Colonel Charles Ridgely bought 1,500 acres of land north of Baltimore in 1745, and soon added additional acreage for a total of 11,000. Eventually the estate would hold 25,000 acres. Wealth was increased through an ironworks, grain, beef cattle, horses, coal mining, marble and mills.
His son, Captain Charles Ridgely, Jr., stated that his mother was related to the family at Yorkshire, England’s Castle Howard, and a mansion was planned on the Ridgely estate that was inspired by the castle’s architecture.
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