It’s the dream of every parent to build a home and a fortune that will ensure security and prosperity for their children and heirs. Indeed, this was the case in colonial America, when social standing was determined not only by heredity but especially by material wealth.
Philemon Hemsley, born in 1670 to a family of modest wealth, inherited his family’s 200-acre farm, Cloverfields, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore upon his father’s death when he was just 16 years old. Accustomed to a life of wealth and status—which in Maryland at the time was often associated with successful farming and shipping of tobacco—Philemon quickly realized that he would need more than 200 acres of land to sustain his standard of living. In 1700, he acquired the first of seven contiguous parcels along the Wye River. Eventually, he owned and handed down to his children an estate that would grow in both size and prosperity, and that would be continuously held by his descendants for more than 300 years.
By the time of his death in Annapolis in 1719, Philemon left behind an estate that historical records show was valued at £3,034.19 “current money.” In addition to Cloverfields, Philemon owned a house on State Circle in Annapolis, more than 1,000 acres of land, and human capital: 44 slaves and seven indentured servants. William Hemsley, Philemon’s only son, inherited the family’s Eastern Shore properties and assets. Like his father, who inherited his wealth at a young age, William became the owner of substantial holdings.
William Hemsley became a leading planter on the Eastern Shore, growing in esteem and prestige in the community. He held local offices in Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties. In 1779, he was elected to the state senate. Between 1782 and 1783, he served in the Continental Congress in New York. After declining his election in 1784, he returned to the state senate in 1786. During the war, he was appointed to the rank of colonel in the militia of Queen Anne’s County, was a member of the Maryland Convention that ratified the United States Constitution in 1788, and represented Maryland in the Continental Congress in 1782 and 1783. Writing for the Cloverfields Preservation Commission, historian Willie Graham, curator of architecture for Colonial Williamsburg from 1981 to 2016, notes that Hemsley built on the wealth and privileges that his heredity and three marriages conveyed. “Col. William Hemsley became a wealthy planter, was a prominent statesman, and he [had refashioned] his estate into the power-house that his position and fortune demanded.”
Hemsley married three times, each time improving the estate he named Cloverfields. During his lifetime, the farm experienced a period of great reconstruction and expansion, making it one of the most beautiful and substantial plantations in the American colonies. Historical records, including official inventories and census data, indicate that William renovated his father’s original two-story, T-shaped design to enlarge it, bring in much-needed sunlight, and create beautiful spaces for entertaining. Graham writes, “The dining room was self-contained and dressed as a showplace, the likes of which few on the shore could boast. Most impressive was the chimneypiece, which featured floor-to-ceiling Ionic pilasters flanking a mantel with a carved frieze and consoles, and an over mantel equally dripping with the latest rococo adornments.”
During the Revolutionary War, Hemsley served the Patriot forces as chief procurement officer, putting his wealth and reputation, not to mention his life, on the line. During this period, he completed work on his estate, which, by then, included 28 structures over 1,622 acres that stretched from Wye Mills to what is now Chesapeake College. Graham notes that by the time Hemsley and his second wife Sarah completed their reconstruction, “the new house was…fully ordered, with discrete zones for the public, another, more private sphere for the family, and finally, a fully separate facility for the work activities and living spaces for those who toiled at these efforts.”
None of the history of this incredible property would be known if not for the work of the Cloverfields Preservation Foundation, a project funded and managed by a descendant of Philemon and William Hemsley. Cloverfields was handed down through the family until the foundation arranged the purchase of four acres that included the house and family cemetery. The foundation aims to explore the 300-year history of the home while at the same time engaging a team of expert archeologists, dendrologists, architects, builders, and craftsmen to restore the property to the height of its use as a plantation estate in 1784.
The foundation’s restoration of Cloverfields includes researching architectural plans, design details like trim styles, paint colors, finishes, and fabrics, and replacing the systems of the house. The modern kitchen will be removed, and HVAC, lighting, and electric will only be used as absolutely necessary to reflect the lack of these amenities during the home’s prominence. “Once complete, for the first time, future generations will be able to visit the site and experience in person a mostly undiscovered portion of the history of Maryland,” the Cloverfields Preservation Foundation writes in its mission statement. “The site will be useful for preservation research, educational programming, and exhibitions showcasing the history and architecture of Cloverfields.”
Architect Devon Kimmel and builder Raymond Gauthier have joined the Cloverfields Preservation Foundation team. Kimmel, whose firm in Annapolis focuses on high-end institutional and residential architecture, works on projects as diverse as a war memorial in France to restaurants, breweries, horse farms, and waterfront homes. Kimmel loves history and especially historical colonial architecture. For him, this project is one of great passion and learning. “Cloverfields was one of the earliest estates on the Eastern Shore and would have been the grandest house on the Eastern Shore, bar none,” he says. “This project, which includes a website, a monthly newsletter, and even videography that may be made into a documentary, is a dream job. It’s an opportunity to view firsthand Maryland history and colonial history, the progression of people living in [the home], and how it changed over time from almost medieval in 1705 to Georgian to finally to Federal.”
Gauthier was approached to handle physical reconstruction of the home and outbuildings. As an expert builder of luxury homes, he is just as passionate about this particular project as he is about his personal craft, recognizing that there is a multitude of ways this restoration could become complicated. “With a historical restoration like this one that has a lot of potential pitfalls, you don’t want critics to say that you didn’t investigate it correctly or thoroughly, that you didn’t do it the right way, or didn’t do it to the right period,” Gauthier says. “We set the expectation from the beginning with ourselves, with our community, and with the public that we would leave no stone unturned and that we are doing 100 percent of what we can to do this right.”
Doing It Right
Doing it right includes managing some quirky details of the house. Kimmel says there are “goofy things all over the house,” like a brick bell-course that goes around the house, stepping down at the corners. “This is unusual. There’s no other example of it, and there is no purpose except for aesthetics. It’s simply used to call out the corners of the house.”
On the eaves of the main residence, there is what looks like an exposed medallion, or dental, in the eaves of the roof, spaced about 18 to 20 inches apart. “This is called a medallion cornice,” Kimmel says. “But actually, it’s the floor joists coming though. That is strictly aesthetic and has no function.”
The roof has bent principal rafters. Six big pieces of oak, probably cut and carved on the plantation, were used to build the rafters. “Why would they have bent rafters?” wonders Kimmel. “I am not sure. Perhaps the builder was an Englishman familiar with English building techniques or Tudor style.”
Another unusual design element is the main stair hall. A brick tower houses the stairs at the rear of the house. The stairwell dates to 1705, a date the team has confirmed through a dendrochronological study of the wood. The stairwell is 12 by 12 feet and goes up to the third floor. “This stairwell is very pretty, with the original custom handrail that is one of a kind. We know the trees for the stairs were felled in 1703 and 1704, and finished in 1705. These are the oldest or the second oldest stairs in the Southern colonies,” Kimmel says.
There is evidence of an open-air front porch, dated to 1705, which would make it the earliest known porch in what became a quintessentially American design. “The porch would be considered innovative at that time,” says Kimmel, “because prior porches were enclosed to create a vestibule. We don’t know why the porch was designed to be open, but we do know this is one of the first.”
Perhaps most quirky is the attic room used as a meat smoking room, a potentially dangerous idea given that fires could and did destroy other colonial mansions of the time. Gauthier says the room, which has wood floors and a wooden roof, still smells faintly of the fire and smoke used to preserve meats.
Doing it right also involves sourcing the raw materials and skilled craftsmanship that would have been used to build and decorate a stately plantation in the colonial era. “We have to find guys willing to make 5,000 handmade nails, hinges, glass, and window frames,” Gauthier says. “Then we have to find period experts to install windows, doors, and panels just as would have been done in 1784.” Hemsley relied on renown artists and builders who chose the very best raw materials from the plantation. They carefully selected the tree that best suited their job, typically utilizing the best first growth wood. Gauthier says windows were made of American black walnut, floors were fashioned from heart pine, and only the very best parts of the tree were used to ensure strength, longevity, and beauty.
Gauthier has formed relationships with craftsmen throughout New England and the mid-Atlantic to hand-build interior and exterior elements, right down to the original bricks. “Back then, craftspeople apprenticed for seven years before working on their own,” Gauthier explains. “Often, the son would join the father’s trade or guild, so the skills and knowledge about how wood moves and works were handed down through generations. In today’s world of automation and use of modern materials, that skill and knowledge have been lost.”
Lost, but not gone. Gauthier’s contractors are fashioning not only the bricks, but also plaster, panels, doors, windows, and even wood shingles, which are modeled after the original 1760 shingles Hemsley used. “The shingles show gorgeous workmanship,” Gauthier says. “The builders didn’t just put two roofs together and use metal to join them. They tapered and swept the shingles continuously. It’s a beautiful technique that’s gone out of practice.” DiscoveryArcheologists recently discovered an ice house on the property. According to Kimmel, the find is remarkable. Only the very wealthiest plantations—Mt. Vernon and Monticello, for example—could boast a cool drink during hot summer. “It’s a pretty spectacular find which our team discovered with the use of ground penetrating radar. It measures 14 by 12 feet, and it’s just another example of how this estate on the Eastern Shore is really special,” he says.
Jason Tyler, writes extensively about the ice house on the Cloverfield Preservation Foundation website. For anyone who loves history, Tyler’s explanation of the excavation reveals a perfect reason for why it’s so relevant and timely for projects like Cloverfields to be funded and pursued. The ice house, built about 60 feet from the main house, was used for decades before becoming first a gaping hole and then a trash receptacle. Multiple artifacts from generations of Cloverfields inhabitants have been found.
Archeologists also discovered an extensive terraced garden which Kimmel, who is also a landscape architect, says was the most significant colonial garden in the United States. “This is a spectacular example of a parterre garden, which was used by the Hemsleys for practical purposes, but also for pleasure.” The garden looks like a lawn now, but the team is working to recreate the ellipses and geometric shapes that made this garden so unique and pleasant.
Doing this project right has involved an intense study of Maryland historical deeds, wills, inventories, and other records by international and local experts. Archeological digs have discovered 60,000 artifacts. “It’s amazing that just six inches under the ground we are finding out how things looked and how people worked and played,” Gauthier says. Archeological finds are curated, cataloged, and prepared for storage by experts in England and the United States. Once the Cloverfields restoration project is complete, the Preservation Foundation plans to present the items in a visitor’s center and museum.
Challenges
Gauthier and Kimmel say challenges remain in the excavation and restoration of Cloverfields. The bathroom and kitchen built after 1785 will be removed, and an authentic colonial kitchen will be installed. For help with this, they are working with historians from George Washington’s Mt. Vernon. The building will need a sprinkler system so the architects will have to determine how best to add this modern equipment to 18th-century rooms. Electrical lines installed in the 20th century will be pulled out and new lighting systems will be installed only where necessary. Seven different HVAC units will be used to condition the house so the builders don’t have to install ductwork.
Despite these challenges, the Cloverfields Preservation Foundation, Kimmel, and Gauthier remain impassioned and committed to the project. They are driven by the owner’s evident love for his family’s heritage and property, and their own passion for history. “On this project, there is absolutely no cutting corners,” Gauthier says “The house has been here for 313 years, and we are restoring it to survive another 313 years. It’s an excellent way to learn about best practices in building because this house remains in great shape, even after generations of people living in it.”
To learn more about Cloverfields and the Preservation Foundation team’s work, visit CloverfieldsPreservationFoundation.org and subscribe to the monthly blog. In it, Kimmel describes discoveries made, challenges, and obstacles encountered, and construction projects underway or completed. The foundation’s website offers extensive information on the history of the property, the purpose of the project, and the future museum.
All photography courtesy Kimmel Studio Architects.
