There's so much history to explore at Riversdale! This National Historic Landmark and architectural gem has over 200 years of stories to tell. The letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert, mistress of Riversdale, provides the primary source of interpretation. We invite you to visit and discover all the ways history lives at Riversdale!
Discovering History at Riversdale
Explore African American History:
Use primary sources that provide rich details to bring the stories of enslaved and free African American residents of the site, including Adam Francis Plummer, out of the shadows.
Explore Prince George's County History:
Learn about Riversdale's ties to the area. At its height, Riversdale was over 2,000 acres and stretched through many of the surrounding cities and towns, including Riverdale, Bladensburg, Hyattsville, and College Park.
Explore Women's History:
Discover the lives of the many women who called Riversdale home - from Rosalie Stier Calvert, a property and business owner in the early 1800s, to the first elected woman senator, Hattie Caraway, in the 1930s.
Explore Federal History:
Transport yourself to daily life in the early 1800s, a time of innovation, expansion, and impending war in America. Constructed between 1801 and 1807 for Henri Stier, a Flemish aristocrat who fled his native Antwerp with his family during the French Revolution, the site primarily interprets the period when his daughter, Rosalie Stier Calvert, and her husband George were the master and mistress of the home.
Explore Maryland History:
Uncover the links Riversdale has to the founding family of Maryland and the formation of the University of Maryland College Park
Today, staff and volunteers work to keep the history of Riversdale alive with docent-guided tours, special events, education and Scout opportunities, and workshops throughout the year. The historic site may also be rented for a variety of functions.
