Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Longwood

Sandy Spring region, Montgomery County, Maryland
Owned by Thomas Moore, 1794-1822

Information:

Longwood, as it appeared in 1990. M-NCPPC Historic Preservation office, Montgomery County Planning Department 
"Longwood" was the estate of Thomas Moore and his wife, Mary Brooke Moore.1 Mary's father, Roger Brooke IV, owned several thousand acres throughout Montgomery County during his lifetime. In 1794, four years after Roger Brooke IV's death and three years after Thomas and Mary's wedding, Mary inherited a 280 acre tract of land that was part of "Addition to Brooke Grove," one of her father's many properties.2 Thomas constructed a modest log cabin for his family on the land they inherited, which he named "Retreat." By 1817, Moore had become quite successful as a civil engineer and as the owner of a tannery on the western edge of Brookeville. He used his wealth to build a mansion around Retreat's original structure. His nephew Thomas McCormick, a trained house carpenter and future-Methodist minister, provided much of the labor for the house.3 McCormick re-named the house  "Longwood," potentially a reference to Napoleon Bonaparte's home on the island of St. Helena or to a nearby black mahogany tree which was said to have been imported from the same island.4 Moore lived at Longwood until his death in 1822.5 In 1830, Moore's widow sold the house to its builder, Thomas McCormick.6 McCormick owned Longwood until 1844 when he sold it to Sophia R. Hammond.7

Kyle Bacon, DAR Research Fellow, 2012; Megan O'Hern, 2014.

Notes:

  1. MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST (Inventory of Historic Sites) Longwood, M: 23-63, Montgomery County [MSA SE5-17389].
  2. MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURT (Land Records) December 1, 1794, Deed of Partition, division of two thousand acres of land belonging to the late Roger Brooke IV amongst his children and their spouses. Liber F-6, pp. 79-84 [MSA CE 148-6].
  3. MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST (Inventory of Historic Sites) Longwood, M: 23-63, Montgomery County [MSA SE5-17389], 4-5.
  4. MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST (Inventory of Historic Sites) Longwood, M: 23-63, Montgomery County [MSA SE5-17389], 4-5.
  5. Farquhar, Roger Brooke, Old Homes and History: Montgomery County, Maryland (Washington, DC: Judd & Detweiler, Inc., 1962), p. 279.
  6. MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURT (Land Records) 5 March 1830, Deed, Mary Moore to Thomas McCormick, Liber BS 2, p. 474 [MSA CE 148-28].
  7. MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURT (Land Records) 9 November 1844, Liber BS 12, p. 409, Deed, Thomas McCormick et ux. to Sophia R. Hammond [MSA CE 148-38].



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