On Sunday, November 1, 2015, the Friends of Rich Hill will be hosting a special event called, “Behind the Walls of Rich Hill”.

Click to enlarge

This special “behind the scenes” look at the ongoing restoration of Rich Hill is for Friends of Rich Hill members only, however you can become a member on the day of the event by donating at least $10.

This is a unique chance to see the architectural “guts” of Rich Hill before they are covered up again during the restoration process.

We hope to see many of you on November 1, 2015 between 2:00 – 4:00 pm at Rich Hill which is located at Rich Hill Farm Rd., Bel Alton, MD 20611

Col. Samuel Cox of Rich Hill

When Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth, arrived at Rich Hill during the wee hours of April 16, 1865, he sent in motion of series of events that would have long reaching consequences for the occupants of the home. The reputation of Col. Samuel Cox, the owner of Rich Hill, as an ardent Southern sympathizer led Booth to his door. We don’t know what thoughts were racing through Cox’s head when he was face to face with the assassin on his doorstep, but, in the end, he decided he would assist the wounded man in some way. Cox allowed John Wilkes Booth and David Herold to enter his home for a meal but then sent them off into a nearby pine thicket, to be cared for by his foster brother, Thomas Jones.

Perhaps Cox hoped that his brief interaction and assistance to Booth would…

One of the fun parts about researching the history of Rich is discovering new images of the historic home that very few have ever seen before. For a relatively unassuming house in Southern Maryland, Rich Hill has been photographed fairly often over the years. This is mainly due to the home’s association with Lincoln’s assassination and the escape of John Wilkes Booth. Since the 1865 crime itself, countless people have journeyed over Booth’s escape route and viewed Rich Hill in person, picturing the fugitive and his accomplice, David Herold, knocking on Samuel Cox’s door on the morning of April 16th.

The following photographs follow this idea and come from a scrapbook that was created of John Wilkes Booth’s escape route in the early 1920’s. The small handmade scrapbook, which has never before been published, was recently sold at auction in January of 2015. The new owner of the scrapbook was kind…

Today I visited the Thomas Stone National Historic Site in Port Tobacco, Maryland. Owned by the National Park Service, the site contains the home and final resting place of Thomas Stone, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Stone, signer of the Declaration of Independence from Maryland

Stone’s beautiful home, Haberdeventure, is surrounded by a few hundred acres of land with wonderful hiking trails and period outbuildings. The Park Rangers at Thomas Stone National Historic Site are well versed in Revolutionary War history and give fascinating tours of the house.

Thomas Stone was not the only occupant of this historic home. In fact, its other long-term resident is what connects Haberdeventure to Rich Hill, which is located less than ten miles away to the southwest. Haberdeventure was also the home of Thomas Stone’s wife, Margaret, who was born and raised at Rich Hill.

Margaret Brown was born…