Richard Gott VI moved his family from land near the Chesapeake to the area known as Bucklodge (along White Ground Rd. in present-day Boyds) in 1792 to farm Tobacco.
Passing away shortly after arriving to the area, Gott VI passed the land on to his son, Richard Gott Sr, who crafted the first portion of a brick estate around 1812.
Upon Gott Sr.’s death in the late 1850’s, Benjamin C. Gott took possession of the land and initial structure. Benjamin went on to add 150 acres of land holdings and doubled the size of the home between 1860-1865 (it is said that the estate was raided by both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War).
By all accounts, Benjamin was well admired by those in the community. In 1882 it was written that “Benjamin Gott has long enjoyed the distinction of being one of Montgomery County’s representative farmers and in matters appertaining to the field of advanced and profitable agriculture is a practical exponent and recognized authority. In his own quiet way, he makes his influence and example felt in the community.”
The estate reached the height of its prosperity in the 1870s, falling into a slow decline afterwards (a result of many factors, one of which being increased costs for laborers). In 1925 a fire destroyed the beautiful home that three generations of Gotts worked to build. Left abandoned, this is all that remains.
