Evening star., 1927-05-22


4 \ which hangs conspicuously in
every business office in the
county seat. The picture represents
G. dozen or more relocated gentlemen
gathered on their mounts before An
imposing old manor house. with their
hoInds swarming about. ready for
) Tho fox chase. 1t is captioned: Cool
times in old Charles County
This picture is symbolic. IT may.
or may not. he entirely accurate from
Tho. standpoint Of the historian. But it
represents wealth of historical color
which has vanished like an Autumn
sunset over the swamp lands. leaving
only fading streaks OF pink above the
horizon.
Charles County has a picturesque
past, but it has cut itself away quite
CompIetelv from its heritage and
legend. 4 new civilization has super
seded the old. a few miles from
thriving villages. jazZy with garages
and soda fountains. are buried cities
awaiting these 20 years the shovel OF
the archeologist. Here the philosopher
can find historic evolution In nut
shell.
Take this town Of La Plata--which
got tragically on the front pages OF
newspapers last Fall when a tornado
crushed out several child lives. Here
is the capital of a countryside where
: was established one of the oldest civil.
izations on the North American CONT.
nent. But the county seat has not
the slightest trace of antiquity about
il. II is, in fact, a town in its knee
breeches. with little more than a
quarter of century of existence to its
credit. There are just such towns in
Idaho and Montana.
The same is true OF Waldorf and
1Iughesville. They are new towns. not
old enough to have acquired person
ality. The cartoonist who tried to
represent La Plata by human figure
as Mr.. Bergman frequently repre-
sents Washington with the figure of n
Colonial gentleman-would have a
difficult task. Mr.. Berryman's Co.
lcnial gentleman still walks the
streets of old Washington, a haze.
hearty phantom in the Spring moon
light. But the most artful of ghost
chasers couldn't find a spook in
Hughesville.
The old town of fox hunters, lynch
ings and stately cotillions have van
ished almost as completely as Nineveh
but one must putter about among
the old brick piles to find the Charles
County of the Revolution, of 1912 and
of 1861.
1t is a trifie patheti>. all this old
glory going TO waste; Charles County
today is a land of broad and fertile
farms. Its villages are villages of
progressive business men,. But in Its
borders the Sdead.spast has almost
completely buried its dead.
The county was organized In 1854.
The origin Of its name Is doubtful.
This years. Maryland Manual. issued
by the secretary of state, says that
it was named for Charles Calvert. the
third Lord Baltimore, son Of that
Cecil Calvert who was the real colo
nizer of Maryland This Charles Cal
vert was the proprietor of the Mary.
land palatinate for 80 years. and for
two years of this time acted as gov.
ernor in person, when he lived at tie
now vanished city Of St. Marys.
But the explanation is rather doubt.
full. John Thomas Scharf's History
of Maryland" the standard authority,
says the county was named as mark
of loyalty to Charles the Second. then
in exile in France. who ascended to
the throne Of England in 1850
Charles Calvert was small boy at
tn time. But the Colonial Assembly
hardly would have dared thus to honor
banished pretender.
Symbolic County History.
The county seat was established al
Port Tobacco. or Portopacco, on the
Port Tobacco River. about five miles
from he Potomac. The story Of Por'
Tobacco Is symbolic of the history Of
Charles County. 1t once was the scene
of grandeur and glory. Today IA
white geese waddle over piles Of 'icl
half buried in grassy ooze. A half
dozen ancient houses stand at the foo
OF the clifflike specters, with mossy
brick sidewalks. sagging roofs and
crazy chimneys. The courthouse
where the most famous and eloquen
of American lawyers wrangled; tn,
taverns. where gentlemen sat late a
p '-er; the jail, where lynchlng mob:
gathered-there is hardly a trace left
Even the bricks have disappeared.
little Baptist chapel stands on tht
courthouse site. A one-room schoo
for colored children is the only public
building left. There are now six fami
lies living in the village.
The harbor of Colonial days is van
ished. Cows splash and nibble wher'
once the white-sailed ships came Il
and We're loaded with tobacco hogs
heads by singing slaves. The eel
has been filled in with soil washet
down from the deforeSted hills.
An old man, carrying bucket o
water. stood the other day by the Bap
tist chapel.
You know" he said, 81 used to b.
deputy sheriff here in the days wheI
Port Tobacco was Port Tobacco. w,
had some stirring times then. Righ
over there was the Jail. ] remenlL =
we had murderer in there once AM
there was a lot OF talk Of lynchin,
him.
"Some of the crowd came to me an,
said: Now, you just lay low tonight
We amt going TO hurt you. but we'r
going 10 get that - / went to t..
commissioners and told them they
have to have a half-doZen men wit
shotguns TO guard the fellow. The
didn't want to so to the expense. a.
/ didn't say any more.
"But that night the mob just locke
in on me and then took the fello'
and hung him from the bridge owe
there oh. yes, he put up a goo
fight, but it warn't no use. That
the kind of times we used to have i
Port Tobacco before they burned dow
the courthouse and then moved it u
to La Plata.
1--WE kept on living here. I writ
ghost stories, you know. oh, yes, S
IN all night pushing the pencil SOM
times. I know quite a lot abol
ghosts: used to dabble in spiritualisi
a lot once"
1t would not be surprising IL II
ghosts themselves come out of Il
old houses some nights and dictar
their stories-weird wild tales of II
charles County that used 10 be whe
Maryland was young and country ge
1lemen rode to the hounds.
Portopacco was the site OF m L
dion village when the first white me
sailed up nthe Potomac. 1t is me
toned in the diary of Capt. Jof
Q Smith. This village still was in e
istence when the Ark and Il