A historic Maryland plantation once bought for £400 by a signer of the American Declaration of Independence has survived centuries of private family ownership and a nearly fatal house fire to become a national historic site.
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plantation → buy → ownership
The Haberdeventure estate, near Port Tobacco in Charles County, Maryland, remained in the hands of Thomas Stone and his descendants for 166 years.
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estate → remain → years
Today, preserved as the Thomas Stone National Historic Site, the property offers a look at early American history and the way land was owned and passed down.
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land → preserve → history
Early land trades and survey errors
Long before American independence, the land changed hands many times.
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land → change → hands
According to historical records published by the National Park Service, a 150-acre plantation called "Habberdeventure" was first established by John Barefoot.
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plantation → accord → Barefoot
His family cleared forests and built the first farm structures.
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family → clear → structures
In 1708, John Lambert bought the property for 500 pounds of tobacco, several casks and other considerations.
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Lambert → buy → tobacco
Land records show that by 1724, Charles County resident Robert Hanson had acquired the site for 2,000 pounds of tobacco and five barrels of Indian corn.
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Hanson → show → corn
The property grew much larger in 1768 under Hanson's daughter Mary and her husband Daniel Jenifer, who was Thomas Stone's uncle.
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who → grow → daughter
According to National Park Service historical accounts, land surveys in the 18th century were often inaccurate.
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surveys → accord → century
They depended on landmarks that could disappear or change, such as a stone at the foot of a thorn bush, locust posts or witness trees.
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that → depend → bush
When Jenifer carried out a new survey in 1768, he claimed nearby areas of unclaimed land that had been created by earlier boundary errors.
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that → carry → errors
This allowed Jenifer to double the estate's size to 442 acres without paying additional fees.
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Jenifer → allow → fees
A signatory purchases Haberdeventure
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signatory → purchase → Haberdeventure
In 1770, Thomas Stone bought the 442-acre Haberdeventure property from his uncle for £400 British sterling.
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Stone → buy → sterling
Stone was a lawyer who later represented Maryland in the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
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who → represent → 1776
He expanded the farm to 1,077 acres before his death in 1787.
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He → expand → 1787
Stone built his home on the estate, creating a family home that stayed in his family for generations.
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that → build → generations
Official records from the National Park Service show that the Stone family kept ownership of the plantation for 166 years before selling the estate in 1936.
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family → show → 1936
After the property left the family, it gained federal recognition and was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1972.
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it → leave → 1972
Blaze damages the historic manor
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Blaze → damage → manor
The historic site came close to being destroyed completely on the evening of 1 January 1977.
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site → come → January
At 9:43 pm, the La Plata Fire Department received an urgent alarm reporting that the main house at Haberdeventure was on fire.
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house → receive → fire
Firefighters brought the fire under control shortly after reaching the scene.
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Firefighters → bring → scene
According to National Park Service documents, La Plata Fire Department Chief Gary Echols said at the time: "If we had arrived five minutes later the whole thing would have gone."
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thing → accord → time
An official investigation found that the fire had started accidentally, although investigators never reached a conclusive final decision about the exact cause.
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investigators → find → cause
Park docents working at the house in late 1976 said the central furnace was not working properly at the time.
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furnace → work → time
This meant people had to use open fireplaces for heat.
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people → mean → heat
Officials said an escaped ember from a fireplace or an unattended candle likely started the fire.
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ember → say → fire
After the fire, federal authorities took steps to protect the historic property permanently.
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authorities → take → property
The United States Congress designated the estate as the Thomas Stone National Historic Site in 1978.
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Congress → designate → 1978
The National Park Service bought the property in 1981 to carry out major restoration work on the fire-damaged manor and the surrounding grounds.
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Service → buy → manor
After years of preservation work, the site officially opened to the public in 1997.
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site → open → 1997
Today, the national historic site covers 328 acres, or about 70 per cent of the original 442-acre parcel Stone bought in 1770.
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Stone → cover → 1770
Visitors can use walking trails, see historic outbuildings and visit the Stone family cemetery, where the Declaration signer and his wife, Margaret, are buried.
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signer → use → cemetery
The Aporia
