THE BUILDER
The Hammond-Harwood House was built in 1774 by Matthias Hammond, a Maryland patriot deeply involved in the public affairs of his day. A man of wealth, education and spirit, he wished his house to occupy a proud place among the distinguished buildings already lending character and urbanity to the colonial city of Annapolis. William Eddis, Crown Surveyor of the Customs, said of the city in 1769,—“there are few towns of the same size, in any part of the British dominions, that can boast a more polished society.”
At the age of 25, Matthias Hammond was elected to the Provincial Assembly. He was a member of the General Convention of 1774 and a member of the Committee of Correspondence. He signed the Proclamation of Freemen of Maryland, the Declaration of Rights, and was Quartermaster of the Severn Battalion of Anne Arundel Militia.