The Mansion in the Middle of Levitt's Bowie Spends December as an Open House

At 12207 Tulip Grove Drive, a seven-bay brick facade faces south over terraced lawns. The house now sits inside a postwar suburb. The Maryland Historical Trust's archaeology record describes Belair Mansion as "situated in the middle of the modern 'Levitt-town' housing development," a country seat that ended up with a subdivision wrapped around it.

For most of the year, getting inside takes some planning. In December, the City of Bowie fills the house with events that need no booking. A free candlelight night on Sunday, Dec. 6, is the centerpiece. A family elf hunt follows on two weekends. Only one evening requires registration. For anyone living in the streets the Levitts laid out, this is the month to walk into the building where that neighborhood was planned.

The developer's office before it was the city's museum

The house is older than the subdivision by about two centuries. The Maryland Archaeological Synthesis entry for Belair Mansion traces the tract's name to the Reverend Jacob Henderson, who resurveyed it as "Belair" in 1721. In 1737 he sold it to Samuel Ogle and Benjamin Tasker. Ogle was royal governor of the colony. The central brick block was built around 1740 while Ogle and his wife Anne were in England, with Tasker reportedly overseeing the construction. The couple moved in when they returned in 1747. Ogle's son Benjamin later became governor of Maryland too. He was elected rather than appointed, which makes three governors tied to one house.

The same record makes clear that Belair was a working plantation as well as a residence. A 1769 estate auction notice in the Virginia Gazette listed the mansion, a two-story brick house near it, 2,177 acres and 21 enslaved people, along with stock, furniture and tools.

The 20th century gave the house its present shape and its link to the neighborhood around it:

• 1898: James T. Woodward bought Belair. He's credited with adding the hyphens and wings that give the mansion its five-part form.
• 1910: His nephew, William Woodward Sr., inherited the estate.
• 1955: After William Woodward Jr. died, Levitt and Sons bought the estate to build a postwar suburb.
• 1964: The mansion had served as the Levitts' offices. They donated it to the City of Bowie that year.
• 1996: Renovation was completed, and the building became a museum and reception center.

Between the donation and the renovation, the city used the building for government offices, the police station and the Genealogical Society library. The archaeology record says the Levitts brought the biggest change to the grounds. They tore down most of the old outbuildings and built the tract community that now makes up a large part of Bowie. Today's open houses take place in the building that coordinated that construction.

What to look for on the way in

Some of the house's history can be seen from the parking lot, and some of it was found underneath it.

On the west facade of the main block, the lead heads that feed the downspouts survive. One carries Benjamin Tasker Jr.'s initials and the date 1757. The state record credits his time managing the estate with new gutters and drainage. These are among the oldest dated pieces of the building still in place.

The ground under the visitor parking has its own story. In 1994, the city was rebuilding the 1960s-era lot so the restored mansion could reopen. A backhoe operator repositioning his machine accidentally punched a small square hole through the east lawn's topsoil. The archaeology crew cleaned out the hole and found a feature. Further digging turned up the remains of a demolished 18th-century earthfast structure with a mortared brick chimney and a kitchen midden. The Maryland Historical Trust then recommended a full data recovery dig in that part of the site, and the work started that winter. Across years of digging, crews found a glass bottle seal stamped "B. Ogle," in both the 1976 and 1994 work. They also recovered hundreds of handwrought nails, Chinese export porcelain and thousands of pieces of bottle glass.

The west lot was redesigned around what lies beneath it. Test digs there found intact 19th-century deposits, possibly older. The city built that parking surface on fill and plastic gridding so the cars would sit above the archaeology instead of on it. The terraces south of the house are younger than they look. The 1994 testing suggested they were reconstructed, or entirely created, within the previous 50 to 100 years. A family cemetery sits at the foot of the terraced gardens.

December at the mansion, on the calendar

Here is everything the City of Bowie has listed for Belair Mansion from Dec. 4 through Dec. 20, all at 12207 Tulip Grove Drive.

The Paint and Sip listing asks guests to paint their own glass vase while sipping a seasonal drink. It's the only event this month with a fee and a sign-up. The Magic Elf Hunt sends children through the mansion to find elves hiding inside, and each finder gets a token of appreciation. The city calls it family-friendly. It runs on two consecutive weekends, which gives families four afternoons to choose from.

Candlelight night, and who's playing

The Candlelight Open House is the centerpiece. The city's listing promises the mansion "illuminated in the glow of candlelight and dressed in all its holiday finery," with Santa Claus as guest of honor and live music from the local group Bedlam. It's free and needs no reservation, and it runs for four hours on a Sunday evening. Questions go to the city's Historic Properties Manager at 301-809-3089.

Bedlam fits the setting. The group plays 18th-century music, and the Ring of Kerry Irish Dancers' calendar listed a Bedlam Colonial Music performance at Belair Mansion on Dec. 7, 2025. Bowie's own records show the format goes back further. A City Historic Properties newsletter from fall 2014 described Belair by Candlelight with Bedlam, cider and cookies, a tree lighting and caroling. That makes Bedlam a fixture of the season at a house whose central block dates to the 1740s.

The city also keeps a gift-shopping tradition at the house. Last December, the Belair Mansion Museum Shop was open Fridays through Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. through Dec. 21. During those same hours, any City of Bowie museum took shelf-stable food donations. The city sets these hours each year, so check this year's on cityofbowie.org before planning a shopping stop.

The stable on Belair Drive finishes the story

The Woodward years left a second building. The Belair Stable Museum at 2835 Belair Drive was part of William Woodward's Belair Stud. Experience Prince George's calls it one of the premier racing stables of the 1930s, '40s and '50s, home to Gallant Fox and Omaha, a father and son who both won the Triple Crown. The City of Bowie supports the stable along with the Friends of Belair Estate.

The two museums cover the same span the state record describes, from colonial plantation to horse farm to a developer's headquarters. Seeing both in one outing gives the fullest picture of how the land under Bowie's Levitt-era streets was used before the houses were built. The stable keeps its own hours, so confirm them with the city before driving over.

Old Town takes Saturday, Dec. 5

The day between the Paint and Sip and the candlelight night belongs to Old Town Bowie. On Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Old Bowie Welcome Center hosts free holiday festivities. Children can make snow globes and write letters to Santa, and someone reads "The Polar Express" aloud. A limited number of family photos inside the Chessie Caboose cost $10. "Letters to Santa" continues at the Welcome Center on Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's free, with no reservations.

Put the dates together and Dec. 4 through 6 become the fullest stretch of the season around Belair:

1. Friday evening: paint a vase at the mansion, if you registered ahead.
2. Saturday morning: take photos at the Chessie Caboose and write letters to Santa at the Old Bowie Welcome Center.
3. Sunday, 4 to 8 p.m.: see the candlelight, hear Bedlam and visit Santa at Belair Mansion.

Families who miss that weekend still have the Magic Elf Hunt on Dec. 12, 13, 19 and 20. On Dec. 12 and 13, the Welcome Center's letter-writing table is also open, so those two days work for a morning in Old Town and an afternoon at the mansion.

At The Dapo Group, we think a home's story is part of its value. That's especially true in Bowie, where many streets go back to the Levitts' plans for the land around Belair Mansion. If you own a home in one of those neighborhoods and want its history told well when it's time to sell, Book A Discovery Call with Amanda and A.D. Our in-house production studio can put that story on film.