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Learn About Port Tobacco, Maryland
Port Tobacco is a town in located in Charles County. It is officially known as Port Tobacco Village. Port Tobacco the smallest incorporated town in Maryland. It shares a border with the Town of La Plata to the east. Located to the north is the community of Pomfret. Port Tobacco shares a border with the community of Welcome to the south. Located to the east is the community of Ironsides and the community of Indian Head. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.16 square miles and all of it is land.
The area around Port Tobacco was historically the territory of Algonquian-speaking peoples, especially the Potapoco and the more dominant Piscataway. It was settled by the English in the 17th century and established in 1727, the town 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. The town declined rapidly after river traffic was cut off by the build-up of silt in the river. In addition, the town was bypassed by the railroad. Port Tobacco was incorporated in 1888, but in 1895 the county seat was moved to La Plata.
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.
Since the late 20th century, the former courthouse from 1819 had been renovated for use as a historical museum. In 2007 a consortium started the Port Tobacco Archeology Project. It is 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.”