Font Hill Manor is a historic slave plantation located in Ellicott City, Maryland in Howard County. The house is situated on property surveyed by Daniel Kendall as "Kendall's Delight". The building is constructed of local Granite in three sections. The first is a four by two bay building. The second five by two bay section was built in the early 1800s, which re-oriented the front entrance. A third four by two bay wing was added in the early 1900s.
History
The building was constructed by Admiral Hammond in the 1700s on land originally owned by Charles Carroll of Carrollton. The Hammond family served prominently in early Maryland government and settled several slave plantations through Anne Arundel and modern Howard County. Nearby Burleigh Manor was built by Col Rezin Hammond. The house is situated along Old Frederick road, the turnpike road between Baltimore and Frederick, Maryland. The property also bordered Centennial Lane, a road built in 1876 to connect Ellicott City to the Burleigh Manor property. An older single-story and a two-story slave building were situated on the site with a cupola barn. The Font Hill property also adjoins the historic Gray Rock slave plantation once managed by former County Executive Charles E. Miller. On 22 May 1879, William Matthew Merrick served as executor of J Monroe Mercer and Ella W Mercer, offering 92 acres and Font Hill for sale. The gas-lit property was described as adorned with forest trees, ornamental shrubbery and orchards. From 1926 to 1950, the manor was restored and named Abbottston by its owner Issac Cate. In 1957, the lands surrounding the manor totaled 285 acres. Owners sold the majority of the land to Font Hill Land Company. The manor property was reduced to 22.6 acres and the two oldest buildings and barn were demolished. The surrounding land was expanded and subdivided and developed by DeChiaro Enterprises, Inc. in 1962, The Stanlee, Inc. in 1965. By 1995, the Font Hill Property has been subdivided and reduced to 3.32 acres, with 36 modern homes built around the manor. Owners of the home included the first circuit judge of Howard County, Edward Hammond.
