We try to keep this list of historic house museums for Maryland current, but it is best to check directly with the museums for their hours and other information.
If you know of a historic house museum not in our list, please submit it.
If you are the director of a museum in our listings and you would like to claim your listing so you are able to maintain your listing yourself, please email us at info@vpa.org and we will set you up.

The Beall-Dawson House was built circa 1815 for Upton Beall and his wife and daughters. Beall, from a prominent Georgetown family, was Clerk of the Court for the county, and he wanted a home that would reflect his wealth and status. In 1815 Rockville was a small rural community, despite being the county seat and an important cross-roads town.… Read More

The Captain Salem Avery House was built c. 1860 on the Banks of the West River in Shady Side, Maryland. Captain Avery, a Long Island fisherman, came to the area to make his living from the abundant waters of the Chesapeake Bay. He married Lucretia Weedon of Mayo, Maryland, and they lived in the house for thirty years raising… Read More

Clara Barton National Historic Site commemorates the life of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. The home served as the headquarters and warehouse for the organization. From this house, Miss Barton organized American Red Cross relief efforts for victims of natural disasters and war. Read More

The Gordon-Roberts House was built on lot #60 of the Town of Cumberland as laid out by Thomas Beall of Samuel, who was offered at public sale, February 1812. The highest bidder was Beal Howard who paid $16.62 for the lot, plus $1.00 per year for ground rent. Beal Howard sold this land to Daniel Carroll Brent of Stafford… Read More

Hammond-Harwood House is the Jewel of Annapolis, the grandest Colonial house in Annapolis, preserved intact since 1774. It was the last project of the renowned Colonial architect William Buckland. In addition to its magnificent, perfectly preserved architecture inside and out, this National Historic Landmark contains an outstanding collection of John Shaw furniture and Charles Willson Peale paintings. Read More

Hampton National Historic Site offers an exceptional, perhaps unmatched, look at a nineteenth century slave estate. Still visible today is the careful design intended to impress visitors. The mansion looks down on the overseer's house, and the overseer's house looks down on the slave quarters, reminding visitors and workers of their place in life. The mansion survives almost unchanged… Read More

A National Historic Landmark, Homewood is one of the best-surviving examples of Federal-period Palladian architecture in the nation. Built circa 1801 for members of Maryland’s prominent Carroll family, the house also was home to at least 25 enslaved individuals, including William and Rebecca Ross and their two children and Izadod and Cis Conner and six of their 13 children.… Read More

The Irish Railroad Workers Museum consists of two renovated alley houses in 900 block of Lemmon Street. The houses on Lemmon Street were built in 1848 to provide homes for the growing number of workers needed by America's first railroad. One of the houses is furnished as a period-house museum, reflecting the lives of the Irish-immigrant family who lived… Read More

The James E. Kirwan House and Store is a living museum located south of the village of Chester on Kent Island, Queen Anne's County, Maryland. It served as a general store, lumber mill, cooper's mill, and blacksmith shop between 1889 and 1955 and facilitated local trade as a port on Kirwan Creek. Read More

Founded in 1911, the Washington County Historical Society has played a significant role in preserving historic sites, artifacts and archival records for Washington County, Maryland. Located in downtown Hagerstown, the Miller House serves as the home of the historical society, the Jamieson Genealogical Research Library, and the Miller House Museum. The museum gives visitors a taste of life in… Read More

A fine example of Georgian architecture, popular in Maryland in the late 1700s, Montpelier Mansion sits on approximately 70 acres of beautiful parkland. Architectural and building construction details, as well as historical research, suggest that the house was constructed between 1781 and 1785. Major Thomas Snowden and his wife Anne, original owners of Montpelier Mansion, welcomed many distinguished guests… Read More

Mount Clare is a 1760 colonial Georgian home built by one of Maryland’s leading patriots and one of our first state senators, Charles Carroll, Barrister. Mount Clare was the center of Georgia Plantation, a self-sufficient plantation with a diverse community. Because of its exceptional value in interpreting our rich national heritage, Mount Clare was designated a National Historic Landmark… Read More

Plantation House is a three-story, five bay, brick double pile structure dated to 1730. The interior is furnished with American, English, Irish and Scottish antiques of the period. The 200 acre property includes an out plantation kitchen and tobacco prize house. Read More

Riversdale, a National Historic Landmark, was constructed between 1801 and 1807 for Henri Stier, a Flemish aristocrat, and completed by his daughter, Rosalie, and her husband, George Calvert, grandson of the fifth Lord Baltimore. Today, this elegant architectural gem has been restored to reflect the lifestyle of the Calverts in Federal America. Rosalie Calvert’s letters, supplemented by other archival… Read More

Rose Hill Manor was built in 1790s by John & Ann Grahame. The home was the last home in which Gov. Thomas Johnson, Maryland's First Governor resided. Today it is preserved as part of one of Rose Hill Manor Park and houses a hands-on history museum. Read More

Salisbury Mansion was once home to one of Worcester County's wealthiest families. It was built in 1772 as a combination store and dwelling for a bachelor merchant from Boston, Stephen Salisbury (1746-1829). He brought his bride, Elizabeth Tuckerman (1768-1851) of Boston, to live there in 1798. Read More

Older than Mount Vernon, older than Monticello, older than the nation itself, Sotterley Plantation stands majestically on the banks of the Patuxent River. It is the only remaining Tidewater Plantation in Maryland that is open to the public with a full range of visitor activities and educational programs. Sotterley's significant architecture features the early 18th-century Manor House, a rare… Read More

Built in 1852 as a middle-class plantation home, historic Surratt House also served as a tavern and hostelry, a post office, and polling place during the crucial decade before the Civil War. During the war, it was a safehouse for the Confederate underground which flourished in Southern Maryland. It was the country home of Mary Surratt, first woman to… Read More

The 10,000 square foot American villa style house exhibits a grandiose plan that included decorative plaster finishes, an indoor bath, steam operated kitchen equipment and a wide range of furnishings. Read More

The house was built around 1830 in what was then considered the country. The new Baltimore and Ohio train station had opened a few short blocks south of the Poe House in 1830. Read More

Built in 1793, the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House was the home and place of business of Mary Pickersgill, maker of the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key’s famous poem that later became our national anthem. Mary and her daughter Caroline moved into the house in 1806, along with Mary’s mother, Rebecca Young, who began the flag-making business in Philadelphia… Read More

The William Paca House & Garden is a National Historic Landmark, restored by Historic Annapolis to its colonial-era splendor. The House is open for docent-led tours for individuals and groups. Tours take place hourly on the half-hour, last approximately 40 minutes, and encompass two floors of 18th-century history. You can take a self-paced tour of the garden at any… Read More

In 1936, Mary Thacher had Winslow Crocker House moved six miles down the Old King's Highway to its present location. Over a ten-month period, the house was taken apart, beam by beam, and reassembled next door to her ancestral home in Yarmouth Port. Miss Thacher remodeled the interior of the house to provide an attractive backdrop the significant collection… Read More