Sotterley View of Patuxent, Smokehouse, and Spinning Cottage

From this location, the Riverside of the Manor House, the Patuxent River, the Smoke House, the Spinning Cottage, the house kitchen can be seen. Down the hill, the Middle Passage marker and original 19th century slave cabin can be seen. Look at the Riverside of the Manor House. Over the centuries, the orientation of the house has changed. In the 18th century, the riverside was considered the front of the house. By the 19th century, the roadside was considered the front of the house. Look down at the river. Across the river you see Calvert County. In the distance you will see St. Leonard Creek where a Naval skirmish took place during the war of 1812. If you look right toward the tree line you see the slave cabin. If you were to keep walking down this tree line you would come to Sotterley Creek. Pay attention, you might see eagles! Walk to the kitchen side of the manor house and you will see the Smoke House or meat house. This was still in use well into the 20th century, smoking turkeys and hams. The white smaller house next to it is called the Spinning Cottage. It was a creation of Sotterley's last private owner, as another guest cottage. Today its used for meeting and storage space. In front of the spinning cottage is Sotterley's Star Spangled Banner Trail sign. In 1815, 49 people, men, women, and children took their freedom and went with British forces during the War of 1812. Some made it to Halifax, Nova Scotia. A few feet from the trail sign, there once was another slave quarter. It was torn down by Herbert Satterlee in 1910.