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Hancock Family

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Farm Life

The Hancock family worked together to survive on the farm. The primary production was their food, feed for their livestock, and any other crop that could be sold, including timber or firewood from the woods, and oysters, crabs, and fish from the pond, Bodkin Creek, and adjacent marshes. Fur bearing animals, particularly muskrats, fox, opossums, and an occasional mink or otter, were trapped during winter months for additional cash.

     Farms in this area after the 1830s were operated as produce farms growing fresh fruits and vegetables for the Baltimore market. The fresh produce was shipped daily during the harvest season, usually on oyster boats that returned during the summer harvest to transport the produce to market. Francis Hancock’s estate inventory had a schooner and smaller sailboats listed; and Francis’s son John Hancock’s estate inventory listed a market boat and sails in 1853.

     Life expectancy was much less than today. Most men did not reach 60 years, if women reached maturity, many did not survive first childbirth. Most families accepted the death of children. The primary goal was completion of the first year, there were frequent deaths of children during their first summer, usually due to “summer complaint”; fever, infection and diseases probably due to lack of proper hygiene. Another milestone was the teen years, the family cemetery and Family Bible list one or more teen deaths for every generation. Most were attributed to infections or various diseases if any cause could be determined. The biological law “survival of the fittest” prevailed at that time. Medical knowledge was limited and available doctors were in the city, not accessible to farm families. Home remedies and parental experience and knowledge were all that was available to most farm families to protect their children.

     The older members of the family often spoke of the grape arbor over the bricks at the kitchen door. Split locust posts with split chestnut rails similar to fence rails placed along the posts to support Concord grape vines. These were grown on most of the surrounding farms for jelly and jams. Many of the neighboring farms regularly made wine. Hancock family members in the 1900s were opposed to alcoholic drinks, with several being members of the “Women’s Christian Temperance League”.

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Split Rail Fence

The traditional “Snake and Cross” or “Zigzag” fence is based on remnants of the original fence. The 11 foot, hand split rails would have been constructed of chestnut. The chestnut blight killed most of the towering trees in the early 1900’s.

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Entrance

Hancock’s Resolution is now a Historic Park in the Anne Arundel County Park System. While farmsteads like this used to cover this county side (except this one was constructed with stone while the great majority were wood frame) this c. 1785 stone house and milk house are the last surviving authentic, restored but not renovated, farm structures left in the entire region. As such they are of singular importance. (1785 was four years before George Washington became President of the United States.

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Cook House

The owner of this two story farmhouse, Henry Alfred Cook, married Rhoda Virginia Hancock, who was born upstairs at Hancock’s Resolution. Constructed in the mid 1800s with an addition added later in the century, this house was originally located approximately a mile west of its present location. It was moved to the park in 1991 to serve as a care taker’s home.

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Bodkin Creek

In either one or both of June 12 and 14, 1608 (N.S.*) (the first date before going up the Bolus (Patapsco) River and the second date coming back down the river) Capt. John Smith and his crew entered and mapped Bodkin Creek, very probably looking for fresh water. (* “N.S” stands for “New Style”, meaning the Gregorian calendar presently in use and not the earlier “Julian Calendar”, in use at the time of his voyage.”

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Graveyard

The Hancock family graveyard contains at least 125 head and foot stones. The graves are marked with headstones made of the local sandstone, which was readily available. While many of the tombstone’s inscriptions have worn away, several from the 19th and 20th centuries are still readable including one marked “A. H.” and dated 1809, which marks the grave of Anne Hancock, third wife of Stephen. Stephen’s grave is some distance away to the left and the space between the graves may contain the graves of Stephen’s children and earlier wives.

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Farm Field

The farm field is an area where exhibition crops are planted and farming using historical methods is demonstrated.

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Bee Hives

Bee hives in boxes, baskets or even parts of hollow logs were a part of traditional farming practices. Beehives were documented on Francis Hancock’s 1832 probate inventory; honey and beeswax were important to both 17th and 18th century farms. The bees at the farm are tended by the farm’s master gardeners and housed in modern “Langstroth’s Hives.” These movable frame hives, patented in 1852, revolutionized bee keeping and are still preferred today.

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House

Stephen Hancock built the house in 1785 and Hancock descendents continued to live in the house until the 1960s. Lacking electricity, plumbing and central heating the house is largely unchanged since its construction. The house is constructed of native sandstone. Galleting is used on the entire wall surface of both the house and the adjacent milk house. It is the only known rural example of this technique in the Chesapeake region. The first floor contains one large room with plaster over hand-split lath. Original Federal period trim, including baseboards, chair rail, window and door surrounds, decorate the room as does the elaborate mantelpiece.

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Milk House

In the 18th and early 19th century dairy products were stored in the milk house. The Hancock family used the building as a grocery and dry goods store in the early 20th century until the frame building was later constructed. It also has the galleting that is also used on the house.

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Gardens

A “kitchen garden” located just outside the home consisted of both foods and herbs and ornamental plants. Kitchen gardens were common place into the 1900s. The current garden is a historically accurate reconstruction of the Hancock family garden. A grove of ancient Lilacs and a thicket of Chickasaw Plums (known to be utilized by the pre-Colonial Indian populations of Anne Arundel County) are found outside the gardens.

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Well

The well is believed to have dated from the 18th century when the house was constructed. The well remained in use until the 1950’s when the elderly Mamie Hancock could no longer manage the daily chore of hauling water for everyday use and a modern well with hand pump was installed closer to the house. Approximately 14 feet deep, the well is lined with stones “dry laid” and is untouched except for repairs at the frost line.

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Store

The Hancock family ran a dry goods and grocery store in the 20th century. The store served the local farmers, lighthouse keepers, fisherman, and oyster dredgers as well as the seasonal workers who were employed at the farm. This current building is a historically accurate reconstruction of the frame building and houses displays and a small gift shop.

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Barn Site

This is believed to be the site of an early barn. At some future date, we hope to reconstruct the barn and have farm animals.

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Trail

Self-guided Tour (map available at entrance)

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Trail

Self-guided Tour (map available at entrance)

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Bodkin Creek

War of 1812 Burning of Lion picture – wording to use: On August 24, 1814, a British raiding party, patrolling the Patapsco area in advance of their attack on Baltimore, entered Bodkin Creek and burned a “fine” American schooner they identified as being the “Lion of Baltimore”. That is the same name as one of America’s best privateers in the War of 1812 although, it turns out, there may have been more than one vessel of that name.