Discover The Beauty of Historic Sotterley Plantation

Story by George Newman and Photography by Robert Tinari

Sotterley Plantation is "the best-kept secret in Maryland," says its Executive Director Catherine Elder. "We're working on that, though."

Spreading the word about Sotterley is work well worth doing. From its majestic 890-acre site overlooking the Patuxent River in St. Mary's County, the historic plantation has witnessed colonialism and revolution, slavery and freedom, prosperity and decay. For nearly 300 years Sotterley was home to many of Maryland's leading citizens, including its sixth governor, George Plater III. George Washington visited and admired the construction of Sotterley's main house. It probably is no coincidence that Mount Vernon has architectural features in common with Sotterley, which predates it by three decades.

"Once you've toured the house, you've experienced the history of America," says Elizabeth Harmon, who, as a "founding mother" of the Sotterley Garden Guild, played a part in bringing the plantation back from the brink of extinction just a few years ago.

The story of Sotterley's decline and revival begins with the death in 1993 of Mabel Satterlee Ingalls, granddaughter of J. Pierpoint Morgan and the last private occupant of Sotterley. Back in 1961, she opened the plantation to visitors and created the Sotterley Mansion Foundation to ensure that Sotterley would continue to be a public historical site. But the foundation was under funded. After Mrs. Ingalls' death Sotterley was in such poor repair that the trustees decided to close the plantation to the public until basic renovations could be made.

Elizabeth Harmon, then 77, was one of a small group of volunteers who conducted tours of Sotterley and helped maintain the grounds, including the extensive gardens that command a sweeping view of the Patuxent. As she recalls in her history of the Garden Guild, closing Sotterley's house and its outbuildings wouldn't do any physical harm, but neglecting the garden was another matter. A garden, she wrote, "is a living, growing thing and would be in a terrible state of affairs in one season."

Although Sotterley's overall condition did come close to "a terrible state of affairs" - the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed it on its 1996 list of the 11 most endangered historic places in the United States - the gardens never suffered that fate. The Garden Guild, with a strong initial push from Harmon and her friend Lizette Day, organized a volunteer group of gardeners who are still going strong. Day had been living on the property since 1975 when she and her husband came to Sotterley looking for volunteer work and hit it off with Ingalls, who gave them a cottage to occupy.

The garden preserved by Elizabeth Harmon, Lizette Day and their allies was not the original 18th century Sotterley garden, of which no record remains. However, it does reflect an early-20th century idea of what an 18th century garden would look like. It was designed in 1910, the year that Herbert Satterlee, Ingalls' father, bought the plantation. (The similarity of names, Sotterley and Satterlee, is no coincidence. Sotterley is named for the ancestral home of the Satterle family in England. With an additional "e" in their names, the American Satterlees gained considerable prominence. Herbert had been Theodore Roosevelt's assistant secretary of the Navy. His cousin Henry, the first Episcopal bishop of Washington, acquired the land for Washington National Cathedral.)

Herbert and Louise Satterlee wanted a "neo-colonial garden," one that would produce the vegetables, herbs, fruits and nuts essential to 18th century life, as well as the flowers that would decorate Sotterley's mansion. Their design survives today, maintained by a new crop of volunteers, all Maryland Master Gardeners, led by Sonia Franklin and Robert Aldridge. Harmon, now 90, and Day remain very much involved. Today's garden provides income as well as beauty: its plants form the nucleus of Sotterley's annual plant sale. Sotterley's gift shop stocks herb seeds from the garden. And the vegetables?

"We eat them," says Sonia Franklin. It's the only material reward for gardening at Sotterley. But the garden volunteers - like their counterpart tour guides and office help - reap rich rewards in preserving Sotterley's history and unlocking its secrets.

Visiting Sotterley

Sotterley Plantation, once listed as one of America's most endangered historic sites, now is recognized by the Interior Department as a National Historic Landmark. It is situated just off Maryland Route 245 in Hollywood, about four miles east of the Route 235 junction. Sotterley's grounds are open year round (closed Mondays), but guided tours of the mansion are available only May 1-Oct. 31. Driving directions and much more are at www.sotterley.com.

Contemporary and historic photos of Sotterley Mansion are available in our Multimedia Gallery.