Historic Sotterley invites the public to the grand opening of its brand-new Visitor Experience Center on May 2nd, 2026. The new Visitor Experience Center is located centrally on the site, giving visitors better access to the historic corridor and providing additional space for a series of rotating exhibits on local and national history.
This event also marks the opening of Historic Sotterley’s 2026 guided tour season, which will run through October and allow visitors to get a deeper look into Sotterley’s history.
This year’s tour season will include new exhibits, like the Transportation and Trade on the Tidewater exhibit and a look at critical preservation in progress on the Homestead House.
During the grand opening, visitors can enjoy family-friendly activities and museum activities including:
- The “Revolutionary Maryland: Freedom of the Press Then and Now” traveling exhibit from Maryland Humanities
- Themed tours about Historic Sotterley’s history as a museum
- Face painting & bubbles for kids
- Puppeteer show
- Viewing Historic Sotterley’s farm animals
Guests are encouraged to bring their own picnics to enjoy on our scenic property over-looking the Patuxent River.
Event Information – Date: May 2nd, 2026, Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm., Location: 44300 Sotterley Lane, Hollywood, MD – Cost: FREE, with additional costs for guided tours
About “Revolutionary Maryland: Freedom of the Press Then and Now
This traveling exhibit is on loan to Historic Sotterley from Maryland Humanities. It explores the evolution of one of our most important American freedoms from its earliest incarnation in the Maryland Colony to its role in contemporary society and is part of an extended project designed to encourage all citizens to think critically about the roles of a free press to self-government in democracy.
We are honored to be the only host site of this exhibit in Southern Maryland and will be expanding the exhibit to include examples of the impact of the press on Historic Sotterley throughout its lifetime.
The exhibit will be on display in the new Visitor Experience Center from May 2nd through the end of June.
About Historic Sotterley’s History as a Museum Tours
Explore the evolution of Historic Sotterley from its earliest days as a museum opening to the public for guided tours in the 1960s to the innovative historic site that includes descendant leadership and a demonstrated commitment to preserving the stories of all who once called this site home.
- Tour Times: 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, 2:00 pm
- Tour Price: $10 general admission | $9 seniors | $6 children ages 6-17 | FREE children 5 and younger and all Historic Sotterley members
Tour tickets are first-come, first-served and can be bought at the Visitor Experience Center during the event.
About Historic Sotterley – A National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO Site of Memory for the Routes of Enslaved Peoples, Sotterley is one of the oldest museums of its kind in the United States, with a history dating back to the turn of the 18th Century. Through the preservation of the site’s historic structures and natural environment and the use of powerful stories to educate and bring American history to life, the organization strives to foster a better understanding of our world today by providing a living link to America’s complex history and legacy of slavery.
