Pleasant Hills

About this property

Pleasant Hills is a historic home located near Upper Marlboro in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is a large, two-part brick house with Greek Revival detailing. The more recent, main block, was built in 1836 by Zaddock Sasscer. Pleasant Hills was built in a side-hall-and-double-parlor plan style that was popular among the wealthy planter class of Prince George's County during the early part of the 19th century. The property was the homestead of the Sasscer and Hill family, prominent in local politics and commerce, since the property was purchased by Zaddock Sasscer in 1807 as his "dwelling plantation". The architectural details of the main block of the house suggest that it was constructed during the 1830s. In fact, the architrave around the windows and doorways are identical to one that appears in an Asher Benjamin builder's book of 1830. The two-story hyphen and wing date from earlier, however, and were already standing when Zaddock Sasscer bought them from Colmore Beans (brother to William Beanes of "Star Spangled Banner" fame) in 1807. According to the last owners from the family, their restoration/renovation process revealed building methods and materials in the kitchen wing that pre-dates the rest of the main block. This is also supported by a family legend that the original main block burned to the ground. The side-hall and double-parlor plan in which Pleasant Hills was constructed is typical of homes built by the wealthy planter class of Prince George's County. The double parlors allowed for a "best parlor" for receiving guests and a less formal back parlor (also known as dining parlor or sitting room) where the family could retire. Double parlors could also allow for the partially separate, yet concurrent, entertaining of ladies and gentlemen. One parlor contained the typical accouterments of an early 19th-century parlor, including a dozen chairs, sofa, table, parlor mirror and three pictures. The second of the two parlors contained a parlor lamp, sideboard, two tables, book stand, liquor case, and a few odds and ends. As was typical of the family parlor, this room appears to have been used for dining and reading or other forms of relaxation. Still another room (probably the one adjoining the kitchen in the old section) lists a sideboard, cupboard, table, and chairs. The considerable amount of space given over to the hall passage further reflects the rise in the importance of separating social space from family space, and the control over circulation through rooms that occurred during the mid-18th century. The large hall served as both a formal entry into the house and a transitional space between the two parlors and the outside. It also allows for entry into either parlor without having to go through multiple rooms. The hall passage which runs from front to rear as seen at Pleasant Hills also allowed for cross ventilation, which was particularly important during summer months. Numerous inventories indicate that these passages were often used as living rooms during that time. It is not unusual to see listed dining or other tables, couches, desks, etc. within passages (or even bedsteads in second-floor passages). From these inventories the hall passage is speculated to be an integral part of the overall plan and probably served as more than just a formal entry.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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