Overview of Hampton Mansion

Hampton Mansion, nestled in the rolling hills of what is now suburban Baltimore, was once the center of a thriving industrial, commercial, and agricultural estate encompassing, at its peak, over 24,000 acres. Constructed between 1783 and 1790 by Captain Charles Ridgely, it was upon completion, one of the largest and grandest such structures in the United States. Upon Captain Ridgely's death in 1790, the house and estate passed to his nephew, Charles Carnan Ridgely, who became an important political figure in the state of Maryland.

The mansion remained in the posession of the Ridgely family through the 19th century and into the first half of the 20th century, but economic and social forces greatly changed Hampton's role in the region. After World War II, David Finley, director of the National Gallery of Art, became interested in Hampton Mansion as he attempted to acquire a 1818 Thomas Sully painting of Eliza Ridgely. Concerned by the encroachment of the expanding Baltimore suburbs, Finley worked in conjunction with the Society for the Preservation of Maryland Antiquities and the state of Maryland to broker the estates' purchase by the National Park Service. This was the first such acquistion by the National Park Service based upon a building's architectural merit (as opposed to a connection to a significant historical event) and led to the formation of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.