"The Lord must have approved of this use of the Sabbath, for in that one busy stretch the committee got through the whole of it and reported out a revised document."
That line comes from a history of Maryland's first constitution published by the Maryland State Archives. It describes Sunday, November 3, 1776, the day the Convention in Annapolis passed the Declaration of Rights and then started on the Form of Government. Five days later, on Friday, November 8, the Convention approved the Form of Government. With that, the constitution was finished and became the state's fundamental law. It never went to a popular vote. The delegates adjourned on Monday, November 11.
This year, those dates fall exactly 250 years back. Across the South River from Annapolis, Historic London Town and Gardens has scheduled its November around that week. Then it carries the colonial theme through the rest of the month and into December, when the gardens supply the greenery for its wreath workshops.
The week of 1776, laid over this week
The Convention started meeting in Annapolis on August 14, 1776. Three days later it named a committee to draft a declaration of rights and a form of government. By late October, according to the Archives history, delegates were meeting into the evenings, seven days a week, so they could finish and go home. Here is how London Town's first November week lines up with theirs:
| 1776 | What happened in Annapolis | 2026 | What happens at London Town |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Nov. 3 | Declaration of Rights passes | Tue, Nov. 3 | Historic Walking Tours, 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. |
| Tues, Nov. 5 | Form of Government still under debate | Thu, Nov. 5 | Tavern Talks: London Town and the Maryland Constitution, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. |
| Fri, Nov. 8 | Form of Government approved; constitution complete | Sat, Nov. 7 | First Maryland Regiment living history, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Mon, Nov. 11 | Convention adjourns | Wed, Nov. 11 | Regular Tuesday-through-Saturday hours |
The 1776 dates come from the Archives. London Town's own description of the Tavern Talk calls November 11, 1776 the constitution's ratification date. The Archives history puts final passage on November 8 and the adjournment on November 11. The two sources point to the same week; they just give it different labels.
Tonight in the William Brown House
The anniversary program falls on the day this post goes up. "Tavern Talks: London Town and the Maryland Constitution" runs this evening, Thursday, November 5, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. It is the last of a five-part lecture series held in the William Brown House, London Town's brick tavern. According to the event listing, the series "reimagines the tavern as it was in 1776: a space for community news and gossip." Guests get after-hours access to the building, a sample of tea or colonial-style hot chocolate, and a look at 250-year-old headlines, followed by a talk on how the first Maryland Constitution affected London Town. Tickets are $13 for members and $16 for nonmembers.
The talk matters because of what London Town was turning into at the time. Its own history describes a busy port and ferry stop. By the end of the Revolution, only the William Brown House, a few wooden buildings, and the ferry were left. So the tavern where tonight's talk happens is the building that outlasted that change. London Town also points out that it was Anne Arundel County's original county seat, before Annapolis held that role.
Saturday brings the soldiers
The constitution was finished on a Friday in 1776. This year, the nearest Saturday belongs to the people who fought for the new state. "Living History: First Maryland Regiment Occupies London Town" runs Saturday, November 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Members of the First Maryland Regiment will be on the grounds to talk about the Maryland soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War and the camp followers who traveled with them.
The event comes with regular admission, so walk-ins are welcome. If you already have a Historic Walking Tour ticket for that day, you don't need a separate one, and the reverse is also true. Online tickets for the day are $13 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $7 for ages 4 to 17. Members and children 3 and under get in free. London Town says online reservations cost $2 more than walk-in prices. Its posted walk-in admission is $11 for adults, $10 for seniors 62 and older, and $5 for youth. That makes Saturday a good day to just show up at the gate.
Here's a Saturday plan that fits inside the site's 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours:
- Arrive at 10 a.m., when the regiment's day begins, and walk the grounds before the 11 a.m. tour.
- Join the 45-minute Historic Walking Tour at 11.
- Drive up Solomons Island Road for lunch at Basilwood Kitchen, which opens at 10 a.m. on Saturdays.
- Come back for the 2:30 p.m. tour. The gate closes at 4.
The rest of November turns to daily life
After the anniversary week, the calendar shifts from founding documents to the details of colonial life during the war years.
- Saturday, November 14, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. "What's The Tea: Make Your Own Tea Blend" covers tea's role in the Revolution and the substitutes colonists drank once tea had gone into the water. Tickets are $15 for members and $21 for nonmembers.
- Thursday, November 19, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. "Colonial Cocktails: Literary Libations" is for ages 21 and up. Guests drink Hot Buttered Rum and Negus and make choices that steer the plot of Susanna Centlivre's 1709 play The Busie Body. Tickets are $26 for members and $34 for nonmembers.
- Saturday, November 28, starting at 10 a.m. "Living History: Appins Regiment Occupies London Town" covers Scottish migration, especially after the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, and what Scottish immigrants brought to colonial Maryland.
The November 28 date is useful on its own. It's the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and the site is open, so it's an easy outing for houseguests who are still in town.
December's program comes from the gardens
The Revolutionary theme fades in December, and the gardens take over. London Town calls its wreath workshop a "time-honored tradition." Participants make a wreath, a centerpiece, or both from greenery cut on the property.
- Friday, December 4, 6 to 8 p.m. This evening session is for ages 21 and up, with live music and two drinks included in each ticket.
- Saturday, December 5, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 3 p.m. The daytime sessions are open to ages 12 and up.
Before November 1, the listings showed early-signup prices. For one wreath or centerpiece, the Saturday sessions were $60 for nonmembers and the Friday evening session was $80. The listings also said prices would go up by $10 on November 1. Check the current wreath workshop rates when you book.
The colonial thread comes back one more time on Friday, December 11, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. "Colonial Cocktails: Yuletide" serves lambswool, which London Town describes as a spiced apple dark beer, along with highlights from the year's monthly cocktail program, and opens the 18th-century brick tavern to guests. It's for ages 21 and up, preregistration is required, and tickets are $41 for members and $51 for nonmembers, including a $1 booking fee.
Rounding out the outing along Route 2
A London Town afternoon pairs well with the stops that have opened or kept going along Solomons Island Road.
Basilwood Kitchen opened August 21 at 3059 Solomons Island Road, Suite F1. As Naptown Scoop reported, founder Ginna Maznick runs it on one rule: "If we don't cook it, bake it, or prepare it ourselves, we don't serve it." The counter serves pizza, pasta, and deli subs. The market side sells raw pasta, dough, sauces, meatballs, and cutlets to cook at home, with instructions. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. That makes it an easy stop for dinner after a Tavern Talk, or for Thanksgiving-week meals.
Mayo Beach Park, at 4150 Honeysuckle Drive, is open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk through December 31. It closes on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Across two December weekends, the Muddy Creek Artists Guild holds its free Holiday Art Show & Sale. It runs December 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 at The Hitching Post, 5078 Solomons Island Road in Lothian. Hours are noon to 7 p.m. on Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. There's a "Meet the Artist" reception on Saturday, December 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. A morning wreath session on December 5 and an afternoon at the show make an easy two-stop day on Route 2.
You'll also pass the former grocery store at 3130 Solomons Island Road, which is being rebuilt as the Edgewater Community Center. Anne Arundel County's plans include a gymnasium, an indoor playground, and an elevated walking track. Construction started in August 2026, and the county expects the building to be finished in July 2027.
Here in Edgewater, we're proud that the region's oldest stories have a place to be told so close to home. If an evening at the William Brown House this month has you curious about the history of your own house on the South River, Erica Baker is always glad to talk through what you know about it, and what it's worth today.
