Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

Our History

The Wood & Glass Families

The Col. William Wood Glass family at Glen Burnie, ca. 1895.

 

Pictured In Text

This photograph of Rose Hill shows the property's original structure (middle) and the adjoining Federal-style addition (left).
 

Note

Glen Burnie, the ancestral home of the Wood family, opened to the public as a museum in 1997. Preservation and restoration efforts are currently underway at Rose Hill, the Glass ancestral home. Not yet open to the public, Rose Hill is less than five miles from the Glen Burnie property.

 

Quickfact

The Glen Burnie Historic House was built by Robert Wood in 1794; the location and fate of the original house occupied on the property by his parents, James and Mary Wood, are still a mystery.

This photograph of Rose Hill shows the property's original structure (middle) and the adjoining Federal-style addition (left).

The Wood and Glass families are associated with the site’s historic properties, and are representative of many settlers who came to the Valley in the 1700s.

The Anglo-Virginian Wood Family traces its Valley history to James Wood. He surveyed, claimed, and, with his wife, Mary, settled on land in the northern Shenandoah Valley in the early 1700s. Wood then donated portions of his land to establish the city of Winchester in 1744.

The Scots-Irish Glass Family was among the many Scots-Irish immigrants who left the north of Ireland in the 1700s and came to the Valley in search of a better life. This family’s Valley story begins with Samuel and Mary Glass, who moved here in the 1730s. The Wood and Glass families became linked with the marriage in 1832 of “Kitty” Wood (James Wood’s granddaughter) and Thomas Glass.

A more complete history of the Wood and Glass families is available in the museum’s book, The Gardens of Glen Burnie: The History and Legends of a Virginia Legacy. The book is sold at the Museum Store; for more information or to order a copy, contact Bonnie Barr at 540-662-1473 ext. 244.

Pictured at top: The Glen Burnie Historic House.