Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    St Leonard Polling House Photos

    Recommended Reviews - St Leonard Polling House

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration
    Photo of James M.
    133
    1010
    6591

    7 years ago

    Helpful 7
    Thanks 0
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    Hell House - Fragments.

    Hell House

    4.2(13 reviews)
    55.5 mi

    This is my favorite area in Patapsco state park, I've brought many friends and family here over the…read moreyears. It's beautiful, you can find the ruins of an old mining camp and religious boarding school here. There's even a decent spot to jump off the train tracks into the water below, although take care because the water can be shallow in spots.

    Probably one of the more interesting hikes that I have done in awhile. The hike will be quite…read moreshort, but you got hills and steps to get your work out on. I think the feel of the place is supposed to be spooky, unfortunately, I picked a spring break day to do it and there were enough teenagers running around here like savages (just kidding, they were all really sweet) it doesn't really have a scary feel to it at all. To explain the ruins, it was Roman Catholic school in Ilchester, Maryland. The ruins are near Ilchester and Bonnie Branch roads (so the Yelp location is pretty straight on). It was called hell house in the 70s after it was abandoned and vandalized and rumors have it a strange cult started living there. It also had an over zealous caretaker who had a gun and some dogs and would assault vandals. He was displaced after the school was set ablaze by arsonists. Hell House altar structure that most people take pictures of is at the top of a very steep hill, about a mile in. It used to have a large metal cross, and it is a very unique place for a photoshoot. For easy access, park in the lot for patapsco state park (right past the train tracks) where the trailhead is and start coming up to the left of the train tracks.

    Photos
    Hell House - Grateful.

    Grateful.

    Hell House - Planting.

    Planting.

    Hell House - Shadows cast the darndest things.

    See all

    Shadows cast the darndest things.

    Historic Sotterley - Photo courtesy of Stacey Windsor Photography

    Historic Sotterley

    3.4(9 reviews)
    6.9 mi

    Historic Sotterley is a preserved plantation near the water in Hollywood, Maryland. Pre-pandemic,…read morethey offered ours, hosted weddings inside the historic home and taught classes for all ages. During the pandemic, these have been suspended, but you can still visit. There's a small parking lot and signs that guide you to the historic home, gardens and slave house. Like many plantations in this area, people were enslaved here. It's a tragic fact to know when you visit so you can mourn and grieve. It would be inappropriate to visit this place without knowing the tragedy of it and how it led to the systemic racism that sadly still exists today. May we all fight for justice for all!

    Yes, the grounds are pretty. But a really important reason to visit is the story this place tells…read moreof enslaved people and their captors. Growing up in the South as a white person, I have been accustomed to historic plantations that allow visitors to share a romantic view of the "Old South." A view that ignores the ravages of slavery. In contrast, Sotterley has invested in presenting artifacts of its history with enslaved Africans, primarily through renovating a slave cabin. What is chilling is that a ship carrying people kidnapped from West Africa docked on the shores of Sotterley. The UN has designated it as a special cultural site because of this history. Learn more about the effort to present a true picture of life at the plantation in this article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/07/18/descendants-slaves-slave-owners-discover-legacy-marylands-sotterley-planation/

    Photos
    Historic Sotterley - Photo courtesy of Rob Korb Photography

    Photo courtesy of Rob Korb Photography

    Historic Sotterley - Photo courtesy of Rob Korb Photography

    Photo courtesy of Rob Korb Photography

    Historic Sotterley - Photo courtesy of Stephanie Court Photography

    See all

    Photo courtesy of Stephanie Court Photography

    Claiborne Landing

    Claiborne Landing

    5.0(1 review)
    28.0 mi

    i never knew this place existed, until i came here with my family to view the sunset. on a cold,…read morewinter day, where the winds gusted to at least 20-25 mph, my mother suggested that we all come here a little before sunset so that we could watch the sun drop into the bay together. i thought she was crazy...i mean, i live on the west coast, where a winter day is about 50-55 and generally clear, so i would have no issues standing outside for half an hour gazing into the horizon. but since this was our family reunion and we wanted to spend quality time together, all 6 members of my immediate family packed into the family van and drove 45 minutes to st. michael's to honour my mother's wish. this trip did not disappoint. even though we arrived about 20 minutes before the sunset, and it was even windier along this jetty, the sunset on this clear day was absolutely gorgeous. we took turns standing outside and staring at the sun and hiding inside the warm van to shield us from the cold and wind, but just a few minutes before the official sunset time, we all went outside, to the very edge of the jetty and watched an absolutely gorgeous sun drop into the bay. it was absolutely breathtaking watching the sky change from blue to yellow-orange to orange to red. even though it was a trek, and it was very cold and very windy, it was totally worth the trip to see this gorgeous sunset. so mom, i don't think you're crazy anymore, you are absolutely right, and i will keep in mind that the next time you ask me to do something to remember that "mother is always right."

    Photos
    Claiborne Landing

    See all

    St Leonard Polling House - landmarks - Updated July 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...