Super cool landmark…read more As per the plaque: Constructed in 1860, the Gatehouse was designed by the Baltimore firm of Thomas and James M. Dixon. Built in Tudor Revival Style, it provided for two living units, one on each side of the archway. The Gatehouse resembled a Swiss chalet and became a trademark of the Sheppard. The neighborhood children viewed it as the home of Hansel and Gretel. A tenant alwavs lived in the Gatehouse until 2005. The beautiful Rhododendron Drive was historically entered by driving through the Gatehouse. In 2002 the entire Charles Street entrance was reconstructed and cars no longer entered through the Archway.

I'm leaving in the place for the last twenty four years…read more Obviously I would not stay there for this long time if I wasn't be happy with this place

This is my favorite area in Patapsco state park, I've brought many friends and family here over the…read moreyears. It's beautiful, you can find the ruins of an old mining camp and religious boarding school here. There's even a decent spot to jump off the train tracks into the water below, although take care because the water can be shallow in spots.

No one seems to know how or why this little parcel got its name. It is noted for its great…read moresledding, and nice views of the woods. Just a short walk from Bayview Springs, off of Warburton Road. What's than 1 mile walk the opposite direction will take you to the beautiful Gilpin Falls covered Bridge.

Visited on school trip. When we arrived, staff were waiting outside and grabbed our attention by…read moretheir traditional 1700's Quaker attire. Our tour consisted of the Blacksmith, Pond Life, Mill Tour, Miller's House and Hearth Cooking. I must admit I think the adults were a bit more intrigued by the program than the children. I specifically loved the Blacksmith demonstration. The gentleman showed us how tedious it was just to make a simple spoon and the amount of work that went into making items out of iron during this time frame. He explained that during this time 8-9 year olds would have been working on making nails and how important the Blacksmith was to the community. I would love to visit again and participate in learning more about the process. I not a bug lover so the Pond while the children thought it was cool to play in, I would pass. The Mill tour.. amazing the process of milling flour and the Miller's house displayed how the home would have been set up during the time period, including the brick oven. I also enjoyed the Hearth cooking.. the children learned how to make and "cook" cookies outside in a Hearth; the cookies actually tasted pretty good. Overall, I really enjoyed my time on the grounds. I look forward to returning and participating in another programs.

this place is HUGE! there are so many different trails to walk, beautiful waterfalls and a lovely…read morepicnic area. there are signs throughout showing the map of all the trails. I only wish there were signs telling you which trail you're starting because I struggle to read the map.

We enjoyed the tour. Started off with an interesting video. The docent was good and knowledgeable…read more Took so see many interesting spots in and around the home, including a life size version of a wigwam that would have been in the area at the time.

Why is the Hans Herr House significant and who the hell was Hans Herr?…read more The house itself is significant as it is the last remaining structure that is still standing from the original group of Mennonites who came to the Lancaster County area to escape religious persecution from their native Switzerland. The house is also significant in that it is the oldest structure in Lancaster County and likely the oldest remaining Mennonite meetinghouse in the Western Hemisphere. The original group traveled from Switzerland to Germany to escape religious persecution then after a governmental regime change they were forced from Germany to England where they met with William Penn who allowed them to colonize a portion of what is current day Lancaster County or when they arrived in 1711, the extreme most western frontier of Pennsylvania. One interesting piece of information is that the house did not belong to Hans Herr as it was built by his son Christian which is why his initials are over the doorway along with the inscribing mark of 1719. On the tour you are told why the name remained(s) Hans Herr House versus Christian Herr House but honestly I forget why. Maybe something just deferential from Christian towards his father or because of his father's status with the original group that came to the area or maybe everyone just liked the flow of the name more so it's based on tradition? The tour itself is around 40-45 minutes and it starts in the building which houses the gift shop and you are given a brief overview of the Anabaptist faith, the Mennonites who are direct descendants of the faith and a map which shows the route the initial settlers took from Switzerland to Pennsylvania. After that you are taken over to the house where you see the three rooms which make up the first floor (kitchen, bedroom and all purpose dining room-meeting room-family room) and the second floor which is where the eight children slept and finally the basement which is accessed from a side entrance outside of the house. You learn that the key to the home's design is that they didn't believe in wasting any space so every inch served a purpose such as not having hallways so as soon as you walk in the front door you're right in the kitchen. One thing worth noting, if you are someone who is hardcore hung up on only visiting historical places if they have lots of original items then this place might not be for you. There is not a whole lot original to the house that you can see with the exception of a piece of the ceiling insulation on the first floor (rye straw + manure + ??), the wooden crossbeam over the kitchen fireplace and the steps which go from the second floor to the third floor attic (obviously you can't use them). Past that I think most everything else was changed out in the 19th century when the house was still used as a residence or in the early 70's when the initial renovation occurred to make things into a tourist destination. If you want more original take a look at the bibles on display in the gift shop which are original to Hans and Christian. I wouldn't call the Hans Herr House a must see, but it's interesting enough and the tour is the right length to keep everyone interested along with being located close enough to most of Lancaster County's tourist elements. If you go: The 1719 Hans Herr House is open April 1 through November 30, Monday-Saturday, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM. Forty-five minute Herr House tours are offered at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. This is not the tour information for their reproduction Native American Longhouse. That tour is offered at 10 a.m., 12 noon and 2 p.m and has an entirely different focus. Prices are currently Adults: $8, Children 7-12: $4 and Children 6 and under: free with a slight discount if you choose to tour both structures. There are also several special events that happen throughout the year and that information is available on their website.

Nice and free historic site of a childhood home for one of the nation's founding fathers. It's off…read morethe beaten path, but it's a big property. The visitor center has a small exhibit and an introductory film which is nice but the guide prefaces by saying it "focuses too much on John Dickinson" (?) The exhibit focuses more on the family and the enslaved/servants who lived there, which really rounded out the property, but we did come here because we wanted to learn more about John Dickinson. No gift shop, which was disappointing. The tour itself was very informative, and there was a big crowd visiting when I did. Again, the tour seemed to want to downplay Dickinson and his role in the American Revolution. Likely because he thought the colonies weren't prepared to go to war, he abstained from voting for independence, he is less remembered than other Founding Fathers, but I came to learn about him, and the guide wasn't all that interested in talking about him and what he did accomplish. Still, the furnishings were nice, and we got to learn about Dickinson's father, his wife and family, and his brother who all lived there with a focus on the lesser-known residents. I think that could have all been balanced better. The view of the river is lovely, and there are some out buildings and a garden to stroll through. It's a nice outdoor site, and for free, it's still a good site to visit to see history being preserved.

I like to go in old buildings, look at old furniture, but I am not much of a history person. The…read morehouse was interesting to see, and there were a few pieces of furniture that I loved- such as the rope beds, the chair that was oversized, the large loom, and the travel clock that one of the Dickinsons took with him when he traveled. The guide was nice and interesting. That is saying a lot, because I can get bored very easily. She spent an adequate amount of time in each room. Before we took the tour, we had to see a movie, that was about 15 minutes long, mostly about history. We were the only people there, and I got up during the movie and looked at the other exhibits in the room. I would say travel here if you like history or old houses/furniture.

Great historic house in town located in back of the resturant. Open sometimes during the warm…read moreseason. A must do on the shore.

Very interesting place to find out about local historical figures, and the facts of life back then…read more Though we've seen lot's of historic houses, but still discovered for ourselves something we didn't know before. Too bad not much of information about this place on the internet, but we were very glad to discover it and recommend it to everyone loving the history of this country.

This place never disappoints! You need to go back each season to appreciate the changing landscape…read moreand step back in time!

While the mansion is still undergoing renovations so we were not able to include that and so my…read morereview may change in the future. Don't expect to take even a full afternoon visiting but it is a lovely preserved estate around the city. There's some goats, and the grounds are enjoyable to take an hour or so to walk with nice historical signs for context. There is some parking but it likely gets packed in high traffic times. I can't put it in my top gardens available for Philadelphia, it's good to have treasures like these to keep the sense of history and love of horticulture the area has long held.

This is a really cute hidden local treasure - very charming and pretty. We had some wedding photos…read moretaken here, so it will always have a special place in our hearts! Lots of cool spots outside for photos, and the inside is really cute as well. I'm not sure they usually open the house, but the grounds are very nice to walk around. We stopped by again recently and had some time to reminisce before heading out because it was too cold.

If unpretentious backwater towns with tons of history and charm are your jam, Chesapeake City,…read moreMaryland should be on your bucket list. Located in Cecil County right over the Delaware border, the community was severed in two by the construct of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in 1839, a 450 foot wide, 35 foot deep project of amazing engineering and perseverance that connected upper Chesapeake Bay with Delaware River. It is nothing short of stunning to the senses to watch a Goliath supertanker pass by, dwarfing everything in view as it slowly prowed by on its way from the Port of Baltimore to the Port of Philadelphia. Forty percent of all shipping out of Baltimore takes this route. While such a deep scar through the middle of town would destroy most villages, just the opposite occurred to the formerly named Bohemia. In fact the "ditch" created an entirely new economic engine focused on canal related amenities, so that today, although it has the gestalt of "The town that time forgot," it is actually making its way in the present as a wonderful place to drive through, walk around the small downtown on the southern side of the C&D, sit for fresh seafood lunch or dinner, and if truly in passionate mood, reserve rooms in a local bed and breakfast. True, the old bridge was taken out by a tanker almost a hundred years ago, forcing traffic to divert to the edge of town where the new span Chesapeake City Bridge was constructed tall enough to permit modern ships to pass beneath without waiting for the former draw bridge to open, but this too became an interesting attraction for this timeless charmed jewel.

The food is good and so is the service. I like the view. Their crab chowder soup is good.read more