Montpelier Mansion

Without a doubt, one of the surprise jewels in Laurel, Maryland is the Montpelier Mansion. The mansion was built by Major Thomas Snowden in 1781 and likely completed in 1782. The mansion had a number of distinguished guests including George Washington and Abigail Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams. The mansion is located just off of Maryland 197 and Muirkirk Road. Visitors can do a self-guided tour of the mansion for $3. The mansion has a number of rooms set up to what they would've looked like in the early 1800's. The mansion is situated in 70 acres of land. The greens around the mansion would be excellent for a picnic though I wouldn't do one right now with the summer heat and humidity.

The mansion has a gift shop in its carriage house. The gift shop is called The Little Teapot http://www.the-little-teapot.com/. The gift shop has the typical tourist t-shirts as well as an outstandting selection of loose teas (over 50) and tea sets. This shop may be the finest tea shop in Laurel and in the local area. It offers afternoon teas in the mansion on select Fridays. Reservations are mandatory. For information on future tea dates or to make reservations, you need to call 301-498-8486.

The mansion holds various special events during the year. One particulary noteworthy one will be hold on July 7th, 2007 from 10 a.m. till noon. Visitors will get to see what life was like for a Revolutionary War soldier. Admission for this event is $10. For further information on the mansion and other upcoming events at the mansion, check their website at
http://www.pgparks.com/places/eleganthistoric/montpelier_visitor.html.