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Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette Logo Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette

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Rackliffe House opens for season

(May 21, 2015) Rackliffe House, a beautifully restored 1740s merchant-planter’s Georgian home overlooking Assateague Island and Sinepuxent Bay, outside of Berlin, opened for the season on Monday, May 18, International Museums Day.
This season, a new visitor experience includes an eight-minute introductory film about the Rackliffe family, the history of the house, and those who lived on the land as well as an illustrated timeline.
Docents will interpret life on the 18th-century coastal plantation through artifacts on display in the kitchen, spinning room and children’s room in the main house as well as in the original milk house.
Also on display is the exhibition, “Native Americans: First Contact on Lower Delmarva,” on loan from Salisbury University’s Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture. The exhibition examines – through images and first-hand accounts — how Native Americans lived and worked at the time of first contact with Europeans.
Children will enjoy a number of age-appropriate activities for use inside the house. Outdoor 18th-century games are scheduled for the second Saturday of each month from 1-4 p.m. through October. All children’s activities have been created and are coordinated by the Rackliffe House docents.
Rackliffe House will be open every Tuesday and Thursday from 1-4 p.m. as well as the second Saturday of each month from 1-4 p.m. through October. The three acres of grounds are open to hikers every day from dawn to dusk, and all activities outside of Rackliffe House are free.
To enter Rackliffe House and tour the exhibitions, the cost is $5/adult and $2/child ages 4-12 (age 3 and under are admitted for free). Entrance fee for visitors with a valid military I.D. is $3. The last house tour begins at 3:30 p.m. Entrance fees are critical in continuing the preservation of this historic property.
To reach Rackliffe House, turn into Marsh View Lane, off Stephen Decatur Road (Route 611), at the Assateague National Seashore Visitors Center. On opening days, visitors may drive 1/2-mile down Tom Patton Lane and park in the designated area near Rackliffe House. On non-opening days, visitors are asked to park in the visitor center lot and hike or bike the half-mile trail along Tom Patton Lane.
For more information about Rackliffe House, call 443-614- 0261 or visit www.RackliffeHouse.org.