Maryland's Tidewater Plantation on the Patuxent
44300 Sotterley Lane, Hollywood, MD 20636
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Guided tours sold by ticket; rates available on the museum website. Trail access is generally free.
Access
Limited Access
Gravel paths, mowed grounds, original 1703 manor with steep narrow stairs
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1703 · National Historic Landmark · UNESCO Site of Memory · Tidewater Plantation · Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
Sotterley Plantation, near present-day Hollywood, Maryland, has been continuously occupied since the early 18th century. The Manor House dates to 1703 and is one of the oldest standing structures in the state. The plantation operated principally on tobacco, with later diversification into wheat and other crops, and depended on enslaved labor through emancipation.
The property has been managed since 1961 by the nonprofit Historic Sotterley, Inc. Surviving outbuildings include an 1830s slave cabin, a smokehouse, a corn crib, a gatehouse, and a custom house. The site is a National Historic Landmark and was designated a UNESCO Site of Memory of the Slave Route Project, recognizing it as a place where the history of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is publicly documented and interpreted.
The plantation today operates as an open-air history museum, a working farm, and a network of nature trails. Tours run May through October on a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule, supplemented each fall by the Ghosts of Sotterley program.
Sources
Sotterley's reported phenomena cluster in two areas: the second floor of the Manor House and the surviving 1830s slave cabin. The most-cited account, recounted on the record by a tour guide, describes being shoved down the staircase during a December candlelight tour, with no other living person nearby.
Several published reports describe lights turning on and off, an inkwell lifting from a desk, and figures in period dress joining guided tours and disappearing before the group's next stop. Investigators working with the Sotterley Foundation's permission have reported EVP captures near the slave cabin that include the sound of drumming followed by a soft voice saying "get out."
These accounts are presented during the Ghosts of Sotterley program in October each year. The foundation distinguishes between the documented history of the people who lived and labored on the property, including the names recovered through ongoing genealogical research, and the folkloric reports collected from staff and visitors. The legends are framed as folk material rather than confirmed paranormal events.
A guided walk through the 1703 Manor House, the 1830s slave cabin, and the working farm. Sotterley is the only tidewater plantation in Maryland open to the public and a UNESCO Site of Memory tied to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
A seasonal 45-minute lantern-lit walk through the manor and grounds led by historical interpreters in period dress. Guides recount documented site history and the folk reports collected from staff and guests over decades.
More than six miles of nature trails wind through 94 acres along the Patuxent River, with views of the working farm and Colonial Revival gardens.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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