Fare Lee Manor, which is today is spelled Fairlee Manor, is part of a 1900 acre tract of land laid out in 1674 for "James Brown, merchant formerly of New England.” The Manor House stands on a 263-acre farm which is used as a year-round residential camp known as Camp Fairlee for Easterseals Delaware & Maryland’s Eastern Shore to serve children and adults with disabilities.
The farm was donated to Easterseals in 1953 by Ms. Louisa d’Andelot Carpenter, a duPont heiress and philanthropist who was its previous occupant. "FareLee" or Handy Farm are the historic names of the farm. The Fairlee Manor House is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. The house is an early nineteenth century dwelling composed of five symmetrical parts. It is unusual for its use of equally placed flanking dependencies, which are of late nineteenth century period.The major part of the house appears to have been constructed during the period of 1825-1840.
Fairlee Manor is composed of a two-story, three-bay-long brick structure with a one and-a-half story, three-bay-long plank wing on each side in decreasing height and width, creating in effect, a telescopic hose from each end.
The three center parts are of brick laid in common bond, the central part has a molded cove water table, fanlight above the central double door, and flat arches above each of the other apertures. An unusual method was employed in the construction of the plank wings. Instead of fitting end into, or over, end of log in the corners, the builders used a large corner post into which the individual planks were mortised and tenoned.
The west plank wing is early but it is questionable that it was originally part of the house. The east brick wing was constructed in 1936and the east plank building was salvaged from a nearby farm to balance the west plank structure. Some original woodwork remains in the house, though the interior has been altered by a former owner. In the central portion, windows and doors have bold molded trim, with corner blocks; and mantels with colonettes in vogue in the late 1820’s and 1830’s. The interiors of the plank wings have exposed hewn beams and posts. Recent brick floors are used in each of the four wings. The East log wing was brought onto the side within the last fifty years according to local tradition.
In donating the property to Easterseals in 1953, Ms. Carpenter’s desire was that it be used to further the mission of Easterseals to the benefit of children and adults with disabilities and their families. Since that time, Camp Fairlee has served thousands of children and adults with disabilities by offering a safe and accessible recreational camp experience year-round for campers.
