Charles Carroll's Doughoregan Manor in 1831

An English traveler, Godfrey Vigne, wrote about his six month visit to America in 1831 which included a visit to Doughoregan.


"I was honoured with an invitation to "the Manor," the country residence of Mr. Carroll, of Carrollton. The house was built long before the revolution, and is a curious specimen of Anglo-American architecture, somewhat resembling one of those large old parsonage houses which are to be seen in some parts of England. It stands in the midst of an extensive domain, in a high state of cultivation, and extremely well and neatly kept, considering that it is worked by slaves.

I could have fancied myself in England, but for the loose zigzag fences of split logs, which offer to the eye but a poor apology for the English hedge row. Hedges of any kind would not, generally speaking, thrive well in the United States. It would be necessary, I was told, that they should be banked up, in order to keep them from being washed away by the heavy rains; and it is probable that during the extreme heat of the summer months, they could not obtain moisture sufficient to preserve them from being dried up entirely. They are, however, often to be seen close to a gentleman's house, where they can be constantly attended to. I should conceive that the aloe hedges of Spain and Portugal might succeed in the United States.

It it neither a fault, nor a misfortune, that there is no water scenery at "the Manor." The rivers and lakes of America are usually on a vast and magnificent scale, fitted either to bound or to deluge a continent; small streams are also common; but a lake for instance of a mile or two in length, is seldom to be seen, excepting in New England, where they are plentiful. Before I arrived there, I do not think that I had seen more than half a dozen ponds, and those all in Kentucky. Instead of being thought an advantage, a piece of water is avoided; no American, from choice, would build on its banks, as the exhalations in the hot weather render such a situation very unhealthy, excepting in the more northerly states.

At the manor I partook of that hospitality which is so kindly and universally extended to every foreigner who visits Baltimore with a proper letter of introduction. Mr. Carroll himself is the most extraordinary individual in America. This venerable old gentleman is in his ninety-fifth year, is exceedingly cheerful, enjoys most excellent health, and is in good possession of his faculties. He is the only survivor of the patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July, 1776. He has always adhered to the federal principles, and his valuable estate is one of the very few that have descended in a direct line from the first possessor. Mr. Carroll is the grandfather of the Ladies Wellesley and Carmarthen [after 1838 Duchess of Leeds]."

Vigne, Godfrey.  Six Months in America [1831].  Phila: 1833

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