may 2016

In Hollywood, Maryland there is a 300 year old tobacco plantation that was made into a museum over 50 years ago.  The Sotterley Plantation house still remains as do the necessary (brick outhouse), smoke house, slave cabin, corn crib, among others.  You receive a tour of part of the owner's house.  The corn crib has a museum and old agricultural equipment.

     The original owner was James Bowles in 1703 who besides growing crops, imported and sold slaves.  The next owners were the Plater family until the 1820s who had as many as 90 slaves.  The Briscoe family next owned the plantation during the Civil War and had 50 slaves.  Three of the sons fought for the Confederacy and some of the Sotterley slaves fought for the Union.

     In 1910 the Sotterlee family purchased the plantation continuing it as a farm.  In 1949 ownership passed to Mabel Sotterlee Ingalls who started a nonprofit foundation and the Sotterley Plantation opened as a museum in 1961.