A home-bound invalid at Walnut Hill in her late years, Elizabeth Ellicott Lea (1797-1858) recalled her earlier domestic ignorance and sought to help others with her Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts and Hints to Young Housekeepers. It became one of the best-loved cookbooks of the time, treasured not only for its recipes but for its abundant practical wisdom. Published in 1845, Betsy Lea's cookbook went through 19 editions by 1879. In the words of Lucy Meecham Thurston of the Baltimore Sun, "Her chair was by the big chamber window above the kitchen, down to which went a narrow stairs. Through the open doors the author called out her recipes and her faithful helper tried them out in the laboratory below. Were anything wrong it was then and there corrected. The recipes stood right."

Walnut Hill near Brighton, built of brick made on the land, was the home of Betsy and Thomas Lea. It is now the home of the Barry Goodmans.