A cupola used to ornament the top of this house in the old days, where it was pleasant to sit on summer evenings and watch the sun set over the hills back of Alexandria...with the broad Potomac flowing between. The view is still very fine, for the hill is high, rising from the water's edge continuously for a mile. At its foot Broad Creek empties into the Potomac, and one can see as far down the river as Mount Vernon when the weather is clear.
The Life and Times of Walter Dulany Addison
Built by Colonel Thomas Addison and completed in 1711, Oxon Hill Manor ranked among the finest plantation houses of the Chesapeake Tidewater region, rivaling estates like Mount Vernon and Montpelier for its size and splendor.
In an era when most colonists lived in one-room cabins with earthen or wood-plant floors, plantation houses like Oxon Hill Manor represented great wealth and power.
Inspired by classical English and Italian architecture these masonry houses boasted numerous rooms and multiple stories, as well as luxurious details including glass-paned windows, marble fireplace mantels, elaborately carved wood, and molded plaster.
Built around the main house were kitchens, sheds, workshops, stables, and slave and servant quarters. Interspersed among these structures were lawns,
gardens, orchards, carriage paths, and livestock yards.
Although Oxon Hill Manor was destroyed by fire in 1895, archaeologists and historians have managed to identify many of its key features, including the exact size and location of its cellar foundations.
The two images above are among the only surviving views of Oxon Hill Manor. They illustrate other important characteristics of its design: a two-story plan with a central stair hall, columned porch, center gable, massive end-wall chimneys, and a cupola (likely added in the 19th century).
Oxon Hill Manor shares a number of common characteristics with other colonial-era houses still standing in Prince George's County. By studying these houses-several of which were owned or occupied by the Addison family-we can learn more about the appearance of Oxon Hill and the lives its residents.
Want Water
Some speculate that Want Water was built in 1690, but it is more likely that the house was built in 1708 after the property was patented by Colonel Thomas Addison, who also built Oxon Hill Manor. Want Water's gambrel roof and asymmetrical plan were typical of Colonial Tidewater architecture. Today the two end-walls are all that remain.
The house's unusual name references an early hand-dug canal that was built on the property. Connecting with Broad Creek and eventually the Potomac River, the canal allowed the property to be used as an inspection station for tobacco shipments.
Harmony Hall
With a fine view overlooking the Potomac River, Harmony Hall was built adjacent to Want Water and bears a striking similarity to Oxon Hill Manor. Likely built in 1768 for Enoch Magruder, a wealthy tobacco merchant and planter, Harmony Hall was later occupied by descendants of Colonel Thomas Addison.
In 1793-1794, the house was rented by brothers John and Reverent Walter Dulany Addison and their brides. The newlyweds' happy life in the house was the inspiration for its name.
Montpelier Mansion
Among the grandest colonial plantations of the Tidewater Region, Montpelier was built in 1783 for the Snowden family, whose estate at one time totaled 27,000 acres.
Inspired by the 16th-century Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, Montpelier features a fully articulated, five-part plan, sometimes referred to as a Palladian plan.
Montpelier has entertained a number of distinguished guests, including George and Martha Washington and Abigail Adams. Today it is operated as an historic house museum and is open to the public.
The Anatomy of Colonial-Era Houses
Style: Colonial Tidewater
Key Features: 1½ stories, asymmetrical plan, gambrel roof with dormers, wood frame construction, end-wall chimneys
Style: Early Georgian
Key Features: 2-2½ stories, partially symmetrical plan, gabled roof with dormers, masonry construction, end-wall chimneys, central stair hall
Style: Georgian/Palladian
Key Features: 2-2½ stories, fully symmetrical plan, hipped roof, masonry construction, interior chimneys, Palladian-inspired 5-part plan
[Image caption:]
The designs of Colonial and Federal-era plantation houses like Oxon Hill Manor and Riversdale (shown here) were drawn from the best English and Italian precedents. Riversdale was built by the Calvert Family (descendants of Lord Baltimore) and completed in 1801.
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