riversdale house museum

Enjoyed our tour on Smithsonian Day. A lot of history in this home that has been restored and is on the way to getting even better.Wish the grounds were part of the tour, but there isn't really much to see and hear about besides the home considering how old the home is and how many owners it has gone through.

Riversdale does a great job of presenting a fascinating slice of history. The home was begun over 200 years ago by refugees from the French Revolution, after Liberte turned into Terror. It was completed after the heir, Rosalie Stier, married into Maryland's first family, the Calverts. The house itself is restored with restraint and taste, and more than a little imagination. A scrap of fabric was reproduced to form the bedspread and drapes for the master bedroom. A piece of wallpaper was uncovered, restored, then matched with original frames of the same wallpaper to cover a room. Original portraits are copied to portray the families. The moldings are lovingly and beautifully restored. Our docent guide had literally "written the book," Rosalie Stier's correspondence with her family back in Antwerp. Open for tours only on Friday and Sunday afternoon.