Belair Mansion
Enjoy Bowie’s earliest history at the Belair Mansion (circa 1745), the beautiful five-part Georgian plantation house of Samuel Ogle, Provincial Governor of Maryland. Enlarged in 1914 by the New York architectural firm of Delano and Aldrich, the Mansion was also the home of William Woodward, famous horseman in the first half of the 20th century. Restored to reflect is 250-year old legacy, the Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The house reflects the private occupants from 1747 to 1957. Featured among the collection are a number of important family objects. Paintings of the Four Seasons, owned by Governor Samuel Ogle (1694-1752), hang in the hall where they first hung 250 years ago. Painted by Philippe Mercier (1689-1760), principal painter to the Prince of Wales, they have a family tradition of having been a gift from Lord Baltimore, Proprietor of the Colony of Maryland. Also featured is silver, engraved "B.O." either for Governor Benjamin Ogle (1749-1809), Maryland State governor from 1798-1800, or his son, the owner of Belair from 1796 until his death in 1844. Other furnishings include pieces made by John Shaw of Annapolis, a craftsman employed by the Ogles, and a portrait of Anne Tasker Ogle’s brother, Col. Benjamin Tasker (1720-1760), painted by John Wollaston in Annapolis, circa 1752. Items from the Woodward period include privately issued prints of the famous Belair Stud Thoroughbred race horses, and a 1932 bronze of Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox by Eleanor Iselin Wade (b. 1910).
The Mansion, is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon - 4 p.m., and for groups of 10 or more by appointment. A donation is requested at the door. Belair is available for rentals, weddings, receptions and other functions for groups of up to 75 persons. For information on rentals call 301-575-2488. To schedule a group tour, call the Mansion at 301-809-3089
Enjoy Bowie’s earliest history at the Belair Mansion (circa 1745), the beautiful five-part Georgian plantation house of Samuel Ogle, Provincial Governor of Maryland. Enlarged in 1914 by the New York architectural firm of Delano and Aldrich, the Mansion was also the home of William Woodward, famous horseman in the first half of the 20th century. Restored to reflect is 250-year old legacy, the Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The house reflects the private occupants from 1747 to 1957. Featured among the collection are a number of important family objects. Paintings of the Four Seasons, owned by Governor Samuel Ogle (1694-1752), hang in the hall where they first hung 250 years ago. Painted by Philippe Mercier (1689-1760), principal painter to the Prince of Wales, they have a family tradition of having been a gift from Lord Baltimore, Proprietor of the Colony of Maryland. Also featured is silver, engraved "B.O." either for Governor Benjamin Ogle (1749-1809), Maryland State governor from 1798-1800, or his son, the owner of Belair from 1796 until his death in 1844. Other furnishings include pieces made by John Shaw of Annapolis, a craftsman employed by the Ogles, and a portrait of Anne Tasker Ogle’s brother, Col. Benjamin Tasker (1720-1760), painted by John Wollaston in Annapolis, circa 1752. Items from the Woodward period include privately issued prints of the famous Belair Stud Thoroughbred race horses, and a 1932 bronze of Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox by Eleanor Iselin Wade (b. 1910).
The Mansion, is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon - 4 p.m., and for groups of 10 or more by appointment. A donation is requested at the door. Belair is available for rentals, weddings, receptions and other functions for groups of up to 75 persons. For information on rentals call 301-575-2488. To schedule a group tour, call the Mansion at 301-809-3089
The museum is located in the 1906 Harmel House, an old storekeeper's residence in the village of Mitchellville, a section of modern south Bowie. A store occupied the site as early as the 1870s. The Edlavitch family, Russian Jews who immigrated to the rural Bowie area in 1888, lived in the house until 1925. The Harmel family later lived there, operating the old store as one of the earliest African-American businesses in the area until a 1985 fire destroyed it. The City renovated the house, and now has joined the Radio History Society in presenting the broadcasting history which so dramatically has shaped our lives from the 1920s to today.
The museum is open free of charge Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m., or by appointment for groups of 10 or more, and is accessible for people with disabilities.
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