This event goes all year, and is held on every Tue
Marietta House Museum
5626 Bell Station Road
Glenn Dale, MD
Tel: 301-464-5291
Email: mariettahouse@pgparks.com
Hours:
· Museum Hours : Tue-Fri, 11am-4pm
· Museum Tour Times : 11am, 1pm, 3pm
· Library Hours : Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm
· Business Hours : Mon-Fri, 9:30am-4:30pm
<strong>Events</strong> <strong>& Programs</strong>
Upcoming Programs
Lunchtime Lecture, White Marsh Historical Society with Genealogist Kevin Porter.
Kevin Porter, the President of the White Marsh His
Josiah Henson, his Descendants, and the Underground Railroad.
Diana Klein, the Josiah Henson Museum and Park edu
Mindfulness Walk Connecting History and Nature at Marietta
Enjoy a meditative walk in nature imbued with hist
<strong>Visit</strong>
About the Site
Built in 1816, Marietta is a late Federal style brick house and past tobacco plantation, the former home of Gabriel Duvall and generations of his family, and the enforced home of many enslaved men, women, and children. Gabriel Duvall (1752-1844) was a lawyer, Maryland legislator, U.S. Congressman, U.S. Comptroller, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice. The Duvall family enslaved anywhere from nine to 40 people at Marietta during any given year between 1783 and 1864. The Duvalls enslaved multiple generations of the Duckett, Butler, Jackson, and Brown families at Marietta.
As an attorney, Gabriel Duvall worked on behalf of over 120 enslaved men, women and children who sued in court for their freedom. In this way he established his reputation as a successful lawyer who won nearly 75% of those enslaved people’s petitions for freedom. The paradox begs to be questioned when we know that Duvall fought against the petition of freedom filed by Thomas and Sarah Butler, whose family Duvall enslaved at Marietta.
Marietta is a nationally recognized historic site which includes a cemetery, original root cellar, and Duvall law office, as well as 25-acres where visitors can walk the sites of the plantation outbuildings and slave dwellings. Guided tours of the historic house and site highlight the relationships among the enslaved people and their enslavers that were shaped in part by the nation’s founding documents and local slave codes. Hear the histories of families’ decisions to seek freedom through flight, the courts, and deeds. Since 2004, Marietta has been part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
Plan Your Visit
Hours:
- Museum Hours: Tue-Fri, 11 am-4 pm
- Museum Tour Times: 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm
- Library Hours: Mon-Fri, 10 am-4 pm
- Business Hours: Mon-Fri, 9:30 am-4 pm
Admission:
- Adults: $5
- Children 12 years old and younger: Free
- Active Military: Free
- Students on Field Trips: $3
Tours:
- Self-guided outdoor walking tour: Free
- Groups of 10 to 30 visitors per guided-tour time need to make advance reservations at least two weeks before their tour date.
- Guided Tours available 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm
- To make reservations, visit PGParks.com and sign into Parks Direct, email MariettaHouse@pgparks.com, or call 301-464-5291
Accessibility
- Mobility challenged visitors can visit the period rooms in Marietta House Museum on the ground floor and first floor only. The elevator is currently being repaired and not available until further notice
- CC is available on the orientation video on the ground floor.
- Videos of all the interpreted period rooms are available on the ground floor.
- Sensory kits are available on the ground floor.
- A smooth brick walkway leads from the main parking lot to the front of the Law Office, Saddlery, and Marietta House front facade, though no ramp access is available.
- Mobility challenged visitors may also choose to park in the upper parking lot at the ground floor museum lobby, north side of the historic house.
- The orientation video includes Spanish subtitles. The Law Office and Slave Trade exhibits as well as the cemetery interpretation include Spanish translations.
- The lobby entrance, conference room, and historic kitchen are wheelchair accessible on the basement level.
Stay in Touch
- To sign up for Marietta House Museum’s monthly newsletter, contact mariettahouse@pgparks.com
- For upcoming events and programs, refer to Marietta’s Monthly Newsletter, check Marietta’s website, or call 301-464-5291.
- For past issue of Marietta House Museum’s newsletter in English and in Spanish, visit rosenotes.net
- Follow us on Facebook for the latest news on events, programs, and activities.
<strong>School Programs</strong>
Our field trip programs provide students with a hands-on immersive experience designed to complement Maryland school curricula. Each field trip package includes a guided tour of the historic house, law office, and grounds, and interactive group activities. Pre-visit and post-visit lesson materials are available. All programs seek to elevate the stories and experienced of the enslaved community at Marietta and foster a sense of social justice and equity with the students in their present lives. Choose from either of our “Ready-to-Go” packages below, or create your own experience with our “Build-Your-Own” activities.
How to Schedule
To make reservations please call 301-464-5291 or email MariettaHouse@pgparks.com. Please plan your field trip visits a minimum of two weeks in advance.
Fees
- Student: $3
Teachers and Bus Driver: Free
Chaperones: Require 1 adult chaperone (free) for every 10 students
Additional people: $5
Fees are collected at the door upon arrival
Bus Driver Instructions
When you enter the front gate at Marietta on Bell Station Rd, make the immediate left onto the gravel road. Complete a full turn around and park the bus with the passenger door facing the gate, and the bus facing the house. You can park on the gravel. When exiting, please be careful of the tight turn and use as much space as needed (you may back into the car parking lot if you need to create more space). Drivers are welcome to use the museum’s restroom. Please check in at the front desk.
Program Descriptions
To make reservations please call 301-464-5291 or email MariettaHouse@pgparks.com.
Our Nation’s Great Paradox
Grades 6 & up (90 Minutes)
Students will engage in an interactive guided tour learning about the free and enslaved people who lived and labored at Marietta, a tobacco plantation. The special focus of this field trip is on how the Bill of Rights and U.S. Constitution protected slavery and shaped the lived experiences of multiple enslaved generations. Students exam the Bill of Rights in a group activity to see how civil and human rights are outlined in the first amendment. This activity illustrates how the Bill of Rights affected enslaved people’s pursuits for freedom. After reviewing the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, students can think like a founder! Students will dissect the language of the preamble and discuss what it meant for enslaved people. Students get to use a feather pen and sealing wax to finalize their amendments to the U.S. Constitution!
Founding of the New Government (1776-1791)
- Unit Enduring Understandings: Nations are constructed and governed through compromise and conflict.
Topic: United States Constitution
- Students will identify the specific language and goals in the Preamble of the Constitution.
Topic: Ratification and the Bill of Rights
- Students will assess key language and the impact of phrases of the Bill of Rights to draw conclusions about civil and human rights protections.
From Enslavement to Freedom: Duckett Family Found in Primary Sources
Grades 4 & up (90 Minutes)
Students engage in an interactive guided tour learning about the free and enslaved people who lived and labored at Marietta, a 19th century tobacco plantation. The focus for this field trip is on how to use primary sources to discover the history of the people who lived and labored at Marietta and how they lived immediately after the U.S. Civil War. The Duckett family was enslaved at Marietta for over three generations, and they settled in D.C. and Alexandria, VA, after Emancipation. Students use authentic documents from census records, maps, tax records, wills, and court records to connect the Ducketts to life after the Civil War.
Topic: Using Primary Sources
- Students will identify data in U.S. Census records, tax records, photographs, maps, and newspaper articles.
Topic: Historical Thinking Skills
- Using inductive reasoning, students will use data they collect to build a brief family narrative about the formerly enslaved Duckett family freed from Marietta by 1865.
Build-Your-Own Field Trip
Students engage in an interactive guided tour learning about the free and enslaved people who lived and labored at Marietta. Choose one or more of these activities to complement the tour:
Slavery Shaped by Law (grades 8-12):
- A life-size timeline is unscrambled revealing the evolution of oppressive laws.
Freedom Routes (grades 6-12):
- Trace the primary pathways freedom takers traveled north from Maryland. Maps and historical runaway ads provide clues.
Pack-a-Sack (grades 3-10):
- Select key items freedom seekers chose to carry on their flight to freedom on the Underground Railroad.
Scavenger Hunt (grades preK-5):
- While on the tour, use the scavenger hunt clues to identify key aspects of life at Marietta for the free and the enslaved.
In Your Classroom
For Prince George’s County Schools, we offer the option of in-class visits by our museum educators. Adapted from our field trips to fit a classroom environment, these lessons are 45 minutes.
To make reservations please call 301-464-5291 or email MariettaHouse@pgparks.com.
Our Nation’s Great Paradox
Grades 6 & up (45 Minutes)
Students see how U.S. Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Duvall’s actions represent the paradox of liberty – enslaving some people at Marietta while helping other people gain their freedom in courts. Students interact with the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights to see how the U.S. government protected slavery.
From Enslavement to Freedom: Duckett Family Found in Primary Sources
Grades 4 & up (45 Minutes)
Students become detectives following the story of the formerly enslaved Duckett family using primary sources, including census records, newspaper clippings, and maps. Students use critical thinking skills to interpret the information and get a glimpse of the lives of the Duckett family after Emancipation.
Making My Own Way: Self Emancipation Grades 3 & up (45 Minutes)
Students explore the ways in which enslaved people at Marietta used self-emancipation to be free. They will collectively make decisions about what items a freedom seeker might bring on the Underground Railroad and trace freedom route from Marietta using maps and historical self-emancipation ads.
Lesson Plans
“Law and Freedom” Lesson Plan
Grade: Middle and High School (6–12)
Topics: Civics, U.S. Constitution, Founding Government, Supreme Court
Duration: 30–45 minutes
Lesson Overview: Students will complete an unscramble activity on laws pertaining to slavery and a reading about freedom petitions connected to Marietta House Museum history in order to grasp the paradox of liberty espoused by the founding government.
“Dear Future Historian” Lesson Plan
Grade: Upper Elementary and Middle School (4–8)
Topics: Primary Sources, Genealogy
Duration: 30–50 minutes
Lesson Overview: Students will write a letter to a future historian and create a family tree to engage with their own family history and identify significance in one’s own life.
“Preparing for the Journey to Freedom”
Lesson Plan Grades: Upper Elementary (3–5)
Topics: U.S. History, Enslavement, Freedom Seeking, Underground Railroad
Duration: 35 minutes
Lesson Overview: Students will engage with how freedom seekers prepared for their journey, including leaving one’s family and packing specific items, through a video clip from the movie Harriet and a worksheet activity.
<strong>Rentals</strong>
General Information
- Marietta House Museum offers a newly renovated conference room complete with Wi-Fi, a direct entrance, kitchen, and adjacent restrooms.
- The conference is on the ground level and can accommodate up to 36 seated guests for meals and 50 guests seated for theater style.
- The rental includes on-site parking. Marietta House Museum requires that you hire a professionally licensed caterer for your event.
- Rental party is responsible for all set-up and breakdown of the event.
- Proof of residency of Prince George’s or Montgomery Counties is required, and renter must be at least 21 years old to rent space at Marietta House Museum.
- Renters can choose from a weekday between 10am and 4pm or a Saturday afternoon (2pm-6pm) or evening (5pm-9pm).
- For rates and availability, please call (301) 464-5291 or email MariettaHouse@pgparks.com
Fees
Conference Room:
- Weekdays between 10am and 4pm and one additional hour for clean up: $200 plus refundable security deposit
- Saturday between 2pm and 6pm and one additional hour for clean up: $400 plus $150 refundable deposit;
- Saturday between 5pm and 9pm and one additional hour for clean up: $600 plus $150 refundable deposit
Conference Room and Patio:
- Saturday between 2pm and 6pm and one additional hour for clean up or between 5pm and 9pm and one additional hour for clean up: $1,000 plus renter is responsible for their tent rental and a $150 refundable deposit
- Saturday between 2pm and 6pm and one additional hour for clean up or between 5pm and 9pm and one additional hour for clean up: $1,000 plus renter is responsible for their tent rental and a $150 refundable deposit
*Capacity for the Conference Room is up to 50 persons for theater style and 36 person for table seating
To Book the Event Space
1. Contact Stacey Hawkins, Program Coordinator to check availability of the date and time you desire for your event, (301) 464-5291 or MariettaHouse@pgparks.com
2. Schedule an appointment with Stacey to preview the rental space at Marietta House Museum. Please contact us early to start planning.
3. Rentals in the Conference Room are up to six hours plus one hour for final clean up on weekdays and up to four hours and one hour for final clean up on Saturdays.
4. Make an official reservation by paying the required security deposit and rental deposit (50% of the relevant flat rate) and sign the use agreement.
5. Interested renters have up to ten days to hold their desired date by making a refundable security deposit. However, the hold will automatically be cancelled at the end of the ten days if the 50% rental deposit and agreement are not received and signed within the ten days.
6. The date and time of your event is confirmed upon the receipt of the deposits and signed agreement.
History and Resources
Enslaved Individuals Database
Marietta House Museum, located in Glenn Dale, Maryland, is the former home and tobacco plantation of Gabriel Duvall (1752-1844), a U.S. Supreme Court Justice and enslaver. The site highlights the relationships among the enslaved people and their enslavers that were shaped in part by the nation’s founding documents and local slave codes. To enhance interpretation, Marietta staff conducted extensive research on the individuals enslaved by generations of Duvall family members in Maryland. A custom Access database was developed which provides details of enslaved individuals’ names, ages, dates of birth and death (if known), enslavers (including local non-Duvall family members), occupations, family relationships, significant life events (self-emancipation, marriage, childbirth, tax assessments, enumerations, military service, etc.), and the sources used to compile this information. The digital (searchable) database is available at Marietta House Museum’s research library, the following document is a PDF copy of the information contained within the database to serve as a reference resource.
Marietta Trees
The Marietta House Museum sits on 25 acres of lawn and woodland. Our grounds boast two County Champion trees, an old Osage Orange, several fruit and nut trees, as well as a small number of the original boxwoods that flanked the main entrance in the early twentieth century.
Download our tree map
