Villa DeSales (Villa de Alpacas Farm)

George Forbes and his wife, Fanny Bowling Forbes, built this elegant High Victorian Gothic home, named Villa DeSales, in 1878 and the property has remained in the family ever since that time. The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and is the centerpiece of a farm that features seven buildings, six of which were built in the 19th century, including a stable and carriage house that was also designed in the High Victorian Gothic style. The other buildings are the tobacco barn (built in the early 20th century), meat house, chicken house, corn crib, dairy building, and pump house. The current owner, family descendant Angel Forbes Simmons, has operated an alpaca farm on the property since 1996 and sells alpaca clothing, textiles, and gifts.

George and Fanny came from prominent landowning families who started growing tobacco in Prince George's and Charles Counties in the early 1800s. The father of George Forbes Jr. (1844-1931), Col. George Forbes, owned a large estate in Aquasco worth $35,773 as well as 801 acres elsewhere in the Prince George's County. In the early 1860s the family moved but retained ownership of property in Aquasco. Fanny's father, Col. John Dominic Bowling (1805-1874), owned land assessed at $155,008 in 1868. When he died in 1874, this land was divided among his ten children, including Fanny (1853-1929), who was 21 at the the time. She was educated at a girl's boarding school, Mount DeSales Academy in Baltimore, and married Francis in 1872.

She and George started building the house in 1877. Apparently she enjoyed the boarding school so much that, according to family tradition, she named the house after it. The cost of the house along with the furnishings and other buildings cost around $18,000. Fanny and George continued to grow tobacco and also raised horses and livestock. In terms of design, the house is one of only two examples of High Victorian Gothic architecture in Prince George's County. Notable features include gables and dormers with decorated vergeboard and a five-bay porch with decorative woodwork. The interior still retains original lighting fixtures, marble mantels, and wood and plaster moldings. Some furniture is original as well.

Fanny and George's son, George Francis Forbes (1880-1956), inherited the farm in 1929. He married his wife, Rosalie Eugenia Hall Forbes (1894-1956), in 1917. The next year she traveled to France during World War I to serve as a nurse and remained there for the duration of the war. In 1931 she had George Francis had a baby, Mittie Forbes Simmons, Angel's mother. Mittie eventually moved to Florida with her husband but inherited the farm in 1959. Their other child, Bobby, continued to run the farm. Angel grew up in Miami Beach and lived in Seattle as an adult. Sadly, Bobby died of a heart attack in 1996 and as a result, Angel decided to take over running the farm. By then the house and other buildings had deteriorated and the house lacked electricity or running water. After much effort, Angel got the farm back up and running but this time started raising alpacas. The farm is now the oldest and largest alpaca farm in southern Maryland (she raises llamas as well).

"History." Villa DeSales. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://www.marylandalpacafarm.com/our-farm/history.

King, Marina. "Villa DeSales." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. July 14, 1988. https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-1014.pdf.