Share Your Love of History—Become a Volunteer

The historic Tudor Hall is a fascinating piece of Maryland and our nation’s history. Visitors to Tudor Hall explore the story of the Maryland Booths who left their mark on America forever. By volunteering with Spirits of Tudor Hall, you become a part of sharing this part of history. Spirits of Tudor Hall is the Junius B. Booth Society volunteer organization created to establishing a docent program at Tudor Hall and opening the house for public tours on a regular basis.  As a volunteer, it doesn’t require a lot of time—just a love of history, and a desire to share in keeping the story of Tudor Hall alive.

We need you. There’s a place for everyone who volunteers—whether you want to lead tours, greet visitors, or do odd jobs—we will gladly match you up with your interests and skills. From time to time there are also opportunities to help with special events at Tudor Hall.

 If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, contact

Jill Redding, Volunteer Coordinator

reddingj43@comcast.net 

410-274-8633

Harford County Civil War 150

Harford County in Maryland had a divided sense of the Civil War. While Maryland was a slave state, the County had much more in common with the industrial North than the slave holding South. One of its most illustrious names illustrates this dichotomy. The Junius B. Booth family farmed using Freedmen, often eating with the farmhands family style. Yet, while son Edwin supported Abraham Lincoln and associated with abolitionists, his younger brother John Wilkes supported the South, reviled President Lincoln and later assassinated him.

     With this rich legacy, the Harford County Public Library commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War; one of the darkest, yet most transformative periods in American history.

     The Civil War 150 Programs include numerous events, talks, Civil War book discussions, and displays March through June. For all the details:http://hcplonline.org/programs/newsletters/hh/pdf/mar13.pdf

Make Plans To Visit Tudor Hall

The historic Tudor Hall is a fascinating piece of our nation's history. When you visit, you'll connect to the story of the Maryland Booths who left their mark on America forever. You'll walk where they walked, lived, played, worked and dreamed. When you visit, it makes this part of history come alive. Tudor Hall is located at 17 Tudor Lane, Bel Air, Maryland, 21015. 

The property and first floor floor of Tudor Hall will be open to visitors at 1:00 & 2:00 PM on the following dates in 2013:
April 7 & 21, May 5 & 19, June 2, 16 & 30, July 14 & 28, Aug. 11 & 25, Sept. 8 & 22, Oct. 6 & 20, Nov. 3.
$5.00 for those age 13 and older. The gift shop includes books which delve into the absorbing history of the Booths. For more information: 443-619-0008 or SpiritsOfTudorHall@gmail.com

Join us on Facebook

Follow Spirits of Tudor Hall on http://www.facebook.com/SpiritsofTudorHall

Give the Gift of History

The Junius B. Booth Society and The Historical Society of Harford County are offering a unique opportunity. You can now own a piece of historic Tudor Hall─ the house that Junius Brutus Booth built for his family.

     The chimney at Tudor Hall was structurally unsound and it was removed so that a new chimney could be built. Vintage photographs reveal that the original chimney, which dated to the construction of the house which began in the fall of 1851, was repaired and modified at least once in the years after Samuel A. S. Kyle purchased Tudor Hall in 1878 from Mary Ann Holmes Booth, widow of Junius Brutus Booth, Sr. The exact date of these repairs and modifications is unknown at this time.

     As a result, the age of any of the bricks removed from the chimney in July 2009 is uncertain. All that can be said with certainty is that the bricks were part of the chimney at Tudor Hall for many years.  We are offering 400 of the bricks from the old chimney at Tudor Hall for sale to the public. Proceeds will go to support the Junius B. Booth Society and The Historical Society of Harford County, in part, to catalog and preserve materials related to the Booth family and Tudor Hall. The Junius B. Booth Society and The Historical Society of Harford County are nonprofit organizations which work to make the public more aware of the individual members of the Booth family and Tudor Hall.

     The brick for sale comes with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity and a pictorial history of the Tudor Hall chimney and makes a great gift. The cost of each brick is $40.00 (tax included) and $15.00 for shipping/handling. To purchase this unique piece of history, send a check for $55.00 made out to: The Historical Society of Harford County, Inc.

Mail to:

The Historical Society of Harford County

Tudor Hall Brick

143 N. Main Street

Bel Air, MD  21014

If you would like to pick it

up in person, call 410-838-5257

410-838-7691.

The Voice Of Edwin Booth

Edwin Booth was the son of the famous tragedian who built Tudor Hall—Junius Brutus Booth. Junius, not wanting his children to follow in his profession, eventually anointed Edwin to carry the torch of his theatrical legacy, as it became evident that Edwin inherited his father's talent.

I don't know about you, but when I visit Tudor Hall—in my mind I picture the Booth family and the great groundbreaking changes they made to American theatre. I'd love to travel back in time, sit in the audience and experience their powerful performances. To me, the Booths are the first family of American theatre. What did they sound like? What kind of accents did they have?

To our great fortune, there is an actual wax cylinder recording of Edwin Booth that exists. Edwin, who became the foremost actor of the 19th century and is said to be the greatest Hamlet of all time, recorded some speeches in 1890 at the establishment he founded—The Players Club in New York City.

The recording is scratchy and hard to hear, but it is Edwin's voice. You can get a feel of what he sounded like. What a treasure. You can listen to this recording of Edwin reading Othello by clicking this link: http://www.archive.org/details/OthelloByEdwinBooth1890 When you get to the site, the audio is to the upper right. Enjoy.

Join The Junius B. Booth Society

The story of the Maryland Booths and Tudor Hall is a fascinating piece of our nation's history and the Junius B. Booth Society has an active part in keeping this chapter of history alive. The Society was incorporated in Maryland in 2006 to educate the public and historians in the history of the Booth family and Tudor Hall, and developed and maintains the tour guide program at Tudor Hall in order to open the house for public tours on a regular basis.

If you are interested in this part of our history; please join us. When you join the JBBS, not only do you receive our newsletter, but you support the education of the public in: the theatrical arts; the Booth family history; the story of Tudor Hall; other Booth family historical sites located in Harford County; the history of owners, slaves, farmers, craftsmen and others connected to the Tudor Hall farm; Booth related literary works. The Society also supports the restoration and preservation of Tudor Hall and other Booth related buildings located in Harford County, MD.

Join us in this exciting endeavor and help keep history alive. For more information and to join go to: http://juniusbooth.org/