Charles Ridgely II - Land Holdings

Land Holdings

Upon his marriage to Rachel, he acquired the estate known as “Howard’s Timber Neck” from his father-in-law. In 1732, this land was combined with another property known as “Brotherly Love”, resurveyed and termed “Ridgely’s Delight”. In 1735, Ridgely began leasing parcels of land in “Ridgely’s Delight”. The historic district and neighborhood which remains today and is still known as “Ridgely’s Delight”, is situated on what was first a Susquehannock Indian path, and in the Federal period, a main highway from Washington to Philadelphia (now Washington Boulevard). The earliest houses within today’s boundaries of “Ridgely’s Delight” date from about 1804. A large portion of the development of “Ridgely’s Delight” occurred between 1816 and 1875, with particular intensity during the 1840s and 1850s.

He was the first of the family to reside in Baltimore County when he moved there in 1734. He became a Gentleman by 1738, and Esquire by 1748, and was styled “Charles The Merchant”. Charles was a planter, merchant, ironmaster, and owner of a furnace and forges. Although his mercantile base was in Baltimore Town and Baltimore County, his interests extended into Anne Arundel County where he purchased tobacco, crops, livestock, and slaves from at least 1736 through the 1740s.

In 1745, He acquired "Northampton", near Towson, Maryland, and was founder of the Ridgely family of "Hampton". By 1750, "Charles The Merchant" had taken up or purchased altogether 26 parcels in Baltimore and Anne Arundel County, aggregating 8,000 acres (32 km²). These parcels were not all contiguous, and they included areas as distant as the present Roland Park, Guilford, and Blythewood.

It was "Northampton", which became the centerpiece for the Ridgely family setting. The tract of land was originally granted to Col. Henry Darnall, Sr. (1645-1711), who immigrated to Maryland from Hertfordshire, England. The 1500 acre (6 km²) parcel was surveyed for Colonel Darnall in 1695. Colonel Darnall was Gov. Charles Calvert, 3rd Lord Baltimore’s (1637-1714) primary agent in Maryland for many years. The property was inherited by his daughter, Ann Hill (1680-1749) in 1745, in consideration of 600 pounds of sterling. In the early 1760s Col. Ridgely established several large ironworks, which thrived from the easily mined deposits of iron ore in the area. The large mansion "Hampton" was built on the tract of land containing 10,000 acres (40 km²), called "Northampton" between 1783 and 1790 by Col. Ridgely's youngest son Captain Charles Ridgely III, “Charles The Mariner” (1733-1790). “Hampton” is about 13 miles (21 km) due north of Baltimore and about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Towson, in Baltimore County.