Wye House
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| Wye House | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. National Historic Landmark) | |
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| Nearest city: | Easton, Maryland |
| Built/Founded: | 1781 |
| Architect: | Key,Robert |
| Architectural style(s): | Georgian, Federal |
| Added to NRHP: | April 15, 1970 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 70000264[1] |
| Governing body: | Private |
Wye House is a large Southern frame plantation house located in Talbot County, Maryland, seven miles (11 km) northwest of Easton. It was listed for preservation on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
The Wye plantation was settled in the 1650s by a Welsh Puritan and wealthy planter, Edward Lloyd. Around 1790, the main house was built by his great-grandson, Edward Lloyd IV.[2] It is cited as an example between the transition of Georgian and Federal architecture, which is attributed to builder Robert Key. Nearby the house is an orangery, a rare survival of an early garden structure where orange and lemon trees were cultivated, and which still contains its original 18th century heating system of hot air ducts.[3]
During its peak, the plantation surrounding the house encompassed 42,000 acres (170 km²) and housed over 1,000 slaves.[4] Though the land has shrunk to 1,300 acres (5.3 km²) today, it is still owned by the descendants of Edward Lloyd, now in their 11th generation on the property. Frederick Douglass spent a few years of his life on the plantation, around the ages of seven and eight, and spoke extensively of the brutal conditions of the plantation in his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.[4]
The nearby hamlets of Unionville and Coppertown are where many descendents of the slaves who worked Wye House live today. This has created an interesting dynamic, considering the descendents of both the slave owners and the slaves still live within a very short distance of one another.[2][4][5]
The Wye House plantation gained significant media attention in 2006 for archaeological investigations led by the University of Maryland.[4][5]
[edit] See also
- Chase-Lloyd House National Historic Landmark in Annapolis, Maryland, owned by the Lloyd family 1771-1847.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ a b Ydstie, John. "Plantation Dig Reveals Md. Town's Painful Past", National Public Radio, October 20, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
- ^ National Register forms, including online information
- ^ a b c d Wilford, John Noble. "An Abolitionist Leads the Way in Unearthing of Slaves’ Past", The New York Times, September 6, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-13.
- ^ a b Williamson, Elizabeth. "Unearthing Slavery, Finding Peace", The Washington Post, July 21, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-13.
[edit] External links
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