William Paca House
The Drawing Room: The woodwork is considered from William Buckland and was installed several years after the house was initially completed. Features include a handsome chimneypiece with a cornice shelf supported on a pulvinated frieze carved with oak leaves. The cornice of the room is detailed with plaster ornaments. It is probable that wood carver Thomas Hall, who worked on the Chase-Lloyd House and Hammond-Harwood House with architect William Buckland, also worked on the William Paca Drawing Room.
Located in historic Annapolis, the William Paca House was built from 1763-1765 - One of Maryland's four Signers of the Declaration of Independence and the state's third Governor. Although, as was the trend still in the colonial colonies, William Paca acted as his own architect - inspired by the design books available from London, traveling artisans and artists (and indentured individuals) were often used for elaborate plaster, wood carving, and brickwork. Their talent and experience are often shared by houses going up in the area. Restored by Historic Annapolis beginning in 1965, today it is recognized as one of the finest 18th-century homes in the country and a National Historic Landmark.
The William Paca House: Built between 1763 - 1765 is a five-part Palladian-form house in the heart of historic Annapolis.
The house uses a header bond brick exterior with a full-height basement. The fieldstone foundation is embellished with “galleting”—small colored stones embedded in the mortar.
Portrait by Charles Willson Peale, 1772: Next to William Paca is a bust of Cicero; his Annapolis garden and summerhouse are in the background. Paca was born in 1740 in Baltimore County, Maryland. He received his formal education in Philadelphia, studied law in Annapolis, and completed his legal training in London. One of Maryland's four signers of the Declaration of Independence, Paca, served as governor from November 1783-August 1784.
After marrying the wealthy and well-connected Mary Chew in 1763, William Paca, now a young lawyer, built a five-part brick house, terraced gardens, and summer house on two acres of land in what was then the very edge of developed Annapolis. The property acted as a backdrop for developing an enterprising political career. As did gentlemen builders of the time, William Paca served as architect for his home. Still visible are Paca's mistakes in the planning and construction of the house that got built around or just ignored. This variable approach is the opposite of his next-door neighbor at the exceptional Hammond-Harwood House, using architect William Buckland's talents. At the time, they shared a property line. The couple had three children, but only one of them survived to adulthood.
Dining Room: A relatively small space - the Central Passage could have been used to expand seating. The remarkable Faris-Shaw-Chisholm tall-case clock is in this room - an extraordinary example of the work of Annapolis furniture maker Tom Shaw. The walls are wallpaper and then painted - a technique that gives a more uniform appearance and clear color.
A thriving shipping industry brought great wealth to 18th-century Annapolis and reflected the quality of life admired in England. The Paca House reflects many of these aspects seen in the furnishings, finishes, and entertainment. For William Paca, his home acted as a stage to impress his guests with his success, knowledge, and political connections.
During this time, four great houses went up back to back:: James Brice House (1767–1773), William Paca House (1763–1765), Chase-Lloyd House (1769–1774), and the Hammond-Harwood House (ca. 1774). William and Mary Paca’s occupation of their grand house was short-lived following Mary’s untimely death in 1774. In 1780, Paca sold the house to Thomas Jennings, a former attorney general of Maryland. During the late eighteenth century, one of the most significant tenants was Henri Joseph Stier and his family, who had emigrated from Belgium. Stier is known for his important collection of European art and for his construction in 1801 of Riversdale in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
In 1901 the property was converted into a hotel, with a modern addition attached to the back extending over most of the old garden. For much of the 20th century, Carvel Hall was Annapolis's finest hotel. In 1965 the House and hotel were condemned for demolition. Historic Annapolis and the State of Maryland bought the Paca mansion and the rest of the Carvel Hall site. Over the next decade, a team of experts—archival researchers, archaeologists, architectural historians, paint analysts, x-ray photographers, carpenters, masons, landscape designers, horticulturists, and other skilled professionals—restored the William Paca House and Garden to their 18th-century appearances. As a result, the site was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1971.
Upstairs - Main bedroom: The shade of Prussian Blue becomes a status color of the period. It shows up in other locations like Williamsburg, Philadelphia, Monticello, and Mount Vernon. One of the color's main ingredients, indigo - an extremely difficult and expensive to acquire at the time- became more available through new complicated trade routes in the southern hemisphere.
The William Paca House Gardens: Painstakingly restored to its original form using details drawn from historic artwork and archaeological excavations, the two-acre gardens of the William Paca House are a unique collaboration of efforts. The Summer House is a focal point that appeared in the 1772 Portrait of William Paca by Charles Willson Peale.
The William Paca Garden is a two-acre tiered garden in the center of Annapolis' Historic District. Many colonial Annapolitans had gardens - Paca's has been returned to its original vision and opened to the public to reexperience an 18th-century garden of the Chesapeake region. Intrigued by garden details in the background of Charles Willson Peale's 1772 portrait of Paca, researchers could reconstruct the site from archeological digs that revealed evidence of the garden's former conception.
Viewed fron the second floor: The brick walls enclose a series of terraces characteristic of colonial gardens in the Chesapeake region. The uppermost terrace serves as a platform for entertaining and viewing the garden. The following two levels are laid out in parterres adding geometric designs to the formal part of the gardens.
View from northeast during demolition of Carvel Hall Hotel. Below: Restored garden and facade. (Marion Warren Collection, Maryland State Archives.)
Restoration of the William Paca House is progressing - 1971, at the former site of the Carvel Hall Hotel.
A postcard for the from the Carvel Hall Hotel 1903-1965. This part of the hotel is located in the former William Paca garden.
Architecturally significant, the Paca House belongs to the impressive group of 18th-century mansions for which Annapolis has become famous. By being located in the same block with two other great five-part Palladian-form houses, the Brice House and the Hammond-Harwood House, the Paca House creates a unique architectural collection. These homes help showcase the details of our nation's early architecture as it unfolds.
