The caches placed here were done so with the permission of the
Management. They are also being used for GPS/geocaching/nature
training in conjunction with Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center.
There is a private residence on the grounds, which is lived in
by Chef William, so please DO NOT wonder around his home. It has
also been requested that the caches only be looked for from dawn to
dusk. If it is a busy time PLEASE be respectful of the guests &
not disturb them.
The property now known as Historic Kent Manor Inn &
Restaurant was once part of the tract called Smithfield. The land
was granted in 1651, 17 yrs after Lord Calvert’s arrival in
Maryland. Then purchased by Dr. John Smyth at the turn of the
century it was renamed Smithfield. The estate stayed with the Smyth
family until 1843 when Sarah Smyth, wife of Dr. Samuel Thompson,
gave 307 acres to her son Alexander Thompson. Today it is still
known as Thompson’s Creek.
In 1898 the Thompson heirs sold the property to James Benjamin
Bright. His eldest son, Benjamin Harrison Bright, lived in the
mansion & made it into a hotel called ‘The Brightsworth Inn’.
In 1911 the business closed & the family just farmed the
property until selling it to the Reifsneider family in 1917. They
continued to farm it until it was purchased by Theodore Elliott
Tolson, a Kent Island native, in 1922. Mr. Tolson reopened the
house again as a summer hotel called Kent Hall. After his death in
1951 the farm was bought by T. Worth Jamison & again renamed
Pennyworth Farm.
The original wing of the house is 1820 circa. The center portion
was added by Alexander Thompson just prior to the Civil War, circa
1860. The rooms on the 1st & 2nd floors of the 1860 addition
still have the original Italian marble fireplace mantels. From the
8 window cupola on the roof you can see all 224 acres of the farm
as well as the 1 ½ mile of waterfront along Thompson & Cox
Creeks.
Historic Kent Manor with its 24 luxurious sleeping rooms &
beautiful Garden House was restored to its Victorian beauty in
1987.
You approach the Manor down a long lane to a large circular
drive in front of this beautiful place with grounds that are simply
groomed but very pretty. You can walk the grounds or sit on the
veranda & sip a mint julep & step back in time. It is worth
the time to explore the beauty of one of the few Manors still
around from the time when this area became the First settlement in
Md. Be kind to the grounds & ENJOY!
Proud member of the
Military
Association of GeoCachers
**********Congrats to sfcchez for the FTF on
this**********