Mount Harmon Plantation
Mount Harmon Plantation is the northern most colonial plantation open to the public in the region, and is a historic and scenic treasure. Surrounded by water on three sides, Mount Harmon's history is deeply connected with its waterfront location at the head of the Chesapeake Bay. Mount Harmon Plantation flourished in the 18th century as a tobacco plantation and port of trade in the evolving settlements of the upper Chesapeake. Mount Harmon is restored to its period of significance during the late 18th century and early 19th centuries, and provides visitors with a rare glimpse into the lifestyle and culture of a waterfront colonial plantation.
Today visitors come to experience Mount Harmon's colonial heritage and tour the manor house, the colonial kitchen, formal boxwood garden, rare tobacco prize house, and enjoy our scenic waterfront location. Mount Harmon Plantation encompasses 200 acres of pristine open space and is a designated nature preserve and wildlife refuge. Visitors can stroll the plantation grounds or take a nature walk along the waterfront to the rare tobacco prize house, where tall ships transported the cash crop that built early America.
The grounds are full of mature shade trees and ornamental specimens. Two hundred year-old yew trees, as well as boxwood, flowering magnolias and majestic oak trees grace the manor house grounds and gardens. The plantation is home to an abundance of wildlife, with fields full of deer, flocks of geese, resident bald eagles, osprey, and herons, a regular part of the landscape. Rare horticultural sightings include a cove full of the American Lotus, a relative of the water lily and the largest wildflower in the United States, which is rare in Maryland, but found in profusion at Mount Harmon.
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Nearby Places
At the Site
Activities to do
Facilities/Amenities available
Hours
Mount Harmon Plantation is open to the public May 1 through October 31, Thursday through Sunday, 10:00am to 3:00pm. Mount Harmon is available year round by appointment for educational program tours and special group tours. Mount Harmon is also available for weddings, corporate retreats, and private functions, and makes a spectacular setting for any special occasion.
Guided tours are conducted on the hour, beginning at 10:00am, the last tour is conducted at 2:00pm.
(Note: Many places fill to capacity on busy, nice weather days, especially holiday weekends. Please call ahead or visit the official website to get the most up-to-date information before visiting.)
Fees
Admission: Adults $10.00; Seniors & Students: $8.00, Children 6 and under: free
Members receive free admission. Admission includes guided tour of the manor house and self guided tours of the grounds and nature trails. Call for Education Program & Special Group Rates.
Activities
Mount Harmon is the crown jewel of heritage tourism in the upper Chesapeake, and helps to define the colonial history of the region. Friends of Mount Harmon offers an array of activites including Historic Plantation Tours; a visiting School Program; Special Events Programming, a FOMH Membership Program; and volunteer opportunities.
The plantation hosts two annual events each year, which celebrate Mount Harmon's unique history and Chesapeake Bay roots, and are not to be missed -- the Colonial Plantation Picnic (the first Sunday in June) and the Bull and Oyster Roast (the first Saturday in October) as well as a Yuletide Manor House Tour (the first weekend in December).
Mount Harmon is available for weddings, private functions, and corporate events, and is a spectacular setting for any occasion.
Mount Harmon also has numerous opportunities for volunteers to get involved with this Chesapeake Bay oriented historic and natural resource. Volunteer docents are always needed to assist with the tour, visitor and special event programs. Volunteer activities and opportunities are also available to help with the gardens, grounds, and nature trails of the plantation. Each year Friends of Mount Harmon partners with the Sassafras River Association to conduct a shoreline clean up of the plantation's waterfront. S.R.A. also sets up a booth at the annual picnic to promote environmental stewardship of the watershed.
History
In early May 1813, Mount Harmon Plantation residents likely saw a British flotilla sailing up the Sassafras River.
Led by Rear Adm. George Cockburn, the naval squadron with Royal Marines attacked and raided towns on Maryland’s Upper Bay, including Frenchtown, Elkton, Havre de Grace, Fredericktown, and Georgetown.
The Chesapeake Bay’s thriving agriculture and maritime trade made it a prime British target, and communities in all Bay regions experienced violence and economic devastation.
Weather
