Charles Carroll House

The Charles Carroll House has been important to the history of Maryland, the United States, and the Catholic Church in many ways. Chief among them is the fact that it was the home of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Three generations of men named Charles Carroll lived here. The first, Charles Carroll the Settler, bought the property the house would sit on starting in the first decade of the 1700s. Caroll was one of the most prominent Catholics in the early United States, having emigrated there from Ireland after experiencing religious discrimination. He was appointed Attorney General of Maryland by Lord Baltimore, but was later stripped of his office because of his faith. This didn’t stop him from becoming the wealthiest and largest landowner in Maryland, and hosting Catholic Mass at his house in a private chapel.

The Settler’s son, Charles Carroll of Annapolis, built the house that we see today. The third Charles Carroll, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, spent his life working for religious tolerance. (His cousin, John, would become the first American Catholic Bishop.) In his free time, he made improvements to the Charles Carroll House and its gardens. He hosted feasts and parties that hosted historic figures such as George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. Along with Benjamin Franklin, Carroll was appointed as a commissioner to Canada to try to win the allegiance of that country in the colonies’ unrest with Great Britain (in this, they did not succeed). Carroll of Carrollton went on to sign the Declaration in 1776, forever asserting that all men are created equal. This makes the Charles Carroll House one of only 15 birthplaces of signers of the Declaration that still stand. Carroll of Carrollton went on to help draft Maryland’s State Constitution and serve as one of the state’s first U.S. Senators.

Today, the impressive Charles Carroll House and its gardens are open to the public as a historic site. Descendents of Carroll gave the estate to the Catholic Church, fulfilling Carrollton's dream of having a permanent chapel built on his estate. (One of the priests to sign the deed went on to become the first American male saint.) Today the property belongs to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, a congregation of Catholic priests and brothers.