Carrollton Hall, Maryland

To commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776, Carrollton Hall in Ellicott City, Maryland, had an open house and cookout. The Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress but signatures did not go on until August. Charles Carroll of Carrollton was one of the four signers from Maryland. He was also the only Catholic to sign and he lived the longest of any of the signers, dying in 1832.

Carrollton Hall was constructed from 1831 to 1833, so he did not live to see it completed. He did not even plan to live in the house. The area was called Folly Farm, owned by Charles Carroll, who gave it to his granddaughter Emily Caton McTavish in 1831 when she married. Grandpa financed the building of the hall, an extra gift to the young couple. The hall and farm remained in the family until it was sold during the American Civil War to Charles Dougherty. The land went through a number of owners, eventually being sold to the Franciscan Friars Conventual who built the Shrine of Saint Anthony, a friary right next to the hall, in 1928. Only recently has the house been restored enough to be rented out for business meetings or retreats. And for public tours, which we took advantage of.

The day we visited was rainy which made the grilling even more smoky than it otherwise would be. The house looks a bit fog-covered but it's really smoke from the cooks in the back yard.

Carrollton Hall exterior

The house follows the Greek Revival style inside and out, with spacious rooms and amazing views off the "back porch."

Main hall

One of the many fireplaces

A map displays the plan of Folly Farm with the hall taking up only a very small part of the land. 

Plan for Carrollton Hall

The first floor has rooms on each side of the main hall. The pair of left-side rooms have a very wide doorway, allowing larger gatherings. 

Another fireplace

Looking from the front room into the back room

Fancy marble fireplace

View of the back lawn from inside

The back of the house

View from the back porch

The food was supposed to be served outdoors but the rain ruined that plan. We were lucky enough to get in the food line before it became very long. We enjoyed our burgers, fruit salad, and mac and cheese on the back porch. Some people took their food inside.

We saw the food line from the dryness of the porch

Back inside, we were able to go upstairs and see some more rooms. None of the original furnishings are there, resulting in some interesting items that surely were not owned by the McTavishes. 

The stairs

A bit of art

The top of the stairs has a small cupola to let light in.

Two light sources (and a wet camera)

The rest of the room

One room is set up for board meetings, including a monitor.

One of the upstairs rooms

The room's fireplace

A central room overlooking the back lawn is set up for a more causal meeting, decorated with a fancy chess set.

A more casual space

The kind of chess board you want to show off

Hard to get a good close up of the pieces

Yet another fireplace

Our visit was pretty short but enjoyable.