In 1689, 1087 acres on Elk Ridge, in what was then colonial Maryland's Anne Arundel County, was surveyed for Edward Talbott. Known as "Talbott's Resolution Manor", Talbott bequeathed the property to his children, John and Elizabeth, who each received half of the property after his death in 1689. The land was patented to John and Elizabeth Talbott in 1714, and by 1716 they had quickly sold off 800 acres of the property. By 1753, four different owners were in possession of the original plot: William Hall (500 acres), Nicholas Gassaway (300 acres), Edward Dorsey (200 acres), and Rachel Norwood (87 acres).