Rose Hill is a historic house built in the late 18th century near Port Tobacco in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is a five-part, Georgian-style dwelling house. It has a two-story central block with gable ends. It was restored during the mid 20th century.
Rose Hill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Significance related to residents It is notable for the following: Dr. Gustavus R. Brown, a lifelong friend of George Washington and one of his physicians, built the house and lived here. Olivia Floyd (1826-1905), a noted Confederate agent and blockade runner during the American Civil War, lived here It is the reputed site of the Port Tobacco Blue Dog Legend
Dr. Gustavus Richard Brown Around 1780, Dr. Gustavus Brown bought and combined four tracts of landArnett, pp 44-45 National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form from his neighbor; the property is now known as "Betty's Delight". Combining this land with his own, he had built the house later named Rose Hill, which was completed in about 1783.Sometime after the 1783 tax assessment, according to the Maryland Historical Trust web page.
The house has been owned by a number of families since it was built. It was restored in 1937The Historic American Buildings Survey notes that it was restored in 1937, when the survey photographed the building. and more recently in the early 1970s by Charles Stuart.Before Stuart bought it in 1972, it was owned by Frank Wade for 12 years.
Olivia Floyd The Maryland archives appear to show that Rose Hill Farm (with the manor) was sold to Ignatius Semmes, but do not provide a clear account, i.e., whether it was to the elder Semmes (born 1773O'Rourke, pp 12.), or the younger (born 1821File modified October 7, 2000. It lists dates on gravestones 1778-1826 and 1821-1843 for the elder and younger Ignatius Semmes. See external link to St. Ignatius Church which shows worn gravestones (1773 may be read as 1778).), and when this took place (from 1804 to the early 1820s). Another Gustavus Brown is mentioned more than once in the same area, up to 1826. But the archives do show that older Semmes died in 1826, and the younger Semmes died in 1843, willing the property to his maternal uncle Holmes and paternal aunt Sarah (Semmes) Floyd, married to David I. Floyd, and her children.
Olivia Floyd was among the family of Sarah and David Floyd who lived at the manor. She is notable as a Confederate agent and blockade runner during the American Civil War.The Maryland Historical Trust web page states that Olivia Floyd was a descendant of Gustavus Brown. Floyd sold the property to Maryland State Senator, Adrian Posey, in 1892.Charles County Land Records, Liber JST 5 Folio 317-319, accessed April 25, 2020
The Blue Dog Port Tobacco Village, at the bottom of Rose Hill, is a town. Rose Hill Road (which is outside Port Tobacco) passes a few widely scattered houses, most notably the home of Thomas Stone, youngest signatory of the American Declaration of Independence.
Gallery
Notes
References
External links
Olivia Floyd, Confederate Spy And Messenger Lists several photographs of Rose Hill Description and photograph of Betty's Delight , including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust