The Belair Mansion (03-01)

Historical narrative

Constructed circa 1745 for Maryland Provincial Governor Samuel Ogle, the Belair Mansion in Bowie represents an important example of Georgian colonial architecture and plantation culture in early Maryland. Originally the center of a 7,000-acre estate, the mansion played a significant role in the introduction and breeding of English Thoroughbreds in colonial America during the eighteenth century. In the twentieth century, owner William Woodward Sr. transformed the estate into a nationally recognized horse breeding operation associated with Triple Crown champions Gallant Fox and Omaha. Expanded in 1914 by architects William Adams Delano and Chester Holmes Aldrich, the mansion was later preserved amid suburban development and now functions as a municipal museum and historic landmark.

Watercolor

© Stephen B. Hales — All Rights Reserved