This was historically the territory of
Algonquian-speaking peoples, especially the
Potapoco and the more dominant
Piscataway. Settled by the
English in the 17th century and established in 1727, the town on the
Port Tobacco River soon became the second largest in Maryland. The first
county seat of Charles County, it was a seaport with access to the
Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. It declined rapidly after river traffic was cut off by silting and the town was bypassed by the
railroad. The town incorporated in 1888, but in 1895 the
county seat moved to nearby
La Plata, which drew population away but left the town with its historic significance intact. Since the late 20th century, the former 1819 courthouse has been renovated for use as a historical museum. In 2007 a consortium started the Port Tobacco
Archeology Project, devoted to revealing the history of
Native Americans and colonial
Europeans and
Africans. Because of its unique history, the area is "one of the richest archeological sites in
Southern Maryland." A few miles south, the
St. Ignatius Church, manor house, and cemetery at
St. Thomas Manor comprise a complex designated as a
National Historic Landmark. It is notable as a
Jesuit mission center established in the 17th century and is likely the oldest continuously operating
Roman Catholic parish founded in the
Thirteen Colonies. The complex at Chapel Point has scenic views overlooking the
Potomac River.
John Hanson, President of the U.S.
Continental Congress, was born nearby.
History Areas along the waterways of present-day Maryland were inhabited for thousands of years by various cultures of distinct
indigenous peoples. At the time of European exploration, this coastal area along the
Port Tobacco River was the territory of the
Potapoco, an
Algonquian-speaking tribe. They called their settlement
Potapoco. Overall, the dominant tribe on the north side of the Potomac River was the Algonquian
Piscataway tribe, which later absorbed some of the smaller tribes' survivors.
Colonial era Within a generation of the first Maryland settlers' landing at
St. Clement's Island, they pushed the frontiers of the colony north and west toward the Potomac and Port Tobacco rivers. The English developed a small village about 1634 on the east side of the Port Tobacco tributary. It became the nucleus for trade and government. It was first called Chandlers Town. The town was one of the oldest English-speaking communities on the
East Coast of the United States. In 1658, it was designated the first county seat of Charles County. Later the
English adapted the Potapoco name as Port Tobacco. Its name also referred to what became the colony's chief export commodity crop. The town grew as it became a major port for the
tobacco trade, with exports transported by ocean-going sailing ships. During the late 17th century, Port Tobacco became the second-largest
river port in Maryland. The early immigrants to Port Tobacco were products of the religious turmoil in England. Their deeply felt convictions were powerful influences in Maryland's history. The area had both English Catholic and
Church of England congregations. Father
Andrew White of the
Jesuits established a mission in 1641 and later a church at what became
St. Thomas Manor at Chapel Point. The manor's chapel was expanded to what is called St. Ignatius Church, a center for local Native Americans converted to
Christianity. The oldest continuously operating Catholic parish in the United States, the complex has been designated as a
National Historic Landmark and is part of the Religious Freedom
Maryland Scenic Byways route. Catholic parish records identified Indian families through the decades, when civil records began to use only designations of
free people of color, colored, or Negro for mixed-race persons, thus failing to record their cultural identification. The two state-recognized
Piscataway-descendant tribes have used Catholic records in making their case for cultural continuity. Freed from restraints by the
Toleration Act of 1649 and feeling a need for spiritual guidance, some settlers gathered their first
Anglican congregation in a log building at the head of the Port Tobacco Creek in 1683, nine years before the
Establishment Act. Supported by the tobacco
poll tax of 40 pounds per head from 1692 to 1776, Christ Church prospered. The community built a second structure in 1709. After the
American Revolution, although the Anglican Church was disestablished in the US, parishioners rallied to contribute directly to Christ Church, and Lemuel Wilmer, of a distinguished family of Maryland Episcopalian clerics which included his brother
William Holland Wilmer, uncle
James Jones Wilmer, and father, grandfather and brother (all named Simon Wilmer) served as rector for 35 years. After a tornado destroyed the building in 1808, they held a lottery and ultimately financed a new brick structure, which was rededicated in 1827. Falling into disrepair after 60 years of use, it was demolished and replaced with a sandstone edifice in 1884. However, only the graveyard now remains of this church (and a relatively recently outline of the historic church's foundation), since it was disassembled in 1904 and reassembled in La Plata, which had become the county seat in 1895. For two centuries, Port Tobacco area residents assumed important roles in state and national history.
John Hanson was elected first President by the
Continental Congress under the
Articles of Confederation before moving to
Frederick.
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer was a signer of the
United States Constitution; and
Thomas Stone was one of four of the Maryland delegation who signed the
Declaration of Independence.
Civil War During the
Civil War, Port Tobacco became known as a stronghold of
Confederate sympathizers, although
Union troops occupied the town.
Rose O'Neal Greenhow (1814–1864), born here, became renowned as a Confederate spy operating in Washington, DC. Recruited by former US Army captain
Thomas Jordan, later promoted to Confederate general, she took over his network in early 1861. Due to military plans she passed to the Confederates that summer, she was credited with ensuring their victory at the
First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. Local slaves were
freed following Maryland's adoption of a new Constitution on November 1, 1864 (the
Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 did not apply to states which remained in the Union). During the hunt for
John Wilkes Booth after the assassination of President
Abraham Lincoln, intelligence gathered in a Port Tobacco hotel (Brawner Hotel) (conspirator
George Atzerodt lived in town) established the assassin had fled with his companion Herold into Virginia, where they were ultimately located and Herold surrendered, but Booth died during the attempted capture.
Decline Port Tobacco started declining as erosion from excessive agricultural use and poor soil conservation caused significant
siltation at the head of the
Port Tobacco River, decreasing its navigability and ultimately cutting off the town from access to
Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Larger merchant vessels were unable to use the former seaport; as a result, commercial activity at the port had dwindled by the time of the Civil War. The decline was exacerbated by the completion in 1873 of a nearby
Baltimore and Potomac Railroad line to Pope's Creek which bypassed Port Tobacco and ran further south to another port directly on the Potomac River. A small portion of the town's square incorporated in 1888 as Port Tobacco Village, a move that may have signaled an effort by the community to reverse its decline, but new communities eventually sprang up along the railway and prospered, including the town of
La Plata which succeeded Port Tobacco as the county seat in 1895. ==Reconstruction==