In late March, one of our favorite local historic sites announced that they would be holding a special, weekend-long, Maryland Day Celebration. On March 25, 26, and 27, 2022 from 11am to 4pm, Historic Linthicum Walks opened its doors and grounds to visitors. We had been here many times before for their themed scavenger hunts, but this was the first time we could visit and actually go inside the house. When I told my girls about it, Stormy was thrilled! She was excited to go inside, and see what the home looked like. For this Maryland Day Celebration, visitors could tour the house, participate in a Maryland Day themed scavenger hunt, interact with people in historic dress, and play children’s games that were once popular in the 1700s. The historic site is located at 2295 Davidsonville Rd., Gambrills, MD. There is a large grassy area for parking, although be careful on the unpaved drive in and out as it is narrow! Crofton Middle School next door serves as overflow parking. There are no restrooms on site for visitors, although I did spot a porta-potty in the parking area on this visit.
We arrived at opening time on a bitterly cold, early spring day. All three girls headed straight for the house, eager to go inside. The door we entered took us into the section of the home that was from the 1700s. There were children in historic dress that greeted us, and asked my girls if they wanted to try some games. Stormy spent a good while learning how to do the cannonball puzzle, while Pebble colored a sheet featuring the historic site and played with a Jacob’s Ladder. Rainbow tried to get the hang of making a wooden disc on a string spin. It was not easy, and even Stormy had trouble with it! There was a woman in historic dress in the same room as the games manning a station where she talked about the history of the property, and provided information on food eaten at that time period. My girls tried sugar cubes and then a dab of honey. They loved the sugar cubes, but not the honey!
After trying a variety of games, we stepped back outside so Stormy and Rainbow could try a game that involved making hoop roll using a stick to keep the momentum up. Wow, was it hard! Stormy would have gotten it with practice, a lot of practice, but Rainbow went with Pebble to play with the homemade bubble wands and bubble solution instead. It was much easier to chase bubbles than hoops!
By this time, our friends had joined us and we returned inside. While our friends checked out the games, as well as the station regarding historical foods and crops, my girls wandered over to the section of the home from the 1800s. There was a neat display of items that had been found on the property, including glass bottles, coins, etc. There were also several informative displays on the home’s history. Sadly, though, the home was not decorated as a home from this period would have been. In fact, one volunteer mentioned that some of the pieces had been found in thrift stores. It would have been interesting to see how the home had once been arranged. Still, the home was a great place to stop and warm up on this chilly day. Stormy badly wanted to see the second floors of both sections of the house, but visitors were not allowed upstairs. The stairs in the 1700s portion of the home were badly worn down by the generations of feet that had used them.
Once our friends had finished their explorations, we headed back outside to complete the Maryland Day scavenger hunt. The kids ran in multiple directions in their quest to be first to find an item on the list. In the end, we located all but one of the items. We asked inside the house for a clue to this last item’s whereabouts, but still couldn’t find it. By this time, snow flurries were flying and we were all frozen popsicles. We nixed the idea of a picnic, and headed for our warm cars to thaw out. The girls had a blast, and can’t wait until the next scavenger hunt is ready. Hopefully, the Friends here will do another program like this for the next Maryland Day in 2023, and I would highly recommend checking it out! This historical site is a hidden gem in Crofton! Happy trails!
