Woodlawn House

You are standing in front of the oldest building in the Smithsonian’s collection that remains in its original location.

Woodlawn House was originally built in 1735 for tobacco planter William Sellman and his family. The Sellmans lived at Woodlawn until the early 1900s, when the Kirkpatrick-Howat family moved in. Today, the house is home to the Woodlawn History Center, which explores the history of the house and SERC’s campus.

General Jonathan Sellman Jr. (1753–1810), who lived at Woodlawn, served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He was at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, during the severe winter of 1777 to 1778. General George Washington later presented him with a sword in recognition of his “courage and gallant conduct.” (Portrait by John Beale Bordley, courtesy of Margaret Drake)

Elizabeth Kirkpatrick-Howat (1877–1952) and her family initially used Woodlawn as a rural retreat, but it later became their primary residence. (Portrait Courtesy of Betsy Kirkpatrick-Howat)

Visit the Woodlawn History Center (pictured below) to learn more about the history of Woodlawn House and SERC’s campus.

WHAT DO YOU NOTICE?
Look at the house. Why do you think it looks the way it does? How did it change and why?

WOODLAWN HOUSE, 2016 (Image courtesy of GWWO Architects)

The center part of the house was built in 1735. The three-story wing on the left was added in 1841, replacing one half of the 1735 building. The wing on the right was added in 1979 and replaced wooden additions built in the 1800s. The house is known as a “telescope house” because the larger house with its smaller wings resembles an outstretched telescope.

Woodlawn was modified several times over the years.

In 2020, the Smithsonian rehabilitated Woodlawn House and transformed it into the Woodlawn History Center.

Can you find this clue?
A brick marked “1735” helps date the construction of Woodlawn House. Can you find it?
Hint: Walk around to the back door.

A Sign of Wealth
At a time when most houses in the area were made of wood, this brick house displayed the wealth and prestige of the Sellman family.

Separate Spaces

Between 1735 and 1864, hundreds of enslaved people lived and worked on the Sellman family’s plantation.

Enslaved people were separated physically and socially from white plantation owners and their guests. They slept in crude wooden outbuildings with dirt floors, which no longer exist.

When Woodlawn House was enlarged in 1841, it included grand parlors for entertaining guests, private rooms for the family, and working spaces for enslaved people and servants.

Enslaved people on the Sellmans’ plantation lived in wooden outbuildings like this. (Image courtesy of the Collection of the Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 1477-1-5780)

ABOVE: Archaeologists found few agricultural artifacts near Woodlawn House. This suggests that the Sellmans kept agricultural work separate from their domestic life.