Tudor Hall - St. Mary's County MD
N 38° 17.302 W 076° 38.066
18S E 357060 N 4239074
Tudor Hall is one of the oldest buildings in Leonardtown, MD.
Waymark Code: WMEGNP
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 05/28/2012
Views: 3
Tudor Hall is a Georgian-style mansion which sits on a hilltop in Leonardtown, Maryland overlooking Breton Bay. It was named to the NRHP in 1973.
In the mid-1700s, Abraham Barnes bought over 1000 acres of land in the Leonardtown area of St. Mary's County. The name on the title was America Felix Secundus. Tudor Hall was probably built by Abraham or his son, Richard. Originally, the building was a smaller wooden structure. By the end of the 18th century, tax records showed it had two brick wings.
The house was sold to Philip Key in 1817. (Philip was the uncle of Francis Scott Key who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner.) Philip raised the roof and transformed the building into a 14-room mansion. The home was passed down through the Key family over the generations and underwent several remodeling changes and alterations. Henry G. S. Key is attributed to naming it Tudor Hall.
The Keys owned the property until 1949, although after 1917, Tudor Hall remained empty. Mrs. Mary Patterson Davidson is credited with saving Tudor Hall and the property from becoming a subdivision. After extensive repairs and restorations, the building became the public library for St. Mary's County.
Today, Tudor Hall is owned by the St. Mary's County Historical Society who acquired it in 1984. The second floor is used as a research library.
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