Rose Hill

Five miles southwest of Cecilton and four miles south of Earleville, is "Rose Hill." Major-General Thomas Marsh Foreman, an officer of the Revolutionary War, built the brick part of this old house. He was also responsible for the rows of lovely chestnut trees which at one time bordered a public road in the vicinity. He is buried in the family burying ground on the place, a short distance from the house, on a knoll overlooking the Sassafras River.

Property name: Rose Hill

Alternate name(s): Chance, Wheeler's Point

Date Listed: 11/5/1974

Inventory No.: CE-27

Location: 1100 Grove Neck Road (MD 282), Earleville, Cecil County

The principal area of significance of Rose Hill is that it was the home of General Thomas Marsh Forman (1756-1845), who served as a young man in the Revolution, at the battles of Long Island, Monmouth, Trenton, and Brandywine, and again as an officer in the War of 1812. He was a member of the Maryland General Assembly for three terms between 1790 and 1800; was commander of the first Brigade, Maryland Militia, and was a president of the Maryland Jockey Club in 1830, being an avid horseman most of his life. Secondarily, the house is a good historical document on changing tastes and how a rural early 19th century gentleman farmer lived. His second wife has left a diary in which she describes the day-to-day life of this Cecil County farm. One of the best of her legacies lies in a depression west of the house--the remains of her garden, with numerous boxwood and holly specimens. In one corner of the garden stand two of the largest yew trees living in the United States.