By Sarah Paynter

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A du Pont family hunting property in Maryland is going on the market for the first time in nearly a century, asking $14.8 million.

The 850-acre waterfront property is located outside Rock Hall, Md., about 25 miles east of Baltimore across Chesapeake Bay, according to co-listing agent Carol Snyder of Monument Sotheby's International Realty. Known as Napley Green, the property has been owned by the du Ponts since 1929, when Eugene E. du Pont paid $70,000 for it, according to contemporary reports. Eugene was a descendant E.I. du Pont, who founded the DuPont chemical company in 1802.

Napley Green has about 7 miles of frontage on rivers and creeks that feed into the Chesapeake. The property's six-bedroom, roughly 5,600-square-foot farmhouse with river views is believed to date to the 1600s, said Snyder. The family has preserved the house with the decor and furnishings from the time of Eugene's ownership, according to his great-grandson Samuel Hobbs.

A one-bedroom log cabin dates back to the same era as the main house. Other structures include a caretaker's house and a garage shop building with a club room, where the caretaker runs a hunting club on the property, said Snyder. The property also contains a pool and a roughly 280-foot dock where the family used to keep a yacht. Recently, an episode of the hunting reality television show "Duck Dynasty" was filmed there, Snyder said.

Eugene bought the property to prevent development near the Grey's Inn Point Gunning Club, where he was a member, it was reported at the time. He used the property for duck hunting, rowing, tennis and swimming competitions, Samuel said. Eugene lived primarily in the Wilmington, Del. area, and during his ownership, the property had a landing strip, which his friends and family used to arrive by plane.

Napley Green is now owned by Samuel's mother, Patricia Weymouth Hobbs, who is now 90 and lives in Florida. Patricia, an avid hunter and sportswoman, bought out other relatives about 40 years ago after her grandparents' deaths. "I just loved it down there because my grandfather used to take me shooting all the time," said Patricia, who continued hunting until she was in her late 70s. She used Napley Green for hunting, crabbing and fishing with her four children.

Home to waterfowl, deer and turkey, the estate contains farmland, woods, marshes and ponds. The main house has several wood-burning fireplaces, as well as two-story porches added by the du Ponts.

The house looks virtually the same as it did in Eugene's day, according to Samuel. "Everything is exactly the same, meaning all the pictures in it, all the duck decoys, all the wallpaper in every room," he said. Whenever renovations were needed, his mother found replicas of the original finishes, said Samuel, who still visits the property regularly.

The caretaker, who has been with the property almost 40 years, is the son of Eugene's original caretaker, said Snyder.

Patricia has decided to sell the Napley Green because it is underused. Nonetheless, "I'm very sad because I love the place," she said. She hopes the buyer uses it for recreation and "loves it as much as I do."

Snyder, who has the listing with Billy Norris of Select Land & Homes, said a developer is unlikely to buy the property because of its wetlands and local subdivision restrictions. A home on 790 acres, about 20 miles northeast, sold for $8.85 million in 2021, but Snyder said Napley Green is worth more because of its large waterfront. Moreover, she said, home values in the area have increased about 10% since 2021.

Write to Sarah Paynter at Sarah.paynter@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 23, 2025 14:30 ET (19:30 GMT)

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