Hampton National Historic Site
St. George's Garden Club, Zone VI
1949 Founders Fund Winner
Built just after the Revolutionary War, Hampton was the grand estate home of the Ridgley family of Maryland. At its completion in 1790, the Georgian mansion stood as the largest private home in America. While under the ownership of Charles Carnan Ridgley, who served as Governor of Maryland from 1816-1819, the family’s fortune soared and Hampton was brought to the state of grandeur that gave it national fame. In 1948, it was designated a National Historic Site by the Secretary of the Interior. That same year, St. George’s Garden Club received the Founders Fund Award to restore the elaborate parterre garden to its appearance in the 1820’s.
Just south of the mansion is Falling Garden, the formal gardens that feature the parterres. At one time there were at least eight parterres and five terrace levels. Parterre I was the focus of the 1949 Founders Fund Award. The National Park Service acquired Hampton in 1979 and has operated and managed the estate since. In 2009, Hampton received federal funding to begin rehabilitation of Falling Garden using a plant palette based on research and analysis of park archives and photographs.
