Harmony Hall and the Silesia Community

The land on which Harmony Hall stands was surveyed in 1662 by Humphrey Haggett. In 1769 Enoch Magruder purchased a dwelling plantation which was called Battersea. During the time of his ownership the Georgian-style manor house was built. The Addison brothers rented the house from Magruder in 1792. Legend has it that after living there with their wives for a year they declared the place such a source of happiness that it should be named Harmony Hall. The members of the illustrious Addison family had connections with George Washington. The Reverend Henry Addison was rector of St. John's Church, Broad Creek. A sign at this church declares that "Washington attended services here on numerous occasions." When Eleanor Addison and Jonathon Boucher were married in 1772 the Washingtons had intended to pay their respects to the couple, but as George Washington wrote to Boucher, "We were prevented by harvest, company and one thing or another." The Reverend Walter Dulany Addison was one of four ministers who spoke at Washington's funeral. Silesia was the name of a region in the German Empire, now part of Poland. In the late 1890's families came to America from this region to found a community in Prince George's County, Maryland. Robert Stein and a few of his relatives were the first to arrive and he petitioned to have the community named Silesia. Some of the German immigrants lived in Harmony Hall while others lived on farms nearby. Robert Stein was employed by the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington. He translated technical materials from German, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. In 1897 and 1899-1901 Robert Stein undertook Arctic expeditions. The generosity of current and former residents of Silesia who provided treasured photographs brought a human face to this local history. The Silesia Citizens Foundation provided the funds needed to publish this book. All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the Har