Sion Hill | |
Nearest city | 2026 Level Road, Havre de Grace, Maryland |
---|---|
Coordinates | 39°33′54″N76°7′43″W / 39.56500°N 76.12861°W |
Architectural style | Federal, Georgian |
NRHP reference No. | 90000608 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 30, 1990 [1] |
Designated NHL | April 27, 1992 [2] |
Sion Hill is a National Historic Landmark in Havre de Grace, Maryland, notable as an example of high-style Federal architecture and as the home of a family of prominent officers of the United States Navy.
Work began at Sion Hill around 1785 for the Rev. John Ireland, but progressed slowly, as the unfinished house was sold in 1795 to Gordon Denison. In 1799 the still-unfinished house passed to Denison's daughter Minerva, who was to marry Commodore John Rodgers in 1806. [3] Together, they finished the house. Descendants of John and Minerva Rodgers still own the house today, and have included son John Rodgers II, who commanded ironclads in the US Civil War, Rear Admiral John Augustus Rodgers (1848-1933) and his son, naval aviator John Rodgers (1881-1926).
John Ireland bought the unimproved property above Havre de Grace in 1787 and began construction on the Sion Hill Seminary, intended as a boys' school. Ireland sold the property with the unfinished house in 1795 to Connecticut merchant Gideon Denison. Denison was apparently a real estate speculator, believing that Havre de Grace would expand significantly, and accumulated 1,820 acres (7.4 km2) around the house. Denison died in 1799, and his daughter Minerva inherited. After her marriage to John Rodgers at Sion Hill, the couple added the house's details. After Rodgers' retirement from active naval service in 1815 he returned to Sion Hill, continuing to advise on naval policy. Rodgers died in 1838. Minerva survived until 1877, but gave Sion Hill and 1,800 acres (7.3 km2) of surrounding land to her oldest son, Robert Smith Rodgers (1809-1891).
Robert Smith Rodgers, a civil engineer, enlisted in the Union Army as a private, rose to the rank of colonel during the American Civil War and commanded the 2nd Maryland Eastern Shore Infantry Regiment. In 1841 he married Sarah Perry, daughter of Commander Matthew C. Perry. The son of Robert S. and Sarah Perry Rodgers, Rear Admiral John Augustus Rodgers inherited the house and lived there until his death in 1933. [4]
Sion Hill was the site of an early aviation record. On September 16, 1911, ENS John Rodgers became the first man in America to visit his parents by airplane. He landed in a field about 200 yards from the house where his father, Rear Admiral John Rodgers, his mother Elizabeth, and brother Robert greeted him. His intention was to leave the next day for New York where his cousin Calbraith Perry Rodgers was to depart Sheepshead Bay for San Francisco at 3 pm that afternoon to compete for the $50,000 Hearst Prize. [5]
The house then passed to Rodgers' widow, Elizabeth Chambers Rodgers, who in 1944 left the property to a descendant of the first John Rodgers, John Meigs, John Rodger's great-grandson and grandson of Montgomery C. Meigs, who had married Louisa Rodgers. John Meigs in turn left the property to Montgomery Meigs Green in 1946. [4] His wife, Ann, gave it to their son Jonathan Green in 2004. [6]
Sion Hill is a brick three-part house with a five-bay 2+1⁄2-story central block flanked by one-bay shed-roofed wings. The main facade faces south toward Chesapeake Bay. This side features a pedimented porch at the entrance door, a three-part second floor window above, and a lunette in the attic gable. Typical windows are nine-over-nine sashes under flared stone lintels with projecting keystones. The rear elevation is similar, but somewhat simplified. The main roof is a cross-gable with smaller gables front and back. Large chimneys flank the roof, and are traditionally stated to have been built especially tall to be visible from the upper Chesapeake. [4]
The interior features a center hall plan. The summer and winter dining rooms, of equal size, lie to the east, with two parlors and the main stairs to the west. The plan plays with proportions; it is a three-part composition with one third a single unit, one third divided in half, and one third divided in three. The hall features a pilastered segmental arch, with a similar arch at the stair alcove. Woodwork is almost all original and of high quality throughout. The west wing was a schoolroom with dormitory space above, and retains its layout. The east wing was the kitchen wing, and has been rearranged to suit modern requirements. [4]
The 315-acre (127 ha) property also contains a brick tenant house, circa 1790, with two rooms on each of two levels. The house originally featured formal gardens, now largely lost. The property preserves expansive views of Chesapeake Bay and the town of Havre de Grace. [4]
The house was listed for sale on September 11, 2018, for $1.299 million [7] and sold for $900,000 on July 14, 2020. [8]
Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The county is part of the Mid-Eastern Shore region of the state.
Harford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state.
Havre de Grace, abbreviated HdG, is a city in Harford County, Maryland, United States. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which in full was once Le Havre de Grâce.
Commodore John Rodgers was a United States Navy officer who served during the Navy's formative years from the 1790s through to the late 1830s. He served under six presidents and for nearly four decades. His service took him through numerous military engagements of the Quasi-War, both Barbary Wars, and the War of 1812.
John Rodgers was an admiral in the United States Navy. He began his naval career as a commander in the American Civil War and during his postwar service became an admiral.
The Susquehanna Valley is a region of low-lying land that borders the Susquehanna River in the U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The valley consists of areas that lie along the main branch of the river, which flows from Upstate New York through Pennsylvania and Maryland into the Chesapeake Bay, as well as areas that lie along the shorter West Branch in Pennsylvania.
The Battle of St. Michaels was an engagement contested on August 10, 1813, during the War of 1812. British soldiers attacked the American militia at St. Michaels, Maryland, which is located on Maryland's Eastern Shore with access to Chesapeake Bay. At the time, this small town was on the main shipping route to important cities such as Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Maryland Route 7 (MD 7) is a collection of state highways in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for much of their length as Philadelphia Road, there are five disjoint mainline sections of the highway totaling 40.23 miles (64.74 km) that parallel U.S. Route 40 (US 40) in Baltimore, Harford, and Cecil counties in northeastern Maryland. The longest section of MD 7 begins at US 40 just east of the city of Baltimore in Rosedale and extends through eastern Baltimore County and southern Harford County to US 40 in Aberdeen. The next segment of the state highway is a C-shaped route through Havre de Grace on the west bank of the Susquehanna River. The third mainline section of MD 7 begins in Perryville on the east bank of the Susquehanna River and ends at US 40 a short distance west of the start of the fourth section, which passes through Charlestown and North East before ending at US 40, just west of Elkton. The fifth segment of the highway begins at South Street and passes through the eastern part of Elkton before reconnecting with US 40 east of Elkton and west of the Delaware state line.
David R. Craig is an American Republican Party politician from the State of Maryland who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Governor of Maryland in 2014. He was appointed, and sworn in as Harford County Executive on July 7, 2005. Craig was elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2010. Craig previously served in the Maryland State Senate in 1995–99 representing Harford County and in 1990-94 in the Maryland House of Delegates. He was also elected Mayor of Havre de Grace from 1985 to 1989 and 2001 to 2005. David was a teacher and assistant principal in the Harford County Public School System for thirty-four years.
Concord Point Light is a 36-foot (11 m) lighthouse in Havre de Grace, Maryland. It overlooks the point where Susquehanna River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, an area of increasing navigational traffic when it was constructed in 1827. It is the northernmost lighthouse and the second-oldest tower lighthouse still standing on the bay.
Havre de Grace High School is a four-year public high school in Havre de Grace in Harford County, Maryland, United States. The school is located near the southeast corner of Harford County where the Susquehanna River meets the Chesapeake Bay. The school motto is "Enter to Learn — Leave to Serve."
Maryland Route 22 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 12.91 miles (20.78 km) from U.S. Route 1 Business and MD 924 in Bel Air east to an entrance to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen. MD 22 is the main connection between the county seat of Bel Air and Aberdeen, which is the largest city in Harford County. The state highway also provides the primary route between Interstate 95 (I-95) and Aberdeen Proving Ground.
The Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal between Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, and Havre de Grace, Maryland, at the head of Chesapeake Bay, provided an interstate shipping alternative to 19th-century arks, rafts, and boats plying the difficult waters of the lower Susquehanna River. Built between 1836 and 1840, it ran 43 miles (69 km) along the west bank of the river and rendered obsolete an older, shorter canal along the east bank. Of its total length, 30 miles (48 km) were in Pennsylvania and 13 miles (21 km) in Maryland. Although rivalry between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland, delayed its construction, the finished canal brought increased shipments of coal and other raw materials to both cities from Pennsylvania's interior. Competition from railroads was a large factor in the canal's decline after 1855. Canal remnants, including a lock keeper's house, have been preserved in Maryland, and locks 12 and 15 have been preserved in Pennsylvania.
Harford County Public Schools (HCPS) is an American public school system serving the residents of Harford County, Maryland. HCPS is the 8th largest school district in Maryland and home to 9 Maryland Blue Ribbon and 6 National Blue Ribbon Schools. HCPS has about 39,000 students, 5,700 employees, 2,142 classrooms and 55 schools. HCPS is ranked as the #2 best school district in the Baltimore area and is ranked an A− by Niche. HCPS is also ranked #1 in Maryland for athletics, #3 for best teachers, and #5 best places to teach.
The Southern Terminal, Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal is a national historic district at Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland, United States. Located along the western bank of the Susquehanna River near its mouth at the Chesapeake Bay, it includes the Lock Master's House, the canal's outlet lock, and the foundations of a bulkhead wharf along the river side of the lock. Most of the structures built to serve aspects of the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal operations are no longer standing, but the locations of warehouses, stables, and several other buildings, including a broom factory, are shown on old city maps.
Martha Lewis is a Chesapeake Bay skipjack built in 1955. Her home port is Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland.
Maryland Route 155 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Level Road, the state highway runs 9.06 miles (14.58 km) from MD 22 in Churchville east to U.S. Route 40 and MD 7 in Havre de Grace. In conjunction with MD 22, MD 155 serves as the main highway linking Bel Air and Havre de Grace in eastern Harford County. The state highway also connects Havre de Grace with Interstate 95 (I-95) and Susquehanna State Park. The first portion of MD 155 near Havre de Grace was built by 1910; the remainder of the highway east of Hopewell Village was completed in the mid-1920s. The Churchville–Hopewell Village portion of the state highway, originally designated MD 156, was built in the mid-1930s. MD 155 received its present designation over its western half in 1952 when MD 155 and MD 156 swapped paths.
The Havre De Grace Police Department (HDGPD) is a full-service agency servicing the incorporated municipality of Havre De Grace, Maryland. Established in 1981, HDGPD is Havre De Grace's primary law enforcement agency.
Robert Ranson Lawder was an American politician from Maryland. Lawder served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1924 to 1930. He served as mayor of Havre de Grace from 1939 to 1951. He served as a member of the Maryland Senate from 1953 to 1954.