History
In 1670, William Jones received a land patent from Lord Baltimore for a 340-acre parcel designated “Friend’s Choice.” The land patent roughly encompassed the modern-day Friend’s Choice Farm, the modern-day Foxhall development to the northeast (known at the time as Forest Farm), and the triangle of land to the west between Queen Anne Bridge Road and Central Avenue. At 70 acres, Friend’s Choice Farm is the largest remaining tract from the original Land Patent. The land, primarily used for tobacco farming, has been subdivided over the years.
The original farmhouse was built by Charles Claggett in the early 1800’s—a 2 ½ story structure which still forms the core of the main farmhouse today and includes the original staircase. The property was purchased in 1961 by Robert and Thelma Beall, who initiated the transformation from tobacco farm to horse farm. Best known as the co-founders of Ledo Pizza, the Beall family also bred racehorses and installed the quarter-mile track that exists today.
One of the Bealls’ stallions—aptly named Friend’s Choice—sired a colt named Dave’s Friend in 1975. Originally trained at the farm, Dave’s Friend was the Maryland-bred Horse of the Year in 1980 and went on to become the winningest Maryland-bred sprint horse of all time with more than $1M in purses. Dave’s Friend was inducted into the Maryland Thoroughbred Hall of Fame in 2016.
The property underwent a major renovation in the early 2000’s, with an expansion to the main farmhouse, additions to the outdoor jumping and dressage rings, and construction of the indoor ring. The tobacco fields now grow hay, and the last remaining tobacco barn houses quarantine stalls and run-out paddocks.
In 2022, Friend’s Choice Farm was purchased by David and Catie James, who appreciated the importance of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and the equine industry to Maryland. When they learned that one prospective buyer wanted to remove the stables and make the farm into a wedding destination/B&B, and a second bidder wanted to turn the stables into a hydroponic farming facility, the Jameses decided to purchase the farm and to maintain the stables/boarding facilities and riding rings. Since selling their home of 23 years in nearby Edgewater, they have become full-time residents of Friend’s Choice Farm, providing important and well-deserved maintenance and upkeep to the grounds and facilities.
The name “Monarch Stables at Friend’s Choice Farm” is derived from both the company David founded in 2013, Monarch Strategies, LLC, and the original name of the 1670 land grant and sire, Friend’s Choice.
Friend’s Choice Farm is a registered historic property with the Maryland Historical Trust and Anne Arundel County (Inventory Number AA-99). The property is located in the Davidsonville Historic District, in close proximity to other historic sites such as the Anne Arundel Free School (attended by Johns Hopkins from 1806 to 1809), Middle Plantation (1664), and historic churches including All Hallows Parish (1692) and the Davidsonville United Methodist Church. Just south of the farm, Nike Missile Site W-25 played a key part in the defense of Washington DC during the Cold War and is now home to the Anne Arundel County Police Training Facility. The property is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with numerous natural springs feeding Davidsonville Branch. Davidsonville Branch joins the Patuxent River just west of the farm, near the site of the historic Queen Anne Bridge originally built in 1755 to join Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties.