The National Park Service is working to figure out how best to use and interpret Harmony Hall and its 62.5 acres of land/NPS

How best can the National Park Service make use of a 252-year-old mansion set on more than 62 acres of land fronting the Potomac River in Maryland? It's a question the agency, which acquired the property known as Harmony Hall in 1966, is hoping the general public will be able to answer.

The property carries with it a lot of history, with the handsome red brick mansion the focal point. The property originally was called Battersea. It was built in 1769 by the wealthy landowner and tobacco merchant Enoch Magruder, who had more than two dozen slaves to tend to his crops, according to the Park Service.

It was later renamed Harmony Hall "as a result of the marital harmony that blossomed there when two young couples rented the property after their nuptials," according to a history commissioned by the Park Service.

The grounds for the house were probably chosen by Magruder because it was close to the Potomac River, at that time the principal means of transportation and shipping during the 18th century. Bearing Georgian architectural lines, the mansion is two-and-one-half-stories tall and one room deep. It once had north and south wings, which collapsed or were demolished before 1929; the two south wing extensions were built in 1941 and 1987, respectively, according to the Park Service.

A canal that still exists was near Harmony Hall. At the end of the canal there once stood an 18th century tobacco warehouse, as well as several weighing stations and taxation points for all tobacco shipped to England. The canal may be the earliest manmade canal built in the colonies, a Park Service release said.

The tobacco industry at Harmony Hall was followed by the commercial fishing and wheat industries. In 1892, the Harmony Hall farm was purchased by the well known arctic explorer and linguist Robert Stein. Members of his extended family followed him from Silesia Prussia and established the Maryland community of Silesia.

In 1929, the historian, lawyer and preservationist Charles Collins bought Harmony Hall and completed many renovations that are still prevalent today. Originally from Alabama, Collins was an expert in banking law and the intellectual father of the Dixiecrat Party. Part of Collins renovations included the English cow herd ditch, known as a ha ha. In 1966, his wife sold the property to the National Park Service.

Currently, the mansion and grounds are undergoing major repairs.

Park Service staff are evaluating conditions at the property, which currently is closed to the public, and will use public feedback to develop ideas for its future use and management. These ideas could include increased educational opportunities, new trails, rehabilitated structures, partnership opportunities and more, the agency said.

The NPS will summarize its research and planning in a Development Concept Plan that will be used to guide park management, implement park improvements, ensure the protection of the park and coordinate with the community and partners.

All of these efforts will also assist the NPS in telling a more complete and inclusive history of the park. Harmony Hall has a complex history and many important stories to tell, from those of Native Americans who lived in the area to those of people who were enslaved on tobacco farms.

The Park Service will host a virtual public meeting on March 22 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern. You'll need to use the agency's Microsoft Teams interface to join the meeting.

Audio for the meeting will be available via computer through the website link or by dialing (877) 286-5733 (Conference ID: 653 527 343#). A recording of the meeting and the meeting’s presentation will be available for viewing at go.nps.gov/HarmonyHall after March 22. 

The public is invited to review the proposal and provide comments and ideas from March 22 through April 22. To provide comments online or get additional information on the project, visit this site.