Pleasant Hills

Pleasant Hills is a historic home located near Upper Marlboro in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is a large, two-part brick house with Greek Revival detailing. The more recent, main block, was constructed in 1836, and was built by Zaddock Sasscer.Pleasant Hills was built in a side-hall-and-double-parlor plan style that was popular among the wealthy planter class of Prince George's County during the early part of the 19th century. The property was the homestead of the Sasscer and Hill family, prominent in local politics and commerce, since the property was purchased by Zaddock Sasscer as his "dwelling plantation" in 1807.The architectural details of the main block of the house suggest that it was constructed during the 1830s. In fact, the architrave around the windows and doorways are identical to one that appears in an Asher Benjamin builder's book of 1830. The two-story hyphen and wing, however, are earlier, and was standing when purchased by Zaddock Sasscer from Colmore Beans (brother to William Beanes of "Star Spangled Banner" fame) in 1807. According to the last family member owners, their restoration/renovation process revealed building methods and materials in the kitchen wing that pre-dates the rest of the main block. This is also supported by a family legend that the original main block burned to the ground.The side-hall and double-parlor plan in which Pleasant Hills was constructed is typical of homes built by the Prince George's County wealthy planter class. The double parlors allowed for a "best parlor" for receiving guests and a less formal back parlor (also known as dining parlor or sitting room) where the family could retire. Double parlors could also allow for the partially separate, yet concurrent, entertaining of ladies and gentlemen. One parlor contained the typical accouterments of an early 19th-century parlor, including a dozen chairs, sofa, table, parlor mirror and three pictures.