Retreat Provides Seclusion, and Amenities, for Talks

The Wye Plantation, a 1,100-acre retreat on Maryland’s Eastern Shore formally known as the Wye River Conference Center, is an occasional backdrop for heads of state, policymakers, diplomats and scholars who want to conduct intense deliberations in a secluded locale without forgoing modern communications and conference facilities.

In 1989, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit took place at the former plantation, and Israel and Syria held talks there in 1996.

In addition to meeting rooms, video teleconferencing and Internet capabilities, the center has croquet lawns, pools, bike trails and fitness centers.

The fertile land along the Wye River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, was settled by prominent tobacco farming families in the 18th century. The area that encompasses the conference center was known as the Wye Plantation, and its residents have included William Paca, who signed the Declaration of Independence and served as Maryland’s third governor.

The property was purchased in 1937 by Arthur A. Houghton Jr., a Corning Inc. executive who went on to create the Wye Institute, an educational organization that hosted summer camps for gifted and talented youth.

In 1979, the Houghtons donated their personal residence and the surrounding land to the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit institution that seeks to foster dialogue among political and business leaders.