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Sion Hill is a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in Havre de Grace,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, notable as an example of high-style
Federal architecture Federal-style architecture is the name for the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of And ...
and as the home of a family of prominent officers of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. Work began at Sion Hill around 1785 for the Rev. John Ireland, but progressed slowly, as the unfinished house was sold in 1795 to Gordon Denison. In 1799 the still-unfinished house passed to Denison's daughter Minerva, who was to marry Commodore John Rodgers in 1806. Together, they finished the house. Descendants of John and Minerva Rodgers still own the house today, and have included son John Rodgers II, who commanded ironclads in the
US Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded f ...
, Rear Admiral John Augustus Rodgers (1848-1933) and his son,
naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...
John Rodgers (1881-1926).


History

John Ireland bought the unimproved property above Havre de Grace in 1787 and began construction on the Sion Hill Seminary, intended as a boys' school. Ireland sold the property with the unfinished house in 1795 to Connecticut merchant Gideon Denison. Denison was apparently a real estate speculator, believing that Havre de Grace would expand significantly, and accumulated around the house. Denison died in 1799, and his daughter Minerva inherited. After her marriage to John Rodgers at Sion Hill, the couple added the house's details. After Rodgers' retirement from active naval service in 1815 he returned to Sion Hill, continuing to advise on naval policy. Rodgers died in 1838. Minerva survived until 1877, but gave Sion Hill and of surrounding land to her oldest son, Robert Smith Rodgers (1809-1891). Robert Smith Rodgers, a civil engineer, enlisted in the Union Army as a private, rose to the rank of colonel during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
and commanded the 2nd Maryland Eastern Shore Infantry Regiment. In 1841 he married Sarah Perry, daughter of Commander
Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a United States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He led the Perry Expedition that Bakumatsu, ended Japan' ...
. The son of Robert S. and Sarah Perry Rodgers, Rear Admiral John Augustus Rodgers inherited the house and lived there until his death in 1933. Sion Hill was the site of an early aviation record. On September 16, 1911, ENS John Rodgers became the first man in America to visit his parents by airplane. He landed in a field about 200 yards from the house where his father, Rear Admiral John Rodgers, his mother Elizabeth, and brother Robert greeted him. His intention was to leave the next day for New York where his cousin
Calbraith Perry Rodgers Calbraith Perry Rodgers Jr. (January 12, 1879 – April 3, 1912) was an American aviation pioneer. He made the first transcontinental airplane flight across the U.S. from September 17, 1911, to November 5, 1911, with dozens of stops, both inte ...
was to depart Sheepshead Bay for San Francisco at 3 pm that afternoon to compete for the $50,000 Hearst Prize. The house then passed to Rodgers' widow, Elizabeth Chambers Rodgers, who in 1944 left the property to a descendant of the first John Rodgers, John Meigs, John Rodger's great-grandson and grandson of
Montgomery C. Meigs Montgomery Cunningham Meigs (; May 3, 1816 – January 2, 1892) was a career United States Army officer and military and civil engineer, who served as Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during and after the American Civil War. Although a Sou ...
, who had married Louisa Rodgers. John Meigs in turn left the property to Montgomery Meigs Green in 1946. His wife, Ann, gave it to their son Jonathan Green in 2004. The house was rented in the 2010s, and put up for sale on September 11, 2018, for $1.299 million. It sold for $900,000 on July 14, 2020.


Description

Sion Hill is a brick three-part house with a five-bay -story central block flanked by one-bay shed-roofed wings. The main facade faces south toward
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
. This side features a pedimented porch at the entrance door, a three-part second floor window above, and a
lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...
in the attic gable. Typical windows are nine-over-nine sashes under flared stone lintels with projecting keystones. The rear elevation is similar, but somewhat simplified. The main roof is a cross-gable with smaller gables front and back. Large chimneys flank the roof, and are traditionally stated to have been built especially tall to be visible from the upper Chesapeake. The interior features a center hall plan. The summer and winter dining rooms, of equal size, lie to the east, with two parlors and the main stairs to the west. The plan plays with proportions; it is a three-part composition with one third a single unit, one third divided in half, and one third divided in three. The hall features a pilastered segmental arch, with a similar arch at the stair alcove. Woodwork is almost all original and of high quality throughout. The west wing was a schoolroom with dormitory space above, and retains its layout. The east wing was the kitchen wing, and has been rearranged to suit modern requirements. The property also contains a brick tenant house, ''circa'' 1790, with two rooms on each of two levels. The house originally featured formal gardens, now largely lost. The property preserves expansive views of Chesapeake Bay and the town of Havre de Grace.


See also

*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Maryland This is a List of National Historic Landmarks in Maryland. There are currently 76 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) in Maryland. Also included are short lists of former NHLs and of other historic sites of national importance administered by the ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Harford County, Maryland This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Harford County, Maryland. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Harford County, Maryland, H ...


References


External links

*, including photo in 1989, at
Maryland Historical Trust The Maryland Historical Trust is an agency of Maryland Department of Planning and serves as the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office. The agency serves to assist in research, conservation, and education, of Maryland's historical and cultur ...
* {{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Havre de Grace, Maryland Houses in Harford County, Maryland Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland National Historic Landmarks in Maryland African-American history of Maryland History of slavery in Maryland Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Harford County, Maryland Rodgers family Perry family