Former Freddie Mac CEO Owns Prestigious Maryland Eastern Shore Property.

Byline: Bill Atkinson

Aug. 24--Leland C. Brendsel, who made millions helping average people realize the American dream of homeownership, is living the dream in one of the most exclusive and historically significant properties on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The property, called Wye Hall, was owned by William Paca, a leader in the American Revolution, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and Maryland's third governor.

Historians say the Paca home burned in 1879, but the Brendsels' home -- built in the early 1930s -- sits roughly on the footprint of Paca's original house.

Brendsel ran Freddie Mac, the giant, but beleaguered Virginia mortgage company, until he resigned in June. In 1999, he bought the Georgian mansion and 16 acres for $2.8 million and an adjacent carriage house and 10.54 acres for $1.3 million.

"It truly is God's country," said I. Katherine Magruder, director of the Queen Anne's County Department of Business and Tourism. "The facade [of the Brendsels' home] is monumental in scale. Big columns and portico -- it makes Monticello seem small in scale."

Brendsel and his wife, Diane, have other houses, ...