Dodon

Dodon is a historic agricultural estate near Davidsonville in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Located near the South River roughly 10 miles southwest of Annapolis, the property covers about 550 acres, or 2.2 square kilometers, today. It is not a conventional consumer brand or incorporated commercial enterprise; its identity is that of a named farm, historic place, family estate, and working agricultural property. The estate’s early ownership is disputed in surviving records. Family memoirs attributed its original patent to James Stewart, a Scottish immigrant, in 1669, while Anne Arundel County land records indicate that Dr. Francis Stockett held a 664-acre tract called Dodon in 1668. The property later passed to the Warman family. In 1747 Stephen Warman sold it to Dr. George H. Steuart, a Scottish-born Maryland planter and politician from Argaty, Perthshire. The Steuart family has remained closely connected with the property ever since. During the colonial period, Dodon operated within Maryland’s plantation economy. Tobacco was the principal cash crop, and the farm’s prosperity depended on the forced labor of enslaved people, as well as the wider systems of indentured and penal labor then used in the region. This history is central to understanding the estate and its legacy. George H. Steuart held several public offices, including mayor of Annapolis, and was an early member of the Maryland Jockey Club. His interests in horse breeding and racing also shaped Dodon’s historical profile. His horse Dungannon won the Annapolis Subscription Plate in 1743, an important early Maryland race trophy that is now held by the Baltimore Museum of Art. The American Revolutionary War divided the Steuart family’s political and geographic loyalties. George H. Steuart possessed inherited Scottish property, and his support for the revolutionary cause could have jeopardized those holdings. He left Maryland for Scotland when hostilities began and transferred Dodon to his wife, Ann Digges Steuart, with instructions concerning succession. Ann remained at the estate until her death in 1811. By 1838 Dodon had passed to physician Richard Sprigg Steuart. The farm was then much larger, approximately 1,600 acres, and was worked by about 150 enslaved people. During the Civil War, members of the Steuart family sympathized with the Confederacy. Horses and medical supplies, including quinine, were reportedly sent secretly to Southern forces. Union troops repeatedly searched the property, compelling Richard Sprigg Steuart to hide or leave the estate. His nephew, Brigadier General George H. Steuart, served the Confederacy and surrendered with Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House. The end of slavery severely disrupted the estate’s prewar economic model. Dodon did not prosper after the Civil War, in part because its owners could no longer compel the labor on which the plantation had depended. In 1890 Isabel and Emily Steuart donated the property to the Marist Fathers, a French Roman Catholic religious order, for use as a seminary and mission. A Steuart descendant, Annette Steuart Wise, bought the estate back in 1929. Tobacco cultivation continued into the twentieth century but ended at Dodon in the 1940s. Dodon remains associated with the ninth generation of the Steuart family. Its modern activities include farming, horse breeding and training, grape growing, and wine production. The estate has also been linked with the revival of the Annapolis Subscription Plate. Much of the original house was destroyed by a fire around 1950, although portions remain. The surrounding land has been placed under protection through the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, limiting development pressure from the expanding Annapolis suburbs. The property’s continuing significance comes from the combination of working farm, historic landscape, family continuity, equestrian tradition, agricultural preservation, and a complicated history involving slavery, colonial politics, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War.

Dodon’s recorded history reaches back to the seventeenth century, although the identity of its first holder is uncertain. Steuart family memoirs state that James Stewart, a Scottish immigrant from Perth, received the original patent in 1669. County land records instead identify Dr. Francis Stockett as holding a tract called Dodon, measuring 664 acres, in 1668. The land subsequently came into the possession of the Warman family. Stephen Warman sold it in 1747 to Dr. George H. Steuart of Argaty, Perthshire. Under Steuart ownership, Dodon became part of the tobacco plantation system that supported colonial Maryland. Enslaved people were forced to cultivate tobacco, and the farm’s wealth reflected the broader Atlantic economy in which agricultural commodities were moved through regional waterways to ports and exported. Steuart was also a political figure and horse-racing enthusiast. He served as mayor of Annapolis from 1759 to 1763 and held other colonial offices. His horse Dungannon won the Annapolis Subscription Plate in 1743, an early formal Maryland race whose surviving trophy is held by the Baltimore Museum of Art. The Revolutionary War created a conflict between Steuart’s American and Scottish interests. Because loyalty to the revolution could have placed his Scottish estates at risk, George H. Steuart left Maryland for Scotland. He assigned Dodon to his wife, Ann Digges Steuart, and specified succession arrangements for children whose loyalties aligned with the new United States. Ann remained at the property until her death in 1811. The estate then continued through the Steuart family. In November 1838 Richard Sprigg Steuart inherited Dodon from his uncle William Steuart. At that point the farm covered roughly 1,600 acres and relied on approximately 150 enslaved workers. The Civil War brought military and political danger. The family favored the Confederate cause even though Maryland remained in the Union. Horses were reportedly raised and moved south for Confederate use, while quinine and other medical supplies were supplied to Southern hospitals. Union troops searched for Richard Sprigg Steuart, who frequently hid or fled. His nephew, Brigadier General George H. Steuart, served in the Confederate army and ultimately surrendered at Appomattox. Emancipation ended the labor system on which the plantation had depended, and the estate struggled economically after the war. In 1890 Isabel and Emily Steuart transferred Dodon to the Marist Fathers, a French Catholic order, for use as a seminary and mission. The property later returned to family ownership when Annette Steuart Wise repurchased it in 1929. Tobacco farming ended in the 1940s. In the modern period Dodon has remained an agricultural and equestrian property rather than becoming a conventional development or commercial brand. Steuart descendants continue to farm and raise and train horses. The estate also grows grapes and makes wine. Parts of the historic house survive after most of the structure was destroyed by a fire around 1950. Development pressure from the Annapolis suburbs has been addressed through agricultural-land preservation, and a family cemetery remains on the grounds. Dodon’s legacy therefore includes both a continuing working landscape and an enduring record of Maryland’s colonial plantation economy, slavery, political conflict, war, and agricultural continuity.

• 1950

  Historic house damaged by fire

  [1]Dodon (farm)en.wikipedia.org

  Most of the original house was destroyed in a fire around 1950, although portions of the structure remained.

• 1940

  Tobacco cultivation ends

  [1]Dodon (farm)en.wikipedia.org

  Tobacco farming at Dodon ended during the 1940s as the estate’s agricultural activities changed.

• 1929

  Dodon returns to Steuart family ownership

  [1]Dodon (farm)en.wikipedia.org

  Annette Steuart Wise repurchased the estate from the Marist Fathers.

• 1890

  Estate donated to the Marist Fathers

  [1]Dodon (farm)en.wikipedia.org

  Isabel and Emily Steuart donated Dodon to the Roman Catholic Congregation of Marist Fathers for use as a seminary and mission.

• 1838

  Richard Sprigg Steuart inherits the estate

  [1]Dodon (farm)en.wikipedia.org

  Richard Sprigg Steuart inherited Dodon from his uncle William Steuart when the plantation still covered approximately 1,600 acres.

• 1811

  Ann Digges Steuart dies

  [1]Dodon (farm)en.wikipedia.org

  Ann Steuart, who held and managed the estate after her husband left for Scotland during the Revolutionary War, died at Dodon.

• 1747

  George H. Steuart acquires Dodon

  [1]Dodon (farm)en.wikipedia.org

  Stephen Warman sold the estate to Dr. George H. Steuart, beginning the property’s long association with the Steuart family.

• 1743

  Dungannon wins the Annapolis Subscription Plate

  [1]Dodon (farm)en.wikipedia.org

  George H. Steuart’s horse Dungannon won an early formal Maryland race, connecting Dodon with the region’s early horse-racing culture.

• 1668

  Dodon appears in Anne Arundel County land records

  [1]Dodon (farm)en.wikipedia.org

  County records identify Dr. Francis Stockett as holding a 664-acre tract called Dodon, an earlier documented reference to the property.

A preserved Maryland working farm and historic family estate combining agriculture, equestrian activity, vineyards, wine production, and heritage tourism potential.

• Farm output

  Agricultural produce

  Dodon continues to function as a farm, although the available reference material does not specify a complete current crop list. Historically, tobacco was the principal cash crop, but cultivation ended in the 1940s. The modern estate is described more broadly as continuing agricultural activity alongside equestrian and vineyard operations.

• Wine and viticulture

  Estate grapes and wine

  The contemporary Dodon estate grows grapes and makes wine. The supplied sources do not identify specific wine labels, varietals, production volumes, or distribution channels, so the offering is best understood as an estate-based agricultural and wine activity rather than a documented national product line.

• Equestrian services

  Horse breeding and training

  Horse breeding and training form part of Dodon’s continuing agricultural identity. Equestrian activity also has deep historical roots at the property through George H. Steuart’s involvement with the Maryland Jockey Club and his racehorse Dungannon.

• 1929

  Repurchase by Annette Steuart WiseM&A

  Background

  Dodon had been held by the Marist Fathers since its donation in 1890.

  Action taken

  Annette Steuart Wise bought the estate back, restoring it to Steuart family ownership.

  Aftermath

  The property remained associated with the Steuart descendants and later continued as a working farm.

  Source

• 1890

  Transfer of Dodon to the Marist FathersStrategy

  Background

  After the Civil War and the end of slavery, the estate’s plantation economy had weakened and the property was no longer operating under its earlier labor system.

  Action taken

  Isabel and Emily Steuart donated the estate to the Congregation of Marist Fathers for use as a seminary and mission.

  Aftermath

  The property eventually returned to Steuart family ownership when Annette Steuart Wise repurchased it in 1929.

  Source

• Shift from tobacco farming to diversified agricultureStrategy

  Background

  Tobacco cultivation ended in the 1940s, requiring the estate’s agricultural identity to evolve.

  Action taken

  Later generations continued farming while developing or maintaining horse breeding and training, grape growing, and wine production.

  Aftermath

  Dodon remains a diversified working estate rather than a tobacco plantation.

  Source

1. 1Dodon (farm)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Dodon (farm) archived official website referenceweb.archive.org