Marietta House Museum5626 Bell Station Road, Glenn Dale, MD 20769
301-464-5291; TTY 301-699-2544; Fax 301-464-5654
Note: Marietta House Museum is closed for renovation, however, programs and events will still be held on the grounds including the upcoming Marching Through Time event. Call 301-464-5291 for more information.
 Marietta, circa 1813, was constructed for Gabriel Duvall, an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Along with the handsome, Federal-style brick home, Justice Duvall's law office and the original root cellar remain. Today, Marietta operates as an historic house museum and is furnished to reflect the years in which Gabriel Duvall occupied the house.
The property now consists of 25 acres of lawn and woodlands, and the grounds boast two County Champion trees and lovely old boxwood. The Society of Mareen Duvall Descendants has relocated the family graveyard from its original location to the serene surroundings at Marietta.
History
Born in 1752 in Prince George's County, Gabriel Duvall read law in Annapolis and helped the colonies gain their freedom from England by serving in the Maryland Militia during the American Revolution. After a long and illustrious political career, he was appointed Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court by President James Madison in 1811 and served until he retired in 1835. Although he was a slave-owner, it has been suggested that Justice Duvall had some abolitionist leanings as he was the sole dissenting opinion in the 1813 case of Queen v. Hepburn. Had other Justices sided with Duvall, two enslaved people would have been emancipated. At the time of his death in 1844, he was a widower living at Marietta and he owned 37 slaves.
Constructed using slave labor and with locally manufactured brick, Justice Gabriel Duvall's home Marietta was built between 1812 and 1816. It remained in the Duvall family until his great-great grandson and namesake sold the house and 95 remaining acres to William and Mary Bowie in 1902. In 1930, their nephew Hunter Bennett inherited the property. He rented it to tenant farmers and had electricity and flushing the toilets installed in 1936. William and Mary-Eula Blair purchased the house and 95 acres in 1941. Among their improvements to the house were oak flooring over the worn and damaged pine floors, installing three full bathrooms, central heat and book shelves in the parlor.
The last private owners of the house were Paul and Margaret Hale Scherer. In the 1950s, Mr. Scherer, a member of NASA's "brain trust," designed and built a geothermal central air conditioning system for the house. In 1968, the Scherers sold the house and 25 acres to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission for $165,000 with a life tenancy clause. That same year, the Scherers removed the old kitchen and built an apartment wing. They resided at Marietta until 1978 when they moved to Oregon.
1n 1989, Marietta was opened to the public as a house museum. In addition to interpreting the life of Justice Gabriel Duvall, the museum is the site of many programs.
Visitor Information
Marietta House Museum is closed for renovation. Call 301-464-5291 for more information.
Location/Directions
Located in Glenn Dale between New Carrollton and Bowie, off of Route 193.
From the Capital Beltway (I-495) north, take Exit 20A, Lanham (Route 450 East). From the Beltway South, take Exit 20 A-B, Lanham/New Carrollton (Route 450). Turn left onto Route 450 East at the end of the ramp. Follow Route 450 East (Annapolis Road) for about 4 miles to Route 193 West and turn left. Proceed 1/4 mile and turn left onto Bell Station Road. Marietta is the first driveway on the left.
From Route 301 South, turn right onto Route 450 (Annapolis Road) West and follow for about 6 miles. From Route 450 West proceed to Route 193. Turn right onto Route 193. Proceed 1/4 mile and turn left onto Bell Station Road. Marietta is the first driveway on the left.
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