Admissions
Site Status
Guided Tour Season returns on May 4th! Until then, our Visitor Center, bathrooms, and inside exhibits are CLOSED, but the grounds will remain open for outdoor self-guided tours and trail access. Grounds fees can be deposited in the donation box at the Visitor Center or made as a donation online.
Guided Tours
Grounds Fee
Historic Sotterley's grounds are open seven days a week during regular hours of operation. The Visitor Center and Museum Store are open during guided tour season, Friday - Sunday.
If the Visitor Center is closed, Grounds fees are accepted in the donation box at the Visitor Center or you can make a donation online.
Discounts are given for the following organizations and programs.
Note for Photographers
We understand that Sotterley is a beautiful site for photos and are happy to have you visit. If you would like to take advantage of our scenic views, please visit during our normal operating hours and pay our Grounds Fee for yourself and anyone else in your party. If you would like to take photos outside of our normal hours of operation, however, arrangements must be made at least a week in advance for Monday through Friday only, and there will be special after-hour fees. Please contact Kim Husick for more information: officemanager@sotterley.org or 301-373-2280, ext. 1105.
Hours of Operation
Grounds and Gardens
Open 7 days a week*
Monday - Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Sunday 11:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Visitor Center
Starting May 4th, 2023
Thursday - Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Sunday 11:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Guided Tours
Starting May 4th, 2023
Thursday - Saturday
10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m.
Sunday
Noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m.
Office
Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Site Closed
New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor day, Thanksgiving Day, & Christmas Day
Address
Historic Sotterley, Inc
301-373-2280
44300 Sotterley Lane, P.O. Box 67
Hollywood, MD 20636
Drone Policy
Historic Sotterley, a 300-year-old historic site with irreplaceable, original and authentic structures, prohibits the launching, landing, or operation of unmanned aircraft.
A Note on Weddings at Sotterley
Effective December 2021, Historic Sotterley will no longer be made available as a wedding venue. For many years we have been honored to host these special events, but with a changing world and limited resources, we realize that we must focus our efforts and resources on Sotterley's important mission. We are committed to sharing the powerful stories of our land, lives, and labor to bring America's history to life, while preserving Sotterley's historic structures and landscapes in order to serve as an exceptional educational and cultural resource. To the wonderful relationships and families that began at Sotterley, we wish you all the best in creating a life and legacy of love to honor our shared history.
Before You Visit
Historic Sotterley: A TIDEWATER LEGACY
Please take the time to watch this introductory video, explaining the recent history of Historic Sotterley.
Guided Tours
General Guided Tours allow visitors to discover an intimate perspective and the material culture of past residents over three centuries of American history of those that owned, lived and worked in the house, enslaved or free. The tour is on the ground floor spaces and is approximately 45 – 60 minutes in length.
For more information, contact us.
*The 18thcentury Manor House doorways may not accommodate all wheelchairs or walkers in some rooms of the house. Please call in advance for full access details. Printed tours (English or Spanish) and audio tours (English) are available upon request.
Members benefit from an Annual Pass to the grounds and museum tours all year long!
General Guided Tour
Group tours are available year-round for 12 or more with advanced reservations. Upon arrival, your party is greeted by the Sotterley staff. Groups over twenty may be divided for the tour to ensure that everyone can experience all that Sotterley has to offer in a relaxed and intimate setting.
At Sotterley, the touch is personal, no matter the size of your group! You may also choose by advance arrangement to add one of Sotterley’s unique Specialty Tours.
Bus tours are welcome & Group Discounts available.
Virtual Guided Tour
If you're unable to make it to one of our guided tours, you can now enjoy a virtual tour of Sotterley with Clio! Clio is a website and app (available on iPhone and Android) that will guide you through 8 fascinating stops on the Sotterley grounds and give you some of our history. You can take this tour from home or let it guide you while you're visiting!
You can access the virtual tour here, or download the Clio app and search "Historic Sotterley" to find it.
Historic Sotterley is a nonprofit and new features like this are only possible with donors that believe in our mission. Please consider making a donation to support Sotterley after trying our new virtual tour!
Group Tours
Available year-round for group tours of 12 or more.
Groups can choose a unique tour that fits their interest from our many offerings. Make the trip extra special by combining a specialty tour with your 1703 Manor House Group Tour!
For more information, contact us.
*When making your group tour reservations, ask what specialty tours may be available to add to your experience.
Specialty Tours
Educational Programming
Education is one of the most important aspects of Sotterley’s mission and touches almost everything that a visitor will encounter. Whether an exhibit, a tour, field trip, or event, the education of students and visitors about Sotterley’s history and culture takes place before, during, and after a visit. Sotterley’s K-12 programs are Maryland State Department of Education approved and aligned with Maryland educational standards and teaching practices.
Field Trips
Our schools increasingly struggle to meet the comprehensive needs of students; each new generation faces an even more tenuous connection to knowledge. TODAY, a field trip to Sotterley is a “hands-on” day of discovery. TOMORROW our top priorities will be enhanced and expanded programs to reach more children and adult learners.”
Field Trips
- “Loyalist to Patriot”
- “To Live Enslaved”
- “Living on the Patuxent”
- “Slavery to Freedom”
- “Tidewater Plantation Life”
- “STEAM”
For inquiries about Sotterley’s history, the Descendants’ Project, Field Trips or educational partnerships, please contact: education@sotterley.org
Exhibits
Land, Lives and Labor
The Land, Lives and Labor exhibit, located both inside and outside the Corn Crib, offers a unique view of life at Sotterley from the perspective of the workers, both enslaved and free. The exhibit gives voice to those who far too often had none. Their stories were heavily researched and include primary documents, oral histories and interactive hands-on features, as well as a display of historic tools and equipment used to work the grounds at Sotterley.
1830's Slave Cabin
Sotterley’s slave cabin, a one-room dwelling with a loft, dating to circa 1830, vividly illustrates the lives of Sotterley’s enslaved. The Slave Cabin exhibit examines the culture, ingenuity, and resistance of the Cane family who resided in such a structure in the mid 19th century at Sotterley. Duck your head as you enter the low doorway and feel the dirt floor beneath your feet.
Saving History: The Urgency of Preservation
This exhibit informs our visitors why historic preservation is so important and features the story of “Resurrection Manor”, an early manor house located nearby. Despite its designation as a National Historic Landmark, it was demolished in 2002. The exhibit, incorporating artifacts from the original house, explores why historic sites are lost and what makes preservation so challenging.
19th Century School House
Compulsory education for children did not become law in Maryland until 1902. Until then, a child’s education was left to the discretion and resources of the parents. In the mid 1800’s Sotterley’s Briscoe family operated a boarding school for girls, housed in the north Gatehouse. Furnished as it would have been at that time, desks and benches, slates, and quills show how the students learned the 3 R’s.
Trails and Byways
Between all of Sotterley's trails and byways there are 6 miles for you to walk and enjoy our scenery.
Dogs are welcome on the grounds, however we ask that they are always leashed. Please pick up after your pets.
Dogs may be excluded from special events.