Joppa, Maryland Celebrates 300 Years!

The first Episcopal Church in what is now Harford County, Maryland was founded in 1692, but it was not until 1712 that Englands Queen Anne granted a charter establishing the colonial town of Joppa. Joppa was once the County Seat of Baltimore County. The deep water port was a mile wide and ships from all parts of the world traded here. This thriving community boasted a church, court house, and a jail. There was even horse racing! Many of the nation's founding fathers are thought to have spent time in Joppa while traveling between Washington and Philadelphia. Colonial Joppa died out when siltation made the Gunpowder River impassable and yellow fever plagued the citizenry. The church then moved to Kingsville, taking the tombstones, but leaving the existing graves intact. The foundations of many buildings from the 1700s remain and are covered with soil to protect from environmental hazards, such as acid rain. Today the majority of the Joppa National Historic Site is located on land owned by Copley Parish, Gunpowder Hundred, Church of the Resurrection. The church is found at the corner of Bridge and Anchor Drives, on Rumsey Island, in Joppa, Maryland. The Rumsey Mansion, built in the 1720s, is a Maryland Historic Site. This dwelling is the sole remaining structure from colonial times. The residence is privately owned but will be open to the public in celebration of Joppa's 300th birthday. The Rumsey Island Home and Garden Tour 2012 is scheduled for September 8th (rain date of 9/15). On this day tour guides in period costume will take visitors through the Joppa National Historic Site and offer a look into what life was like in Joppa three hundred years earlier. Artifacts will also be on display. Participants will then embark on a self-guided walking tour of select homes in this waterfront community. A boat ride will transport folks to the Rumsey Mansion. Tickets to the Rumsey Island Home and Garden Tour 2012 are $20 each and may be purchased online at rumseyislandhg.org ... or at the door. The day's schedule is as follows: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm 9:00 am - 6:00 pm 6:00 pm Houses open for touring Tea Room Service (additional charge) Evensong Service in the style of 1700s

Copley Parish, Gunpowder Hundred, Church of the Resurrection 700 Bridge Drive Joppa, MD 21085 Rumseyislandhg.org 410-679-8700 copleyparish.org