Historical Significance:

Captain Charles Ridgely was born in Maryland in 1733 to Colonel Charles Ridgely and Rachel Howard. Together with his father and brother, Captain Charles established the Northampton Iron Works just north of Towson, Maryland under what is presently Loch Raven Reservoir. He built the massive Hampton Mansion between 1783 and 1790. By the time it was completed, the Georgian-style structure was the largest private home in the U.S. The Mansion is now preserved as the Hampton National Historic Site.

The Hampton National Historic Site is the northernmost plantation in the National Park Service. It's remaining 63 acres include many original buildings: the palatial late Georgian-style Mansion, Slave Quarters, Lower (Farmhouse or Overseer’s) House, Dairy, Ice House, Stables, formal Gardens and Ridgely-family cemetery.

After the death of Captain Charles Ridgely, his nephew, Charles Carnan Ridgely, became the second master of Hampton and eventually governor of Maryland. Charles Carnan Ridgely frequently entertained prominent guests in the Mansion's Great Hall, such as Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Revolutionary War general, the Marquis de Lafayette. The house is a treasure of the stories of America history including eras from the post-Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, Victorian & Edwardian eras, Jazz Age, WWI to WWII.