There are numerous historic homes and museums located all around Annapolis. Annapolis was an important Colonial town, all four of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were living in Annapolis at that time. We have linked to the visitor center site, read on for a listing of many of these homes.
Read More...The historic homes in Annapolis include:
- William Paca House and Gardens (1763) – huge home, the “townhouse” of Declaration of Independence signer. Lovely 2 acre gardens
- James Brice House (1767) – take the hardhat tour when available.
- Hammond-Harwood House (1774) – renowned architecture, curated with many original objects from Colonial times
- Chase Lloyd House (1769) – site of wedding of Francis Scott Key (Star Spangled Banner author). Built by signer of Declaration of Independence
- Banneker – Douglass Museum (1790) – Maryland’s museum of African-American history from 1633 to today. Daily.
- Charles Carroll house (1720’s) – birthplace of Declaration of Independence signer, family dates to original settlers in Maryland in late 1600’s. Adjacent to St Mary’s church (1860)
- Hogshead – Rare surviving example of a building type that was common in 18th-century Annapolis. See how working class lived. Open on weekends.
- Alex Haley/Kunta Kinte memorial – site of 1767 arrival of slave as immortalized in “Roots”
- Annapolis Maritime Museum – Pair with lunch at Davis’ Pub or other Eastport locations
There are even more historic homes in and around Annapolis. If history is your thing, you need to come to Annapolis!
Further historical background
The city was established in 1649 and was first known as Anne Arundel Town after Lord Baltimore’s wife. The name was changed in honor of Princess Anne of England when the capital of Maryland was moved from St. Mary’s City to Annapolis. The city charter was given in 1708.
From 1783 – August 1784 it was the United States’ first peacetime capital. George Washington resigned his commission as General of the Continental Armies in the Maryland State House in 1783. The Treaty of Paris, which ended the American revolutionary war, was ratified here in 1784.
In 1808 Fort Severn was built in Annapolis and helped to prevent British attacks on the city during the War of 1812. The fort was inhabited by soldiers until 1845, and in 1850 it was transferred to the US Navy and became the US Naval Academy.
Well into the nineteenth century the area remained agrarian, but as growth in the twentieth century in the Baltimore and Washington DC areas came, so did growth in Annapolis. Annapolis did not grow as fast as Baltimore’s harbor is much larger and Washington became the Federal capital, but Annapolis has held its own unique position as both State capital, home of the Naval Academy and a sailing center for the Chesapeake Bay.
Today there are more original 18th-century homes in existence and in use here than in any other city in the US.
