Evening star., 1948-04-19
: By John M. Kouffmonn

approximately 150 residents OF
Charles County and Washington
have united to restore historic Port
Tobacco to it's former glory.
The group. which has been in
corporated as the Society for the
Restoration of Port Tobacco, doesn't
want museum" town and tourist
center, however. Its aim is thriv-
ing community whose homes would
be built along 18th century lines
by persons living there.
Visitors will hear all about it If
they stop at the old town square
Sunday. The society is giving an
open-air luncheon in conjunction
with a tour that day of old man.
sions of Charles County, part of the
11th annual Maryland House and
Garden Pilgrimage which will con-
tinue in Maryland until May 3.
Situated about five miles from La
Plata near the mouth of Port To-
bacco Creek, the old town lies in a
small green valley surrounded by
steep wooded hills. Most of the area
about 40 miles from Washington. is
well-cultivated farm land, and old
manor houses of three centuries
ago still stand on the hills.
Plans Are Outlined.
Robert r. Barbour, who IS restor-
ing his fanily's old home in the
town, outlined some of the plans
the restoration group is considering,
He pointed out, however, that moth
ing is definite yet, for the group
has just completed its organization.
Mr.. Barbour, an attorney, is histor-
ian of the society. The president is
H. Holland Hawkins of La Plata.
Other members include the owners
of several of the large estates in
the area.
Three lines of strategy are before
the society in its efforts to restore
the town.
The first is to seek funds to re-
build the courthouse, which dates
from 1919. This, Mr.. Barbour ex-
planned. could be used as a county
museum and headquarters for an
historical society as well as for his
group. He said Charles County
has no historical society yet.
Plans for the two wings of the
courthouse still exist-in fact one
of them was remodeled into a
Baptist chapel that still stands.
However, the society can only ap-
proximate the design OF the center
portion of the structure. A search
is being made for an old photo
graph of it.
Would Rebuild Hotel.
A second proposal Is to rebuild
the 25-room st. Charles Hotel. This
could be done by private corpora
ton, Mr.. Barbour said, and would
be profitable if made show place
and famous for its cooking. The
plans include building apartments
in place of its hotel bedrooms.
A third plan is for the society to
rebuild one of the old homes as an
example of what can be done there
A stately old Port Tobacco house
with its enormous chimneys and
classic lines would interest many
Mr.. Barbour feels.
The fact that almost all of the
old buildings are gone does moi
bother the society. One Of its
principal assets is a set of 2(
sketches and a map made of the
town in 1894 from memory by Mr.
Barbour's father, r. G. Barbour.
Members of the society do moi
think there is any danger that the
Port Tobacco restoration movement
may turn into a real estate boom
The whole operation would be on 9
small scale, they said. -
Mansions in Area.
The area is studded with large
historic mansions, including Habre
de Venture, the estate of Thomas
Stone, signer Of the Declaration OF
Independence. Habre de Venture Is
owned by Col. Peter Vischer, first
vice president of the society.
Also nearby are Rose Hill. where
DR.. Gustavus Brown conducted one
of the first medical schools IN the
country; La Grange. built by DR.
John Craik, Washington's personal
physician during the Revolution