HOLLYWOOD, Md.—The St. Mary’s County government presented the prestigious Heritage Preservation Project Awards to the authors of three books about Historic Sotterley Plantation entitled, Sotterley: Her People and Their Worlds, George Plater of Sotterley and Sotterley Plantation (Images of America) on Tuesday, May 19.
Sotterley officials say these highly significant books enable readers to connect to our past and gain a better understanding of the people who lived and worked at what is now a National Historic Landmark. The award recognizes the importance of Sotterley within the community as a resource to understand and teach this and future generations how the society, culture, and economy have evolved in this area over the last 300 years.
Author of Sotterley Plantation (Images of America) is Historic Sotterley Education Director, Jeanne Pirtle. This book is the culmination of three years research, observations, and collecting photographs to tell the stories of Sotterley Plantation from its 1703 beginning to present ~ a true tribute to the people of the past who lived and worked here.
Dave Brown, Secretary of the Historic Sotterley Board of Trustees, has authored two books. Sotterley: Her People and Their Worlds is the story of Sotterley Plantation which began shortly after the founding of Maryland and continued over the next three centuries. It rose from humble beginnings, prospered in the age of tobacco and slavery, endured The Great Depression, and survived three wars, only to stumble toward imminent ruin until a generous fate brought both restoration and a renewed relevance for our time.
George Plater of Sotterley is the book which fleshes out a fair assessment of Plater’s personal character and significant political accomplishments. With little information available about the sixth Governor of Maryland in the Sotterley archives, Brown had his work cut out for him as he began a three year journey of research to breathe some life into a largely under-studied and under-appreciated Maryland Patriot, who was the owner of Sotterley Plantation from 1755 to 1792.
All three of these books are available for purchase at the Sotterley Museum Shop or online at http://www.sotterley.org/.