Tobacco was a labor-intensive crop, which required a large workforce.

Between 1735 and 1864, hundreds of enslaved people worked on the Sellman family’s plantation. Even more worked on the neighboring Java plantation.

After Maryland abolished slavery in 1864, living conditions did not change significantly for African Americans. Many worked as sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and laborers for the same landowners as before. They were heavily in debt and lived in former slave quarters, which were usually crude log houses with dirt floors. 

Image below: Enslaved people worked long hours and faced harsh treatment. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-11398)
Left image: Farmer Sam Neal tends his tobacco crop, 1976.
Left image: The Sellmans and other plantation owners used Contees Wharf Road to transport their crops to ships that would take them to Annapolis and markets around the world.
Left image: Many enslaved field workers lived in wooden barracks with dirt floors like this. These were usually located near the fields and away from the main house. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-DIG-highsm-47168)
Image below: This land has been used for agriculture for hundreds of years. Today, SERC leases part of its property to farmers, who use the fields to grow corn, hay, and soybeans. In the winter, cover crops help control runoff and erosion. (Courtesy of Christine Dunham)

Names from the Past
The surrounding area still bears the names of some of the people who lived here. This includes Sellman Creek, named for the Sellman family, and Nettlefold Branch, presumably named for George Nettlefold, an early European settler who had a cabin in the area. However, most of the names of the people who lived on and worked this land have been lost to history.

Image below: An aerial view of SERC’s campus showing Sellman Creek and Nettlefold Branch.

Muddy Creek Road
Contees Wharf Road
Waters Branch
White Pine Run
Camp Run
Pine Branch
Alexander Branch
NETTLEFOLD BRANCH
SELLMAN CREEK
North [Compass symbol]

The Height of Fashion
The stepped slope behind the house is all that remains of a formal terraced garden the Sellmans added in the 1700s. Terraced gardens were popular among the region’s wealthy elite. Enslaved people sculpted these terraces and likely planted and maintained them with exotic species of plants.

Image above: Formal terraced gardens, like this one at Belair Mansion in Bowie, Maryland, were expressions of wealth and prestige.
Image below: A 1929 aerial photo showing the remains of Woodlawn’s terraced garden.

TERRACE 1
TERRACE 2
TERRACE 3