Rosaryville State Park
| Rosaryville State Park | |
| Maryland State Park | |
 Mount Airy ca. 1936
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Maryland |
| County | Prince George's |
| Elevation | 161 ft (49 m) |
| Coordinates | 38°46′27″N 76°48′40″W / 38.77417°N 76.81111°WCoordinates: 38°46′27″N 76°48′40″W / 38.77417°N 76.81111°W |
| Area | 1,039 acres (420 ha) |
| Established | 1976 |
| Management | Maryland Department of Natural Resources |
| IUCN category | V - Protected Landscape/Seascape |
  Location in Maryland
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| Website: Rosaryville State Park | |
Rosaryville State Park is a Maryland state park in Rosaryville, three miles southeast of the Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility (formerly Andrews Air Force Base) in Prince George's County. The park includes the restored Mount Airy Mansion, which is operated as an event facility, as well as hiking, biking and equestrian trails for day-use.
Benedict Swingate Calvert, (c.1730-1788), son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, lived at Mount Airy, and died there on January 9, 1788. Calvert was a politician and planter in colonial Maryland. Mount Airy was most likely a gift from his father, Lord Baltimore, who had ensured that Calvert would be provided with lands and revenues, and Mount Airy had originally been a hunting lodge for Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore. Calvert began construction of his house, which still survives, in 1751.
In 1774, Calvert's daughter Eleanor Calvert (1758–1811), married John Parke Custis, son of Martha Washington and the stepson of George Washington. Washington himself did not approve of the match owing to the couple's youth, but eventually gave his consent, and was present at the wedding celebrations, which took place at Mount Airy. The couple's son, George Washington Parke Custis, who was born at Mount Airy in 1781, built and named Arlington House near the Potomac River, married Mary Lee Fitzhugh, and became the father-in-law of Robert E. Lee. By the 1770s Benedict Swingate Calvert controlled a large and profitable estate of around 4,000 acres (16 km2), with upwards of 150 slaves. He was also an enthusiastic horse breeder, training thoroughbreds and running them in competitions in Maryland and Virginia. Benedict Swingate Calvert died at Mount Airy on January 9, 1788. He was buried beneath the chancel of the church of St Thomas in Croom, Prince George's County, Maryland, a church which Calvert had helped to found and maintain. His wife died ten years later, in 1798.
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Wikipedia