Only the Door

by Kathi Isserman

Title

Only the Door

Artist

Kathi Isserman

Medium

Photograph - Photographs

Description

Used a lensbaby special effects lens. Towson Maryland USA From the National Park Service site: "The history of the Hampton estate began in 1745 when Col. Charles Ridgely, a third generation Marylander, purchased a 1,500 acre tract of land in northern Baltimore County. At first a tobacco plantation, in 1761, Col. Ridgely and his two sons established the Northampton Ironworks, which eventually provided much needed material for the American Revolution. This wartime industry created mass wealth for the Ridgelys on the labor of the enslaved, indentured servants, and British prisoners of war. The ironworks continued to be the principal basis of the family’s wealth until c. 1830. The Hampton estate grew to be a large, Southern-style plantation having planted fields of grains, orchards, and herds of livestock, along with the ironworks, mining, marble and limestone quarries, mills, and mercantile interests. All these activities were supported by enslaved and indentured laborers, and later after Emancipation, paid workers...Over time, the abolition of slavery, economic downturns, and division of property amongst heirs reduced the estate to 1,000 acres. By the 1920s, suburbs were encroaching and farming became increasingly less viable. The Great Depression and World War II finally led the Ridgely family to sell the house and part of the remaining property to the National Park Service in 1947. The following year, Hampton National Historic Site was established “on outstanding merits as an architectural monument” making it the first historic site of its kind in the National Park Service. This designation paved the way for the establishment of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. After much needed restoration work on the mansion was completed in 1950, the site was officially opened to the public. Today the park encompasses roughly 63 acres and includes the historic mansion, gardens, several historic farm buildings, slave quarters, and family cemetery."

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February 21st, 2021

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