Swan Harbor Farm

Situated on over five hundred acres, Swan Harbor Farm, a stately home on the Chesapeake Bay, boasts a long and proud history. In the 1700’s, the home was owned by several generations of the Giles family. The most significant owner, however, was John Adlum. Mr. Adlum purchased the farm from Thomas Giles in 1797. From Swan Harbor Farm, John Adlum pioneered wine making in Maryland. In 1809, Mr. Adlum sent a bottle of his fine burgundy to his good friend, Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Jefferson was so impressed with the quality of the wine that he ordered 165 cuttings from Adlum’s vines to be planted at Monticello. After the Adlum era and a series of short-term ownerships, John Kenney of Washington, D.C., bought the property in 1951. He added a pool, tennis courts, greenhouse, kitchen-pantry wing and a dining room to suit his upper class lifestyle. In 1986, Mr. Kenney conveyed 520 acres of Swan Harbor Farm to Johns Hopkins University. The University purchased an additional two acres along Oakington Road in 1990. Harford County Department of Parks and Recreation purchased Swan Harbor Farm in 1994, as part of the State of Maryland’s Program Open Space. The grounds are open to the public dawn to dusk. The house and tent areas are used extensively from April through October for weddings and other events.