From Structures to Stories - How Tom began giving tours at Hampton NHS

Tom standing in the dining room at the Hampton Mansion

NPS

"It also turns out I enjoy telling a good story; one like the story of Hampton Mansion and the people who lived through it." - Tom

Tom is one of our amazing and passionate volunteers at Hampton National Historic Site. He originally came to the site with the goal of wanting to learn more about the structures like the mansion, and then he became in awe of the stories he learned and now shares on his tours. We invited him to share his perspectives on the park:

I have an interest in architecture and colonial building structures. After driving past Hampton many times, I began to learn it’s background and became more interested in learning about the structure. When I inquired about participating in maintenance and restoration activities, it turned out that they didn’t use volunteers in that area but did need tour guides. I volunteered expecting it would give me more opportunities to get inside the mansion.

As a result, I not only learned about the building but also the scope of the operation and the people who lived and worked there. I was fascinated that at the core was a 25K acre plantation; was the home of Charles Ridgely, a Governor of the state of Maryland in the early 1800s: and how the Governor and the Ridgely descendants interacted with several events in American history.

Being a tour guide at Hampton Mansion was also a general learning experience. Along the way I gained insights into antique furniture; portrait art; colonial interior design; iron mining and processing; daily life working on a plantation and the people involved; and a little about what it takes to run/manage a historical site.

With these experiences I began to notice other historical connections related to Hampton and the Ridgely’s with American history. For example, in reading about the Wright Brothers and their effort to sell their invention to European countries, the author describes how the Wright Brothers brought their airplane to Europe to demonstrate it at a European air exhibition. Many European heads of state and dignitaries were invited. Among them was the American Ambassador to France. His name was Henry White. That name rang a bell for me. In a review of the Ridgley family tree, I discovered that he was the son of Eliza Ridgley White. Having that knowledge gained from volunteering as a guide at Hampton and being able to connect the dots made it an enjoyable experience.

It also turns out I enjoy telling a good story; one like the story of Hampton Mansion and the people who lived through it.