"Port Tobacco - Amazing historic village!" Port Tobacco by Ewingjr98

Port Tobacco Travel Guide: 13 reviews and 54 photos

Port Tobacco was once the second largest town in all of Maryland. It had 60-70 homes, three hotels, and numerous other businesses such as a blacksmith shop.

Later, the river filled with silt and became impassable, then the railroad was routed around this historic village. The county seat moved to La Plata and the town began to die.

Today just a few relics remain from this once-bustling town such as the Chimney House and the Catslip House. The courthouse was rebuilt and is now a museum, and archeological digs continue around town to discover the remainder some of the lost history.

The Maryland Historic Trust has a good summary of the town's history and significance.

The old well and town square

Lafayette Baker, the spymaster who killed John Wilkes Booth following the assassination of President Lincoln, said this about Port Tobacco in his memoirs: “If any place in the world is utterly given over to depravity, it is Port Tobacco. Life there reminds me, in connection with the slimy river and the adjacent swamps, of the great reptile period of the world, when iguanodons and pterodactyls, and plesiosauri ate each other.”

Around town... windmill and old foundation

This area and its individual sites can be difficult to find, so I created a Google Map showing the exact location of each of the sites I discussed in my tips. Click here to view the map and get directions to any of the sites!

Intro Updated Nov 22, 2012
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Reviews (13)

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Comments (8)

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starship Sep 4, 2012 at 10:12 AM

Excellent page! Love all the history you've been able to see and share with us here on VT!!
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irish2smiles Mar 4, 2012 at 8:10 PM

Enjoyed my time here. Always learning something new. Google maps is a wonderful tool. Thanks for your new approach & tips on such wonderful places.
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balhannah Jan 14, 2012 at 2:37 PM

Interesting page on quite a historic area!
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hunterV Aug 18, 2010 at 10:22 AM

You have good innovations I must say... Long live VT! ><><><
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BruceDunning Oct 30, 2009 at 1:40 PM

These are real surreal beauty for the area. Well presented and documented for the history. The map concept you have is good references
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Pawtuxet Oct 28, 2009 at 5:40 AM

Interesting page. We had a dig here in RI at Spring Green Farm..home of the Browns of Ivy League Brown Univ.-fascinating. Your "chimney hse" surprises me. We didn't have "end" chmnys til almost 1800. Links to maps... WOW! Lots of work!
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Nemorino Jul 17, 2009 at 8:56 AM

Fascinating tips on this (nearly) ghost town. I never knew (or had forgotten) that there was a President of the United States of America under the Articles of Confederation before the adoption of the US Constitution & the presidency of George Washington.
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Yaqui Jul 1, 2009 at 10:01 PM

Beautiful tips and some wonderful information. Thanks for stopping by so many of my pages. Much appreciated. I use the google maps a lot myself. It helps to narrow down the right location. Thanks!