National Register of Historic Places

Waverley

Marriottsville, Howard County, Maryland
Listed
October 17, 1974
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
74000958

About this property

Waverly Mansion is a historic home located at Marriottsville in Howard County, Maryland, USA. It was built circa 1756, and is a 2+1⁄2-story Federal style stone house, covered with stucco, with a hyphen and addition that date to circa 1811. Also on the property are a small 1+1⁄2-story stone overseer's cottage and a 2-story frame-and-stone barn, and the ruins of a log slave quarter. Waverly was a property developed on land first patented by Charles Carroll of Carrollton and later part of the 1703 survey "Ranter's Ridge" owned by Captain Thomas Browne. The land was resurveyed in 1726 as "The Mistake." It was purchased by John Dorsey and deeded to his son and daughter-in-law, Nathan and Sophia Dorsey as the next owners. The property is associated with the Dorsey and Howard families. From the time it was established through the end of the Civil War, Waverly functioned as a plantation where unpaid slave labor was used for farm operations and creation of the wealth and lifestyle afforded to the Dorsey and Howard families. Through deeds, census records and an inventory taken upon the death of George Howard in 1846, information about the enslaved population at Waverly was uncovered. A 1965 article in the Ellicott City Times claimed that 999 slaves worked on the plantation at one time, but research has shown that between 7 and 25 enslaved men, women and children is more accurate. The Ellicott City Times article does not have any primary sources to back up this claim, nor is there an author's name credited to the article.

Location

Marriottsville, Howard County, Maryland
39.30192, -76.89827

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

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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The Land
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The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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The Community
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Nearby Historic Sites

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Burleigh
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2.9 mi
Brick House on the Pike
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3.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Waverley listed on the National Register?

Waverley was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 17, 1974.

What type of historic resource is Waverley?

Waverley is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Waverley?

The period of significance for Waverley is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Waverley?

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