Port Tobacco, Maryland
Settled in 1634, Port Tobacco was once Maryland's second largest seaport. The town served as the seat of Charles County from 1727-1895. Port Tobacco's community included Native Americans, missionaries, colonists, and revolutionaries.
The town was a major port for the tobacco trade on the adjacent Port Tobacco River. Eventually, however, the river became silted in due to poor erosion prevention in the agricultural lands and the commercial activity dwindled by the time of the Civil War.
There is a preserved area with the reconstructed historic courthouse and some original historic houses that surrounded the town square. The town is still an incorporated town and as of the last census, the population was 13 ... almost all of whom are involved in the historic preservation of the town (according to the tour guide).
The courthouse was reconstructed and is still used, not as a courthouse, but for the town meetings. The Episcopal Christ Church which was adjacent to the original courthouse was disassembled brick by brick in 1904, carried by oxen, and reassembled about 6 miles away in La Plata, MD.
Thomas Stone National Historic Site
Just up the road from Port Tobacco is a small historic site run by the National Park Service called Thomas Stone Historic Site. Thomas Stone, a lawyer, was one of 56 men (and one of 4 Marylanders) to sign the Declaration of Independence.
The National Park Service manages the site to preserve this relatively unknown but important history. The house, known as Haberdeventure, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971.
Haberdeventure was authorized as a National Historic Site in 1978 and was purchased by the Park Service in 1981. The house was opened to the public in 1997.
The house has an unusual architectural style with the dependencies on the two sides being angled rather than in a straight line. The property also contains the family cemetery and other plantation buildings.
