Valhalla

Apr 4, 2003

Valhalla is the Nordic word for heaven-named by a former owner, Skip Conrey, who admired the property from age 11. The land was granted to John Marriot in the early 1700’s and was bequeathed to his children in 1716-18. The last generation of Marriotts to live in the house was Camilla Hammond, the great, great granddaughter of John Marriot. Camilla was married to Dr. Thomas Snowden Herbert. (It should be noted that Dr. Herbert’s son, General James Rawlings Herbert, prominent Confederate officer, heads the list of men and officers on the Howard County Confederate Monument in front of the Courthouse in Ellicott City.) The Herbert family lived there for several more generations.

The land was later purchased by the Donovan family who lived there for several generations. William Domonic Donovan Jr. sold to Judge Clark in 1954. Located in Marriottsville, the property is part of an agricultural easement granted to the State of Maryland by Judge Clark in 1983. Judge Clark died on February 14, 1998. The estate of John L. Clark transferred the property to Richard Conrey in May 1998. The show house ran from September 20 to October 19. The Chairman was Lorna Ozgun. Assistant Chair was Susan Haug. About 5900 people attended.