The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-07-08
AN ANCIENT MARYLAND MANOR.

AN ANClENT MAHXAAN1 M 1NOSs
Mr.. John Davis Anderson writes as follows
10 the Country Gentleman: THE present ten
dency Of wealthy men to found country seats
is really the survival of an old custom. From
the beginning of our history as nation certain
manor homes have been typical Of their time
and typical as we'll of the gentlemen who were
their masters. Washington is inextricably as
sociated with Mount Vernon, and SO too is
Thomas Jefferson with Monticello But neither
Mount Vernon nor Monticello was the best ex-
ample of our country life in those early days.
To Doughoregan Manor, the country seat Of
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, signer of the
Declaration of Independence, and one Of the
greatest men this land has produced. must be
awarded the first place. 1t is by far the most
imposing, most stately manor of the period in
which it was constructed. About forty years
ago the property came into the hands of for
mer Governor John Lee Carroll, of Maryland,
and thanks to his care and watchfulness, the
manor home and its environs were never in
more attractive state than they are today.
Fewer persons indeed have visited Dough
oregan Manor than most of the colonial homes
possessed of one-half its grandness, for the Car
roll estates are some seven miles distant from
a railroad station and about the same distance
from any town or village of size. But this very
isolation makes it the more emphatically
country home. One reaches it from Baltimore
by way of Catonsville and EIllcott City; there
the railroad is left behind and the rest of the
Journey is through sparsely settled country.
The way taken is along the road which, if fol-
lowed far enough, would lead to Hagerstown.
"At length magnificent structure looms up
at the right-the Roman Catholic College of
Saint Charles. which owes its inception, foun-
dation and existence to the Carroll family.
Across the way from the college is the entrance
to the grounds which surround Doughoregan
Manor which are at their best in the splendor
of late spring or early summer.
"Once beyond the beautiful stone gatehouse
which marks the entrance to the grounds, our
way is through a dim woodland scarcely less
inspiring than the forest of Arden. The vision
is INSTRUCTED in no direction by tangled under
growths and the splendid oaks and chestnuts
are massive and towering. Some years ago, it
is said severe storm swept through this Sec
ton of Howard county and carried destruction
in its path. Some harm was done to the for
ests at Doughoregan, but there is today no
blemsh on the beauty of the pictures which
are presented during drive or walk through
them. A mile beyond the entrance to the
grounds are lawns and meadowy expanses di-
Tectly at the rear of the manor. A sharp turn
in the road brings one to the main entrance.
This is old English in style, hallway dividing
the house into two portions. The rear en-
trance is quite as imposing as the front, al
though it commands less extensive view of
the surrounding country.
Eat the right of the principal entrance-that
part of the house which forms the side toward
the roads located the chapel, and it is the
only one of its kind attached to private home
in America. The interior will seat between
two and three hundred persons and has beau
tiful altar; it is of itself charming edifice.
There is slight break in the side walls of the
chapel, occasioned by its having been first con-
structed with fiat roof, and later. when suffi-
cient bricks were brought from England, the
work was completed.
sDoughoregan Manor House seems long and
low, although it is two stories in height. Its
length is about 300 feet, with the appearance
of being even longer. At present it is painted
a mild yellow, with white trimmings, colors
that enhance its quaintness of appearance.
The interior is arranged in accord with the ex-
terror. The rooms are deliberately but quietly
furnished. Much of the furniture and many
which was built in the midst of nearly $4,000
acres of land from brick brought from England
in I'LL.
"As one goes from place to place-from
manor to stables, through the greenhouses or
into the chapel-this impression grows that
America is the land above all others for country
homes something of these possibilities must
have been apparent to Charles Carroll, father
of the signer, when he took the grant of land
from the Lord Baron of Baltimore and builded
Doughoregan Manor. The land was rich vir-
gin SOIL ALI crops known to the civilized
world and to that latitude had but 10 be planted
and they would bring forth rich harvest.
Yet Doughoregan was not an agricultural pro-
iect its founder desired to erect an ancestral
home which should prove an enduring monu-
uent to the name of Carroll. This idea has
been steadily kept in view by his descendants
from decade to decade ever since its foundation
the manor house has been rendered more and
more attractive by the watchful care of those
to whom it has been entrusted. To Charles
Carroll, its founder, Doughoregan Manor was
an ideal country h0me-=stiil crude, but not to
his eyes nor to his generation to succeeding
generations of CAROLS it has become family
pride and Joy to make the house more attrac-
tive as civilization has advanced.
ITO the longtime owner, Charles Carroll,
the signer, belongs, broadly speaking, the his
toric interest of the place: He was born in the
year 1877, and spent much of the time until he
was % years of age in Europe. Here his edu-
cation had been given the most careful atten-
ton. Soon after his return he took up his
abode at Doughoregan Manor. The sgner was
the only Roman Catholic to affix his signature
TO tue OeCldTatlOu OL independence anu sur
vived all the other gallant band of patriots who
gave expression to their views by the formal
adoption ofthis document. Heserved his State
and the nation in many notable capacities,
always showing great wisdom, caution and
patriotism.
timore home in November, 1882, the family
estate was inherited by his grandson, Charles
Carroll, Jr. His Oldest living issue. John Lee
Carroll, was three years of age at the time of
the signer's death. In 1862 the son of the
signer died, and his son, John Lee, by the terms
of his will, settled the estate, and in few years
purchased Doughoregan Manor from the other
heirs. 1t has ever since been his home"