Perry Hall Mansion

The Perry Hall Mansion is located at 3930 Perry Hall Road in Perry Hall, Maryland. It was first built in 1775 and is a historic landmark in Baltimore County. Perry Hall is an unincorporated area and a census-designated place. The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 23, 1980. Its original architectural styles were Georgian and Palladian.

The mansion was started by Corbin Lee and finished in 1776 by Harry Dorsey Gough, a wealthy merchant from Baltimore. Gough named the property after his family’s former home in Perry Barr, England. In 1784, leaders of the Methodist Church, including Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury, gathered at the mansion to plan the Christmas Conference. This meeting led to the creation of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Prudence Gough, Harry Gough’s wife, hosted the event. She was a dedicated follower of Methodism.

In the 1800s, a fire destroyed the original mansion. The current building was rebuilt on part of the original foundation. The earlier version of the house appeared in three paintings made by artist Francis Guy around 1803. Today, the mansion is an important symbol in the area. It is shown on class rings at Perry Hall High School, on welcome signs to the community, and on the Perry Hall community logo.

After being privately owned for many years, the mansion was purchased by Baltimore County in 2001. A potential sale to private buyers in 2024 did not happen, so the county still owns it. The Friends of the Perry Hall Mansion, a local volunteer group, oversees the property. Their goal is to preserve the site and share its history with the public.