For more than 300 years, atop a sunny, southern Maryland hilltop overlooking the Patuxent River — the mighty Chesapeake Bay in the distance — Sotterley has beckoned to travelers and visitors. It has always been a place dedicated to meaningful purpose. Today, Sotterley visitors arrive by car, bus, and sometimes, still by water. But the bounty they take home is no less rich and no less relevant for a changing America.
Today Sotterley has an increasingly urgent purpose: Connection. Sotterley is more than a National Historic Landmark. It is a peerless asset that exists to help people find connection, connection to our history, to the land, to our common values and connection to one another. To secure Sotterley’s ability to deepen its impact and serve even more people, we invite you to join us as we plan a special fundraising initiative.
Campaign Dedication
The Board of Trustees for Historic Sotterley is embarking on The Campaign for Sotterley in honor of
John Hanson Briscoe and Agnes Kane Callum
Descendants, respectively, of a Sotterley owner and of an enslaved family that lived and worked here. These two came together more than two decades ago to help us write a new story for Sotterley. Their inspirational dedication gave us new life and helped us ensure that this irreplaceable National Historic Landmark remains a truth-telling model for future generations.
In 2016, Newman’s Own Foundation awarded Historic Sotterley a 4-year empowerment grant to strengthen Sotterley’s ability to embark on the road to sustainability. Newman’s Own Foundation believed that this community treasure was worthy of support and suggested a comprehensive strategy with goals and benchmarks to address Sotterley’s challenges and opportunities. Over the last two years, Sotterley has met those goals and benchmarks. The Campaign for Sotterley is a two-year funding project to raise $1 million to enhance and expand our stories and programming. Newman’s Own Foundation has pledged $225,000 as a challenge for Sotterley’s friends, members, and family, to show their commitment with a significant gift to our future.
Our aim is to touch more lives and have an even greater impact on our local, state, and national communities through these main areas of focus: Education Without Boundaries, Growing for Good, Saving our Treasures, Building a Better Community, and “Necessary” Functions.
Your support opens a world of doors for Historic Sotterley. Through your generosity Sotterley will be able to continue and grow our outreach in our local, national, and international community. The support you offer will be crucial in ensuring Sotterley can consistently provide exceptional educational programming, top-of-the-line restoration projects, increased community outreach, betterment of our sustainable growing practices, and improved infrastructure across our site.
Make a one-time gift or pledge a gift over time, your support matters, Sotterley needs you.