18th Century

Nestled among the trees just off Bayside Beach Road in Pasadena lies an old farm called Hancock's Resolution. At first glance, passers-by are rarely enticed enough by the meager appearance of the structures to take a closer look, but those who venture up to the front door quickly discover that looks can be deceiving. Although the house is owned by Anne Arundel County, James Morrison, a local man with no ties to the house but a strong love of history, founded a group that is working to restore the property to a self-sufficient, authentic 18th-century farm.

The gleaming silver coffeepot, with its elegantly turned lid and ornately carved wooden handle, still looks as new as it did on the day it was made more than 200 years ago. One can almost smell the fragrance of fresh-brewed coffee wafting from its gracefully curved spout. No matter that this pot, meticulously hand-crafted by an Annapolis silversmith for a wealthy Maryland family, is now far too valuable for everyday use. It still bespeaks a world of gracious living in splendid homes, and of culture, luxury and ease.

In his eloquent autobiography, Olaudah Equiano describes in gripping detail his boyhood in Africa, his capture by slave traders and the hellish Middle Passage voyage in a slave ship across the Atlantic. The book became a sensation in 18th-century Britain and greatly aided that nation's abolition movement. Two centuries later, it became a classic text in African-American studies, a rare first-person account of the cruelties of slavery. The author is virtually a national hero in Nigeria, the land he claimed as his birthplace.

A late 18th-century garden was not just a beautiful thing. In those times, the flora around a house was as useful as it was attractive - perhaps more so. At the William Paca House and Garden in Annapolis, a free public talk slated for tomorrow morning will show how heavily a Colonial household relied on its garden - not only for gooseberries, apples and other fruits and vegetables, but for herbs and medicinal remedies. Sassafras and echinacea were big back then as remedies on both sides of the Atlantic, as a stroll through a replanted period garden behind the Paca House shows.

The roof of Elkridge's secluded 18th-century Belmont mansion is suddenly sporting a big silver metal exhaust fan -- a jarring vision that preservationists say confirms their fears about the stewardship of the new owner, the Howard Community College Educational Foundation. "Even McDonald's hides its ventilation fans from view," said Mary Catherine Cochran, president of Preservation Howard County. The foundation bought the 82-acre historic gem surrounded by Patapsco Valley State Park for $5.2 million in November.

Several hundred visitors eager to see a restored log-and-stone home could arrive on the doorstep next month, and the Fieselers are eager to welcome them. John and Katie Fieseler will readily describe their efforts to return their two-story home in Keymar to its original 18th-century appearance. They have albums of photos that give "before-and-after" glimpses of the farmhouse, the barn and the surrounding three acres. They can answer questions about how they have painstakingly restored most of the home and how they still have a few bedrooms and the barn to go. "We are putting it back, room by room," John Fieseler said.

At first glance, the rambling old barn seems unremarkable in a countryside dotted with aging farm buildings. But the sturdy interior of this building at Coldsprings Farms in western Carroll County merits another look. Its log construction is an engineering feat that stands as a testament to 18th-century workmanship. Its 50-foot beams, made of chestnut logs sawed, hewn and set by hand, have weathered centuries of wind and storms. The logs were notched together to form the walls and ceiling and floor.

The music room in the Hampton Mansion, with its gilded portraits and ornately carved furnishings, evokes Victorian times. The master bedroom's fine linens and floral wallpaper reflect the Federal period. And the formal dining room is painted in Prussian blue and decorated with an eye toward classical European tastes. But soon the historic rooms will have a 21st-century feel - from air conditioning. The $1.3 million project, which also includes fire sprinklers and a new heating system, will close the 18th-century mansion in Towson for much of the year.

Could it happen here? The deadly tsunamis that crushed coastlines across Southeast Asia and Africa over the weekend might seem a world away. But researchers cautioned yesterday that the Atlantic Ocean is capable of spawning similarly deadly walls of water. "It's just a matter of time," says Harry Woodworth, a meteorologist in the Philadelphia office of the National Weather Service who studies Atlantic tsunamis. Although tsunamis are of more concern in Asia and the Pacific Rim, Woodworth says the deadly waves can occur anywhere that water is disturbed by an earthquake or other major geological event.

Howard Community College officials expect to close a deal to take over the Belmont Conference Center in Elkridge before Thanksgiving. The Howard Community College Educational Foundation, a nonprofit corporation that raises money for the college, recently decided to buy the 18th- century estate with approval from the college's board of directors. The estate includes a manor house, guest houses, tennis courts, a swimming pool, and trails and gardens that are used for conferences, weddings and retreats.