Written by Kim Keck . Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Port Tobacco Village town, Maryland", "Municipalities & Population Centers - Port Tobacco", Nancy Bromley McConaty, "Restorers work to upgrade Catslide House", Maryland Scenic Byways at pp. Benedict Bridge opened across Patuxent River, connecting Charles and Calvert counties. This isthe first step to confidence in nervous disease ; and confidence, as long agoremarked, is the first step to the cure of theinsane, i have hern told most feelingly bynervous, and sometime also by insane patients, that I understood them better thananv one they had come in contact with. * * * *I return my brothers loiter on the studies imost useful to a young diplomatist, withmany thank*. Some of the dates and names are faded and illegible. Descendants of slaves and slave owners discover legacy of Marylands Sotterley Plantation, His bank card was declined. Josiah Henson (1789-1883), former Charles County slave, published his Life. But the frontier town where settlers literally kept the wolves from their doors did become a tobacco port, first on the west side of the Port Tobacco River and then, in 1727, at its present site on what was then the east shore. The rehabilitation of the George E. Rice House and outbuildings provides an important aspect of interpreting the African American history of the site; they illustrate early to mid-20th century small-scale farming, as well as the role of African Americans as landowners and tenant farmers. 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.[11][12]. The name Port Tobacco is apparently a corruption of that Indian word. It was notable for its continuous years as a working farm, owned by just four families in its long history. Finally, Christ Church, which had stood next door to the courthouse for generations, was dismantled stone by stone and hauled away by ox cart to the new county seat. Falling into disrepair after 60 years of use, it was demolished and replaced with a sandstone edifice in 1884. 11, 1850. \e.FOR RENT,(1 LY.MONT FARM, with Stock and Agrieul-tuial Implements.sep 4 at. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 2008, May 2. He personally managed the imprisonment of hundreds of Africans through three Middle Passages. The tour guides would skip over the fact that the farm had used slave labor, Briscoe said. Mallows Bay historic ship graveyard designated Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 1964, Dec. 6. By 1838, the Jesuit order owned about 300 people. "You're not going to get no land out of nobody in Port Tobacco. Courthouse completed at La Plata. A letter from a mem; her of Congress to his friends in Ohio savsI that the cheap postage reform will succeedthe present session, hut that the rates will!not be as low as the advocates of the measure desire. 'i Hill, of New Hampshire, Maj. G. Peterend George Magruder, Esqi - - Potato Rot. of this exceedingly cheap megazine was received by us early last week.The high literary reputation which thi| monthly periodical bears throughout thecountry is justly due It. Stopping at a port required organization. He was one of the first individuals of African descent to settle in the Maryland colony. In he goesdown he goes-and so on, totics qnotics.Peon Slavery in Mexico is thus describeds>y a letter writer at Eagle Pi ess, on theRio Grande:Any body of a working ckss can beold for debt in Mexico, and these peonsreceive the worst fare and hardest treatmentof any slaves on this continent. lifie personal estate of Elizabeth Latimer, late of| siid county, deceased All persons having claims; against the said deceased are hereby warned to exj hilldl the same, with the vouches thereof, to the sub| sernbor before the expiration of six months. 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. USEFULNESS OF A KNOWLEDGE OFPHRENOLOGY.The aid which phrenology affords in discriminating the true nature of nervous andmental diseases, and in enabling the physician and attendants to regulate their physical, and especially, their moral treatment,on correct, clear, consistent,and intelligibleprinciples, in very greatmuch greater, indeed* than an uninformed, though sensibleon-looker, could imagine or believe. It isdesigned for Augusta, Georgia.Corn. The supply of Corn, especially of yellow, has been very light throughout the week:Prices are steady, the sales of white being at 56 u59 cts.. and of yellow at 58 aGO cts. It is published at $11 per annum. Southern Maryland Blue Crabs began playing minor league baseball at Waldorf. Vincent Jameson, 56, who attended the one-room school when it was for blacks only, still farms an acre of tobacco in town and hangs the leaf in an old roadside barn. (Port Tobacco, Md.) K. WHITMEK.Alexandria, September I. MD 6 connects westward to Nanjemoy, while to the east, it links with US 301 in La Plata. There's very seldom any land for sale. First Charles County Fair held at Chapel Point. To-day theI quotation is 58 a 59 cts. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Not in this case.. Copway, the Indian| Chief, was present and made a speech.Mr. The English developed a small village about 1634 on the east side of the Port Tobacco tributary. Zekiah Fort established east of present-day Waldorf near Piney Branch by Gov. Zanca, Kenneth J, ed. At the time of European exploration, this coastal area along the Port Tobacco River was the territory of the Potapoco, an Algonquian-speaking tribe. Already this bane of the planter,had commenced its ravages, and their hopes'even of a moderate crop rested upon the| prospect of dry weather and a late fall.The tobacco is already 100 full of sap, andevery drop of rains lends to increase it? During the Civil War, the town was occupied by Union troops, leading to the emancipation of many local slaves after 1863. Backup records for the Venus in 1759 couldnt be found. The town's centerpiece is the towering brick courthouse. Racially motivated violence and the murders of three civil rights workers in Lowndes County, Ala., earned it the name Bloody Lowndes. The Rev. Stories that brim with optimism. Among the prose ar| tides is a brief sketch of his life. The embellish-' merits in the October No. 1896. However, there were not always enough workers. I have spent years poring over archives to illuminate the lives of those bought and sold by a prominent order of Jesuit priests. Deforestation eroded the land. John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC, escaped with accomplice David E. Herold (1842-1865), through Prince George's and Charles counties en route to Virginia. '|The Fugitive Slave Bill Passed. ,The H ouse of Representatives on Thursday j| passed the Fugitive Slave bill by a vote of!' Martin Luther King Jr.s 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery was in Lowndes County. At its height, in the late 1700s, the plantation spanned 7,000 acres. The children with Mr. Campbell are unidentified. The records and photos emerging from the archives and from the family albums of descendants are revealing fuller and richer portraits of the enslaved people who helped to build the Catholic Church. Inscription. It shows one'where reliance can be safely placed, andgives just confidence in the good of humannature, from show ing the solidity of its foundations. It was a naval port of entry and official inspection station for the hogsheads of tobacco rolled to its wharves and shipped off to the Old World. Network to Freedom research facilities are places where you can learn more about the Underground Railroad through government documents, land records, fugitive slave records, census records, genealogy files and more. This periodical presentsin its monthly visits a variety of useful matter. Charles County created by order in council. Baltimore was the second-most important port in the eighteenth-century South, after Charleston, South Carolina. 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. 110 to 75, thus carrying through the last of j| those measures embraced in the Compro- ;; mise bill of ihe Senate.| Eeitorial Convention. A new railroad bypassed the town in favor of La Plata, three miles away, and with it came pressure to move the county seat. for white; and 112 a 120cts. Port Tobacco River, at the head of the bight, has depths of 7 feet for 1.6 miles and thence 5 to 3 feet for another 1.3 miles. When theygel this side of the river, they should be free.but are often too timid and ignorant (especially the women.) inst., Mrs. ELIZABETH A. DAVIS, wuloJb ofthe late Benjamin Davis, in the 43d yearof her, age. They wanted to show that however painful, this was part of our history, said Jan Briscoe, a descendant of the last family to own slaves at Sotterley, which is in St. Marys County. When Gen. Andrew Jackson led military expeditions through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi to expel Native Americans, he was accused of being heartless. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database provides an overview of the trade. Restored Charles County Courthouse, Port Tobacco, Maryland, April 2001. Agnes Meyers portrait of 1963 D.C. was unsparing. In fact, there are several. 1863, Aug. Camp Stanton established at Benedict to recruit and train African Americans for Union Army. Brig. We always find in.this monthly something rich, and worthI reading and looking at. Theirsad, downcast air, is in strange contrast withthe ever cheerful buoyancy of the blacks ;!even their singing has the wail of death inits slow, melancholy notes.man eats up a poundHBugar, and the pleasure he has enjoyed .Handed ' but the information he gets from 1is treasured up in the mind, to behenever occasion or inclination railsA newspaper is the w isdom of ihepast ages too. "The town of Port Tobacco is kind of small, all right," Mr. Jameson said. St. Ignatius Catholic Church near Port Tobacco, oldest continuously active parish in nation. View more property details, sales history and Zestimate data on Zillow. I never saw before, except in the same placemore than a quarter of a century since, atthe hall given to Lafayette. The early immigrants to Port Tobacco were products of the religious turmoil in England. Businesses and residents followed. Sotterley Mission Statement: To preserve our historic structures and natural environment and use the powerful stories of our land, lives, and labor to bring American history to life while serving as an educational and cultural resource., Sotterley Vision Statement: To foster a better understanding of our world today by providing a living link to Americas complex history and legacy of slavery.. This was a time when slavery was . Proponents who claim it was a slave port rely solely on a listing in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database showing North Potomac as a destination. the mistakesoccurred just as naturally as effect follows !cause.Stephen Morgan. In the case of thisyoung man, charged with the robbery of \the post office at Chaptico, in St. Marys !county, the grand jury of the U. S. District 1i Court, after an examination of the testimonybefore them, made no presentment and ordered the discharge of the accused from hisrecognizances.Joint Discussion. Messrs. Clarke andLowe, the candidates for Governor, willaddress the people at Bladensburg on Tuesday, the 21th of September.i The Finances of Maryland. PORT TOBACCO PORT TOBACCO -- As a major 18th-century port and th cradle of American revolutionaries, Port Tobacco has an illustrious past that few Maryland towns can match. All rights reserved. Briscoe, the former speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates who has since died, had himself grown up in nearby Leonardtown, with its legacy of discrimination, said his daughter, Jan Briscoe. Charles County seat moved from Port Tobacco to La Plata. A small mirror is so adjusted that the raiees his shadow' in the glass, (just as Rich' ard did, and not recognising himself at firstight, thinks that some other rat is aimingfor the cheese. Four mistakes youre making with home internet. Field after field, yet unharvested, are rendered nauiseons, by the loathsome rotten crop beneaththeir surface.i Tlie Louisville Journal says the Potatot crop throughout the West is a total failure., The St. Louis Republican savs the corn crop iin that Slate will also be a failure.Edwin Forrest, the tragedian, was arrested at the Astor House, New York, on Wednesday, on the complaint of Catherine Forrest, his wife, and held to bail in the sum ofSIO,OOO to keep the peace, so far as Mrs,F. The first county seat of Charles County, it was a seaport with access to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Since then, Port Tobacco has slowly begun to resemble its former self. Just last year, Jeanne Pirtle, Sotterleys education director, discovered documentation that Sotterley was one of the ports on the Atlantic coast where enslaved people first touched land after their voyage across the ocean, meaning Sotterley had served as a site for the Middle Passage. Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland created. 5161; Amenities: Basketball Court; Volleyball Court; Categories: Recreation Centers; Recreation Facilities; Recreation Center Monthly Calendar. It sits near the Port Tobacco River, which joins the Potomac River a short distance south. Arson was suspected -- the court records had conveniently been removed and piled neatly on the lawn before the blaze began -- but "nobody was ever indicted," Mr. Barbour said. The ships usually sold directly to plantations. LEONARD MARDURV,ADMINISTRATION NOTICE.rpiHS IS TO GIVE NOTICE, That the sub-X scribcr has obtained from the Orphans Courti of Charles county, Md., letters of administration onthe personal estate of George T. Smoot, late ofj said county, deceased. Josiah Henson was an author, abolitionist, and minister. We can look on his face, painted by artist Charles Willson Peale, a painter of presidents, and by local artist James Alexander Simpson. In addition to Callums son Martin serving on the board, her daughter, Martina Callum, also served. Their deeply felt convictions were powerful influences in Maryland's history. A UNESCO Slave Route Site of Memory, it interprets In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.0% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. for goodto prime ; 105 a 110 cts. The colonists had plenty of land. The chat bench.. He can enter into conversation withthe patient intelligently, and make him feelthat he really knows his true stale. Now they donate $500 a month to the homeless. Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer (1723-1790), signer of U.S. Constitution, born near Port Tobacco. The median age in the town was 64.5 years. Port Tobacco had by that time been the Charles County seat for well over a half-century. The town was one of the oldest English-speaking communities on the East Coast of the United States. The grave and discreet Boston Advertiserthinks that if Jenny Lind is as sensible ashe is accomplished, she must, mentally atleast, say of the adoration which has beenpaid to her since her arrival into this country, as Queen Elizabeth said to the provincial authorities w ho waited upon her in oneof her journeys through the kingdom. Lord, what fool? The commissioners collect a property tax of 10 cents per $100 of assessed value to pay for mosquito-spraying and grass-cutting. Peter Hawkins at Saint Stanislaus, circa 1905. There aiej twenty-six contributors represented in this: No. you arc!j THE TIMES*PORT TOBACCO,MD .WEDNESDAY MORNING, SEP, 18,1850. Photo by Diane F. Evartt. ft. home is a 3 bed, 2.0 bath property. Because of that, the UNESCO Slave Route Project designated Sotterley as one of 31 Middle Passage arrival locations in the United States, and will hold a remembrance day Aug. 23 to mark the 400th year since enslaved people arrived in Jamestown. [Read my story about the orders pledge to raise $100 million.]. MLS # MDCH2020766 We always knew the enslaved people had come here by boat, Easterling said. I have spent nearly five years poring over 18th and 19th-century records scattered in archives, courthouses and historical societies in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Louisiana to illuminate the lives of these families. Givenlunder my hand this 10th day of September, ISSO. John Wilkes Booth and David E. Herold rowed from near Newburg across Potomac River to Virginia. Built around 1890, it continued use until 1944. 7715 Locust Pl , Port Tobacco, MD 20677-2043 is a single-family home listed for-sale at $775,000. Enter rat.. Maryland institutionalized the enslavement of Africans at the same time they were being shipped to this section of the Potomac Valley from St. Mary's City, Port Tobacco, and Virginia. Chapel Point, on the east side of Port Tobacco River 1.2 miles above the mouth, is a summer resort. and sustained with the most perfect truthand evenness in the lower scale. Md., 493 hhds. Sometimes people go two or three years and then get caught up," Mr. Wade said. Dontpresume that any animal or product youmay own, is inferior to others that will be'here, and he thus deterred front, bringingthem, as it is only by comparison that therelative merits of anything can be determiuj ed. This museum is a 94 acre remnant of a large plantation and site of slavery. Maryland Constitutional Offices & Agencies Maryland Departments The fact that Yarrows buyer traveled from a plantation on Rock Creek to Annapolis in 1752 to buy from a slave ship further suggests Georgetown was not a slave port then. Bradley, Esq., delivered an address thatdrew forth the oft-repeated plaudit* of theimmense company.Among the distinguished persons present,in addition to those already named, we ob, served Judge Dunlop, F. P. Blair, Esq., Hon. "So far we haven't sold anybody's property on the courthouse steps.". [9] In 2007 the Port Tobacco Archeological Project began as a partnership among the Archaeological Society of Maryland, the Society for the Restoration of Port Tobacco, the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium, Preservation Maryland, and Preserve America. Now add. In August 2019, The New York Times Magazine launchedthe 1619 Project, spearheaded by Nikole Hannah-Jones. The cabin was a rarity, she told them, because it was still standing. Forced labor and the profits derived from the sales of people helped to sustain the clergy and to finance the construction and the day-to-day operations of churches and schools, including the nations first Catholic institution of higher learning, the college known today as Georgetown University. 2017 Regional Hughesville Campus, part of College of Southern Maryland, opened. The median income for a household in the town was $100,992, and the median income for a family was $102,264. 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. Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge (formerly Potomac River Toll Bridge) over Potomac River, view from Virginia, October 2010. On April 6, 1909, Peary, Henson and the rest of their team made history, becoming the first people to reach the North Pole. As of the census[28] of 2010, there were 13 people, 7 households, and 5 families residing in the town. [sen. 11ts.lI I.. Co.! Slavery & Servitude in Early Lancaster County. He begged them to allow him to buy himself and his wife out of bondage. The Prince William, William & Betty, Liverpool Merchant and Thomas stopped first on the York River or South Potomac, presumably at plantations, and the George was confiscated in the lower Potomac, according to supporting records. 109, Nassau street, NewYork;Graham's Magazine. Thomas Stone (1743-1787), signer of Declaration of Independence, born at "Poynton Manor.". Anyone can read what you share. There is no indication that he received a response. This is Port Tobacco. The National Park Service created theNational Underground Railroad Network to Freedomto commemorate the places and people who shaped the journey to freedom. Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. There are so many more stories than these, both of triumph and of pain, of subjugation and of perseverance. 1729, Aug. 8. It was a tobacco farm until the mid-20th century, and after that a sheep and hay farm, as well as a country retreat for the wealthy families that owned it. John Hanson (1715-1783) served as first President of the United States in Congress Assembled elected following ratification of Articles of Confederation. Of particular note are the several children of Henny and Billy, and Kate and Sam. Mathias was elected to and served in the 1642 legislative assembly of freemen. British troops, under Maj. Gen. Robert Ross, disembarked at Benedict for attack on Washington, DC. British customs district at St. Marys, Md. It has a word of encouragement forall who desire improvement,from the teacher and the parent to the youngest pupils. Acquired by St. Marys County Government in 2000, this site has been designated as an important and significant symbol of education in St. Marys County to be preserved and interpreted within the Museum Division of the St. Marys County Department of Recreation and Parks. [24] Henry Hanos of Port Tobacco purportedly killed Sims and his dog for Sims' gold and a deed to an estate. The 2,044 sq. The potato crop of NewEngland is seriously injured by the rot.The Boston Mail says :| From every part of Massachusetts, from isections of country in Vermont, New Hampshire, and in Maine, comes the boding ervof the loss of this chief food for man. He direct-ed with remarkable clearness a conclusion Ito his memoirs. the said deceaseds estate, arc hereby warnjed to Exhibit the same to the subscriber, properlyauthenticated, before the expiration of six months,j They rtiay otherwise by law be excluded from allbenefityof said deceaseds estate.I Givr-n under my hand, Ibis 17th day of September, lfe)so, ' JOHN L. BUDD, Exer.sep 1841. Voters resisted such a move until, on a hot August night in 1892, Port Tobacco's courthouse burned to the ground. We hadheard her voice described as a throat voice,under astonishing management ; but hertones come from her chest, as sonorouslvas they do from the gigantic Marini.! > May 27, 1881 > Image 1 Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1777-1963 or use the U.S. ccaseds estate. So priests baptized the children of the enslaved, blessed their marriages and required the people they owned to attend Mass, Jesuit records show. The complex at Chapel Point has scenic views overlooking the Potomac River. ". 128-138 in internal pagination, "A History of Christ Church, Port Tobacco Parish, Established 1692", "Our History - Christ Church Port Tabacco Parish", "Once Was Not Enough: Founding and Finding Port Tobacco, Charles County", "Nixon White House Staffer, Charles Stuart, Dies at 69", "Washington stayed here, as does loyal dog's ghost", https://www.canva.com/design/DAFJUqymQlw/RnFyzM0M6VazUsTyNnVRQg/view, Web page of Port Tobacco Village, Maryland, Contact Information for Port Tobacco Village, Maryland, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Port_Tobacco_Village,_Maryland&oldid=1141145530, Archaeological sites in Charles County, Maryland, Articles using NRISref without a reference number, Articles with dead external links from May 2016, Pages using infobox settlement with possible area code list, Articles needing additional references from August 2007, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The restored one-room schoolhouse, used from 1876 to 1953, Mulberry Grove, birthplace of John Hanson, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 16:03. CIETY.We desire that you should bear in mind,that on the 23d, 24th and 25th days of October, your Society will hold its annual Ex- 1hibition and Fair, at the City of Baltimore ;;and we appeal to you, one and all, to bringthereat portions of your slock, the productsof your orchards , and your gardens. Another ratcomes along, sees the reflection of his predecessor, as well as his own,and thinks tworats are fighting fur the cheese. Because of the town's abrupt decline and silting of the river, many archeological sites were preserved, making it one of the richest areas for studying the mixed history of Native and colonial cultures, including that of enslaved Africans. Jan Briscoe said it was the first time her family had really considered its connection to slavery. Until then, it wasnt something they were willing to face or speak of, she said. The adjourned meeting of the Maryland Editorial Con- !|vention is announced to take place in the'city of Baltimore on the fourth Tuesdayi and 22J day of October next.1Interesting from Texas. The Secretary of S ate received on Friday the following Telegraphic despatch from the Co'lec-!or ai New Orleans, communicating information of a much more pacific state of thingsin Texas, than lias been rumored and anticipated : JS'ui. Explore the stories of struggle of the Southern Maryland African American community during an era of segregated education at this authentically-restored, one-room schoolhouse. Courthouse at Port Tobacco destroyed by fire. Website by Alchemi Design / Site Map, The Religious Freedom National Scenic Byway, African American Heritage Brochure & Map , Historic Burial Ground of Enslaved People on Serenity Farm, African American graveyard can be visited at Serenity Farm in Benedict, Maryland. A lot of 1500 bushelsblue stem white Wheat, of excellent quality, fromthe farm of Dr. K. S. Sleuart, of Anne Arundelcounty, was sold on Wednesday at 120 cts. In volume, strength and expression, hervoice can be compared to none other I ever1 heardit is a constant gushing of melodyflowing without an effort or impedimentt brilliant in the upper register, and managedwith an effect that baffles all description likeBoschas variations on the harppure andsonorous in the middle notes,and clear, deep,. ARTHUR I>. A light and daybeacons mark the channel. South Potomac was for ships that stopped on the Virginia side. Slavery in the Potomac Valley Marker. Yarrow was known to the respectable families of Georgetown, and, sadly, slave trader Lowndes was part of one. Network to Freedom sites are documented places where the enslaved escaped from bondage, routes they took, places where they stayed or found assistance, and sometimes places where their freedom was tried and tested. fort on the Maine. When Hanos returned to recover the treasure, he was scared away by the ghost of Blue Dog. 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. There were 7 housing units at an average density of 43.8 per square mile (16.9/km2). He wrote on LinkedIn about his dads job loss. Briscoe voted in 1964 for Marylands first Civil Rights Act, when he served in the Maryland legislature. He raised $30,000 for him. During the late 17th century, Port Tobacco became the second-largest river port in Maryland. Alex. This article was published more than1 year ago. Not until 1751 did the legislature grant the necessary charter to lay out the town and port. I heard Stef| fanoni sing it last night, but the Linds was! 1861, Oct.-1862, March. Amid the hogs and milk cows, candlesticks and chalices were 15 enslaved men, women and children. It began, as with the story of Mathias de Sousa, as a place that any person that arrived as an indentured servant, could become a free person after they had served the time of their indentureship. Both are open from April through mid-December. The per capita income for the town was $43,017. 1715, April 3. The project made a bold claim: that the experience of slavery is inextricable from American history. It still rings true. Yet the planters who reaped prosperity by clearing the Port Tobacco Valley's wooded hillsides for corn and tobacco had also sown the seeds of the port's demise.