exception. However, I never thought that this learning would be a history lesson. I am helping a client sell Bushy Park Farm in Glenwood, Howard County Maryland. The farm dates back to 1771, when it was originally part of a 1300 acre estate, in what was then Anne Arundel County. Dr. Charles Alexander Warfield built the home for his wife Elizabeth Ridgely.
Apparently Dr. Warfield was an active member of the Whig Club and the Sons of Liberty. After the Stamp Act of 1765, there was much concern about the level of taxation from the Crown. In 1774 the Brig Peggy Stewart was in the harbor at Annapolis, when it's owner, Anthony Stewart was forced by Dr. Warfield and other members of the Sons of Liberty to burn the ship.
The More Things Change the More They Stay The Same
While this is not a political blog, I can't help but note the irony of this home going on the market amid all the discussion in Annapolis and the rest of the State about taxes. For those of you outside Maryland, the Governor recently called a special session of the General Assembly to raise taxes. The actions taken during that session are currently the focus of legal action by the Republican Party, as apparently there were some procedural issues that were supposedly handled improperly. In addition, the scope of taxation was expanded to computer services with almost no notice, and the effects of that change are still being reviewed. Perhaps computer services will become the new Tea?
190 Acres of Majestic Pastoral Beauty
I will admit that each time I visit Bushy Park Farm, I am struck anew by it's beauty as I turn on to Carrs Mill Road from Rt 97. As the crops and land use change, as the seasons changes, it is like a new revelation. It almost feels like a portal back to a simpler time. The manor home, which features 8 bedrooms, is a stately vintage colonial, re-built in 1993 on the original foundation from 1771. On the rear window sil, in the cement below the window, is the word Charles, written with a finger. One can only imagine who may have written that.
The property also features numerous outbuildings and barns, a machine shop, and other agricultural buildings. It even has the footprint of the prior training track for racehorses, from it's prior use as part of the Maryland horse racing industry. In the center of the track is a stand of trees which mark the beginning of Cattail Creek, which meanders South into what is some of the most luxurious residential housing in Howard County.
The property, which is in the Maryland Agricultural Preservation Program always generates discussion within the community. Bordered as it is by two schools, and adjacent to a County Park and close to new commercial development, it's location is truly where old meets new. All the farmers in that area know that the farm was placed in "ag preserve," as they call it over 25 years ago. In the original agricultural preservation law, an owner could ask that the property be removed from the program if it could not be "profitably farmed" after 25 years. There is much conjecture that the property may be able to withdraw the agricultural easement, but that is a question for another post.
To see the beauty of this farm, click HERE and then check the virtual tour. Then impress your friends by telling them about the Annapolis Tea Party!