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Discover
Historic
Princess Anne
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The Authentic Eastern Shore
Personalized Group Tours
UMES
Homecoming
and Founders' Weeks
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DISCOVER BEAUTIFUL, HISTORIC PRINCESS ANNE
~The Authentic Eastern Shore ~
Your UMES group is invited for a personalized visit to Princess Anne to explore the private interiors and gardens of one of the Eastern Shore's most historic and picturesque small towns.
Historic Princess Anne Towne was settled in the 1600s at the headwaters of the Manokin River, chartered in 1733, and named in honor of King George II's daughter. History and architecture buffs, antique lovers, gardeners, and those seeking the authentic Eastern Shore will enjoy exploring our quaint and historic town. Step back in time as you walk our graceful, tree-lined streets and brick sidewalks amongst carefully preserved Colonial, Federal and Victorian houses, churches, gardens and public buildings. Beautiful interiors and lushly planted gardens are woven throughout the fabric of this distinctive town.
Your personalized tour includes a visit to one or more of Princess Anne's finest private historic homes or gardens, generously opened by their owners for us to share with you on these special tours.
Princess Anne is recognized and celebrated for its long history, concentration of period buildings, and commitment to its rich heritage. We are a National Trust for Historic Preservation and State of Maryland "Main Street" designated community, and a National Register Historic District. Several of the locations available for your tour are on the National Register of Historic Places.
~ Your Personalized Tour Includes the Following ~
* Personal Tour Leader and Historian
* Highlights of Princess Anne Towne
* Tour of Teackle Mansion Museum (Docent Led)
* Tour of One or More Private Historic Homes or Gardens (See Below for Options)
* Lunch in the Washington Hotel Private Dining Room or Gourmet Box Lunch from Olney Market Cafe in the Teackle Mansion Garden
* Wine Tasting and Tour at Bordeleau Vineyards & Winery (5 miles from Princess Anne)
Price Per Guest: $29 *Tour Leader gratuities are optional and not included
To schedule your visit, for more information, or to discuss custom options please contact us at mainstprincessanne@yahoo.com or (410) 651-2961.
Additional Tour and Food Options are Listed Below (priced separately)
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Your Tour Leader and Historian
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Jeanne du Nord
Historian, Author, Actress and Award Winning Playwright
Jeanne du Nord has lived in Princess Anne for over 30 years, in one of the magnificent private homes featured on this tour. Her latest book "Makepeace - the Roots of American Liberty" is a historical narrative and chronicle of the early settlers on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Marvelous heroes and heroines struggled against terrible villains and scoundrels. The story is laced with their adventures and triumphs. Above all shone the promise of religious toleration granted by Lord Baltimore of Maryland - the first such Act in history. |
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Enjoy, Listen and Learn about Historic Princess Anne | |
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~ Teackle Mansion ~
Your standard tour package includes a docent led visit to this 200 year old, highly elaborate example of neoclassical style architecture built by Littleton Dennis Teackle, one of the State's most influential men of the early 19th century.
The 10,000 square foot, American villa style "Teackletonia" estate exceeded most private residences of its day; only the wealthiest of Eastern Shore gentry of the period could afford to build on such a scale.
The home exhibits a grandiose plan that included formal spaces with decorative plaster finishes, an early indoor bathing room -an unheard of modern convenience in its day, and a wide range of elaborate furnishings.
There are many stories here - fortunes made and lost, great joy and much sadness. Your tour will include a discussion of Mrs. Teackle's compelling personal letters, that give tremendous insight into her inner strengths, talents and intelligence.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. | |
~ Washington Hotel ~
The Washington Hotel has been a fixture of life in Princess Anne, serving visitors and residents, for over 200 years. A sheepskin ledger dated 1780 lists many of the original settlers and their charges in pounds, shillings and pence for "grog" and "rum in punch".
A curiosity of the Hotel's many original features is the double staircase with dividing partition. One side was for ladies, the other for gentlemen. In the old days, when ladies had to raise their voluminous skirts to go up and down stairs, the divided staircase kept gentlemen from seeing more than was seemly.
The Washington Hotel was in the "New York World" newspaper on June 8, 1928: "Maryland's fine cookery is almost non-existent; there are only three public eating places in the State where you can get a decent meal; two of them are in Baltimore City, the other is in Princess Anne where the Washington Hotel still remembers a high tradition." High praise, especially considering that a large, iron wood burning cook stove was used in the Hotel kitchen until the 1950s.
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~ St. Andrews Church ~
Built in 1772 with taxes paid in tobacco, St. Andrews Church retains many physical reminders of its founding in the 1600s and Church of England origins. These include the Book of Common Prayer and a Bible on display in the sanctuary, gifts from Queen Anne to Somerset Parish in 1719.
St. Andrews welcomed enslaved African Americans who worshipped in the Church balcony beginning in the early 1800s. Around 1842, these early congregants organized into what is today the Metropolitan United Methodist Church, also in Princess Anne.
The churchyard features massive magnolia and linden trees shading the tombstones of the Town's early and most prominent residents.
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~ Cottman-Pinkett House~
The Cottman-Pinkett House plays an important part in the history of African Americans in Princess Anne, and especially celebrates the accomplishments of Priscilla and Isaac Cottman who built this home in 1884.
Today, the house is undergoing a full restoration by the Somerset County Historical Trust.
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~ Independence Hall ~
This lovely, former Victorian Era hotel and theatre recently underwent an award winning restoration and is now the retail centerpiece of our historic downtown. Independence Hall now houses a gourmet cafe, lovely shops, offices, and elegant apartments with walkout porches giving views of church steeples, the courthouse flag and Main Street Princess Anne.
1929 was a big year for Independence Hall during its theatre years. After years of silent movies, hundreds of people came to Princess Anne to see (and hear) their first talking picture show. People have been flocking to Independence Hall ever since!
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THE PRIVATE HOMES AND GARDENS |
Generous Home Owners Open Their Doors
to
Grant us the Privilege of Sharing their Historic Properties with You
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Select from the Following Private Homes and Gardens | |
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~Beckford Mansion~ An important and superbly designed Flemish bond brick house, built c. 1803 by John Dennis, a former U.S. Senator.
The home is finished in the highest order with elaborate Federal-style woodwork and plaster decoration.
The grounds include ancient
towering trees, an oyster shell drive that passed through brick pillars and an iron gate into Princess Anne Towne and the original grass terraces leading up to the house, intended to impress visitors as they approached up the long drive.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places |
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~ Linden Hill ~ A beautiful, Federal style home, c. 1835 and earlier. Built in the Eastern Shore's historic "telescope" form, the house features the large open hearth kitchen and many other original features throughout.
The boxwood garden is set out in a Maltese cross and oval pattern, and was grown from cuttings from the original boxwood.
The garden also features the whimsical "Green Lady," a life-size ivy topiary in the form of a Colonial lady.
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~ Somerset House ~
A faithfully restored 1852 mansion with formal gardens. Built by U.S. Congressman John W. Crisfield, who may be most famous as the President of the Eastern Shore Railroad.
It was under his leadership that the railroad was brought to the backwater town of Somer's Cove on the Tangier Sound. The little town quickly became the seafood capital of the country, and was renamed "Crisfield" in his honor.
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~ Rufus Parsons House ~
A finely constructed and strikingly beautifully Greek Revival home, circa 1858, with massive porch and full English Basement.
The home features an impressive collection of period antique furnishings. The colorful, private garden features a pool and historic outbuilding from the Teackle Mansion estate.
And, there's a ghost story at the Rufus Parsons house!
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~ Merchant House of Littleton and Ann Long ~
A fully restored Federal / Greek Revival home from 1829, that features a transverse hall -fashionable on the Lower Eastern Shore, double parlors, period hearth kitchen, original faux tiger maple and mahogany wood-grained doors, furnished throughout with period antiques.
Outside features a formal parterre, herb, perennial and vegetable gardens with oyster shell walkways. |
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~ Judge Irving House and Marriners Cott ~
These classic, adjacent homes, built in 1850 in Greek Revival style, started life as a single, impressive residence on desirable Prince William Street, with its shaded brick sidewalks.
Later owners rolled a section of the home to an adjacent lot, today known as Marriners Cott. Clues in the architecture of the two structures show they started life together.
The Judge Levin Irving House has recently undergone a full restoration to its original beauty.
Visit both homes and see how they started life as one. | |
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~ Boxwood Garden ~ The large, privately owned, historic Boxwood Garden has distinguished the center of Princess Anne for over 180 years and is believed to have been designed and planted as a wedding gift to Mrs. Elizabeth Handy.
The garden is an example of a parterre, planted in a geometric pattern of triangles, circles and half circles, and features a magnificent Victorian-era urn planted with pink carpet roses.
The garden is planned so that something is blooming most of the year, starting with witch-hazel in February, crape myrtle in July, and ending with red camellias in December. It is most beautiful in April and May when the large azaleas are in full bloom. |
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~ Seth Venables Master Carpenter's Home ~ Master Carpenter Seth Venables built this home for his family in 1852 and called it by the beautiful name "Simplicity." Venables was responsible for building many of the Town's finest homes in the mid-1800s.
Immediately adjacent to the Teackle Mansion estate, this lovely home is carefully preserved with period furnishings and colorful gardens.
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Bordeleau Vineyards & Winery |
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Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting Your standard tour package includes a visit to Bordeleau Vineyards and Winery, about 5 miles from Princess Anne. "Bordeleau" means "at the water's edge" as the vineyard is on the gentle slopes of the Wicomico River. Explore the vineyard and sample wines with knowledgeable Winery staff.
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Teackle Mansion Garden
The Teackle Mansion garden is available for outdoor dining, from gourmet box lunches to Eastern Shore steamed crabs and Chesapeake oysters. Gourmet box lunches are included in your tour price; let us know if you'd like to enjoy them in the garden, or if your group is interested in another food option.
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Olney Market Cafe at Independence Hall Olney Market Cafe is proud to provide the gourmet box lunches included in your standard tour package. The Cafe specializes in homemade sandwiches, salads and cookies, coffees, teas, and Eastern Shore artisan cheese and chocolate truffles.
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Washington Hotel and Hotel Inn Taste the authentic Eastern Shore. The Washington Hotel has been serving visitors and residents for over 200 years. Your standard tour package includes a crabcake lunch platter in the historic, private dining room. (substitutions available). The Washington Hotel Inn also offers separate cafe or pub dining. |
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Overnight Accommodations in Historic Princess Anne
Princess Anne offers accomodations at three distinctive Bed and Breakfasts in the historic district and four hotels in the town. For pictures you may go to the following websites. You may contact us for special group pricing.
Somerset House Elegant and gracious, faithfully restored 1852 mansion with formal gardens, and period antiques throughout. (410) 651-4451 www.somersethousemd.com
Hayman House an 1898 Queen Anne Colonial Revival built by a local lumber baron features romantic, Victorian Era elegance. (410) 651 1107 www.haymanhouse.com
Alexander House Book Lovers' B & B - literary themed Queen Anne Victorian Inn featuring authors' portraits and whimsical literary details throughout. (410) 651-5195 www.bookloversbnb.com
Washington Hotel - Serving travelers for over 200 years. (410) 651-2525 (Historic District)
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| The Shops at Independence Hall |
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Visit the Shops at Historic Independence Hall
An award-winning restoration of this Victorian Era structure provides an elegant setting for shopping, lunch or coffee
Barefoot Baby Boutique - A wonderland of clothing, toys, gifts, and books for that little one in your life. www.barefootbabyboutique.com
Petite Fleur - Gallery featuring local artists, home decor and gift boutique. www.la-petitefleur.com
Somerset County Historical Society Gift Shop - Quality antiques and gifts, Eastern Shore related books and local authors.
Olney Market - Specialty foods, gifts and cookbooks, home made sandwiches, coffees and baked goods.
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We'll give you a home town welcome in historic Princess Anne... We hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Carolyn Marquis
Executive Director - Main Street Princess Anne Partnership
410-651-2961 |
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