Post 3: Life Writing

Alyssa Kraus

The Riversdale Mansion: Blueprints and Archives

In the reading “On Her Own,” which contains numerous letters to and from Rosalie Calvert, issues arise such as sustainability, business, and family. While Calvert writes about various subjects, the heart of Calvert’s letters remains the same – the plantation. Therefore, upon reading the text, I wish I had a better understanding of the layout of the Riversdale Mansion and the structure of the plantation in order to grasp Calvert’s concerns and experiences.

The Riversdale Mansion, which was built between 1801 and 1807, is located in Riversdale, Maryland. Henri Stier, Calvert’s father and a common recipient of her letters, began the construction, but left the plantation in Calvert’s name (Riversdale Historical Society). The house was inspired by the Stier family’s Belgian flare, which is understood in drawings of the home’s construction from the Library of Congress (“Baltimore House”). The manor house is known for being one of the best Georgian, five-part houses in the state (Maryland Historical Trust). Furthermore, the Maryland National Park and Planning Commission offers a floorplan of the mansion, which reveals the many rooms where Calvert wrote and read letters. The mansion opens to a large foyer, which leads into the grand salon. From there, Calvert could enter the sitting room, the dining room, or the library. There is also a ballroom, an east wing, slave quarters, and the outdoor plantation (The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission).

The plantation itself, which had tobacco and other crops, was a slave plantation (Maryland Historical Trust). The property had a two-story brick building to house slaves, which was built in 1807 and remained until the Emancipation Proclamation. It was originally used as the kitchen but exclusively became the slave quarters after the Calvert family added a kitchen wing to their mansion (Maryland Historical Trust). Furthermore, a blueprint of the plantation reveals that the mansion sits in front of a flower garden, a pond, and the Northeast Branch Anacostia River. Before the mansion is a fountain and another garden. To the right of the mansion is the water tower, wash house, smoke house, windmill, and slave quarters. The rest of the land is divided into orchards and crop gardens (Maryland Historical Trust).

This information is extremely helpful for understanding Calvert’s letters. For example, Calvert writes, “We have five carpenters here now, building houses for the negroes, lattice for enclosing the gardens, etc.” (Callcott). After examining the provided information, readers can understand the proximity of the gardens to the slave quarters and the overall construction of the slave quarters being built. Another example is when Calvert’s husband writes, “We are preparing to pale in the garden, and if we remain here we must finish more of the house. The dining room we have nearly got completed” (Callcott). The map shows the dining room is backed against the garden; thus, it makes sense that Calvert’s husband listed these items in succession. Therefore, it is clear that foundational information about the manor and the plantation is necessary to fully grasp Calvert’s letters and their contents.

Works Cited

“Baltimore House, 4811 Riverdale Road, Riverdale Park, Prince George's County, MD.” Library of Congress, loc.gov/pictures/item/md0567/.

Callcott, Margaret Law, Ed. “On Her Own.” In Mistress of Riverdale: The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert, 1795-1821. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991. 47-73.

Maryland Historical Trust. “Riversdale Easement.” Maryland Historical Trust, 1998, mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/PrinceGeorges/PG%3B68-5A.pdf.

Maryland Historical Trust. “Riversdale.” Maryland's National Register Properties, 2003, mht.maryland.gov/nr/NRDetail.aspx?NRID=158.

Riversdale Historical Society. “National Historic Landmark.” Riversdale, www.riversdale.org/.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. “Riversdale House Museum Floorplan.” Riversdale House Museum, www.mncppcapps.org/pgparks/floorplans/riversdale_floorplan.html.