Historic London Town & Gardens October 24, 2020

Located at 839 Londontown Road in Edgewater, Maryland is the Historic London Town & Gardens, a 23 acre park featuring history, archaeology, and horticulture on the South River. Although owned by Anne Arundel County it is managed by the London Town Foundation. I have been visiting this place for many years but this is the first time as Baltimore Shipspotting.

There is quite a lot to see and do here. The iconic William Brown House, built in about 1760 may be the most visually impressive thing here. There is a lot of history in this area.

Other historical features are the Lord Mayor’s Tenament which was reconstructed on its archaeological footprint,

the carpenter’s shop, also built on its archaeological footprint.

This historical area is often host to living history events which show various aspects of life in various times of history including cooking demostrations,

Crafting such as this ropemaking demonstration using a ropewalk,

And, of course, military living history such as this canon firing I saw back in 2013!

The visitor center has tucked away in the basement an impressive museum of items found on or near the property covering many thousands of years of history! Don’t miss this!

The gardens area covers more than half the area of this place but there’s so much to see here at varying times of the year and it is definitely worth visiting during each of the seasons.

Many different kinds of flowers bloom here during the spring

Fall brings its own display of colors

Each time I come here there have been some improvements to the grounds. This time I noticed the Davidsonville Ruritan Garden Pavilion.

Several great views of the South River are afforded at various spots.

On this day executive director Rod Cofield spent some time sharing the maritime history of London Town as well as giving a glimpse into the future (click here to see their 2027 plan!). Click here to watch the video or if you prefer, read the transcription.

He also showed the earliest known painting of London Town shown from across the South River. Depictions of ferries is also shown, one in the middle of the river and another on the near shore.

I have visited this place several times over the years. Click the year to see photos I took during my visits during those times: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2018, and this year! I think you’ll see why this is one of my most frequently visited places!