In 1935, Donaldson Brown, a prominent industrialist and Baltimore native, purchased 750 acres of land in Port Deposit, Maryland.  Shortly thereafter, he commissioned the construction of an elaborate Georgian mansion on a 200 foot bluff overlooking the Susquehanna River.

This mansion, on the site known as Mt. Ararat, was bequeathed to the University of Maryland following Mr. Brown's death in 1965.

The Riverfront Conference Center is comprised of the Mansion and 20 acres of scenic grounds.  The symbol of the Riverfront Conference Center, the pineapple, is an international symbol of hospitality and an architectural motif throughout the Mansion.