Historic Londontowne, Md.: Part 6: Gardens, Visitor's & Archaeology Center and Body in the Basement!

Tom and Rob in the gardens

In this final blog on historic Londontowne, Maryland we'll explain about the gardens and the really cool visitor's center, and the archaeology center!  We'll leave you with a twisted archeaological discovery, too.

TODAY - Historic London Town and Gardens is a twenty-three acre park featuring history, archaeology, and horticulture on the South River in Edgewater, Maryland. The visitor's center is beautiful, and in the bottom floor is a really cool museum where you can learn a lot about this town that's still being unearthed and rebuilt today.
 
The park is owned by Anne Arundel County and managed by the London Town Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation. London Town has within its boundaries part of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century town of London, which is currently being excavated by archaeologists from the Lost Towns Project.

Visitor's Center

THE GARDENS -  The Woodland Garden was developed as a collaborative effort between local garden clubs, the University of Maryland, county officials, and interested individuals. The garden was created as a showcase for unusual plants and as one of the finest botanical collections in the area. Windsor Great Park in the United Kingdom served as the inspiration for the Woodland Garden. 

Visitor's Center

THE ARCHAEOLOGY LAB - In July 2007, the new Visitor Center, Lost Towns Project Archaeology Lab, and Horticultural Complex were opened to the public. The 12,000 ft2 Visitor Center has a 3,500 ft2 exhibition space, the largest in Anne Arundel County. The Archaeology Lab houses various artifacts found by the Lost Towns Project. And the Horticultural Complex includes a Green House, Cold Frame, and Lathe House for plant sales, propagation, and research.


 BODY IN THE BASEMENT - Archaeologists found the skeleton of a boy in the basement of one of the cellars that dated back between 1663 to 1680. The boy is thought to be one of the servants who fell ill and was buried in the basement. We didn't see the cellar, and the boy's remains were actually reburied in a ceremony that was held in Londontowne after the finding.

Re-creation of the skeleton found in a cellar

 We hope you've enjoyed learning about this town that "used to be" during colonial times in Maryland.