Interactive Maps
Mount Vernon to Anacostia River
Search Potomac Sites
Also Explore
| The Hudson River Guide | The Delaware River Guide |
| The Connecticut River Guide | |
Port Tobacco River
Maryland Tributary
The Port Tobacco River has been a focal point of human activity in Charles County for centuries, beginning with the Indigenous Potapaco people, whose village along its banks was noted by Captain John Smith during his 1608 exploration of the Chesapeake. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the river became the lifeblood of Port Tobacco, which grew into one of Maryland's busiest colonial ports, exporting tobacco to markets across the Atlantic and serving as the county seat. Its prosperity faded in the 19th century as upstream land clearing accelerated siltation, gradually choking the channel until oceangoing vessels could no longer reach the town. When the railroad bypassed the silting port, commercial activity collapsed, and the county seat moved to La Plata in 1895, leaving the once-thriving river town to quiet backwater status. Today, the Port Tobacco River remains a tidal tributary of the Potomac.
During the Civil War, the Port Tobacco River region became a shadowy crossroads of Confederate sympathizers, blockade runners, and secret couriers moving across the Potomac. Its isolated farms and marsh-lined tributaries offered natural cover for clandestine activity, making the area a well?known hub of the Confederate ?Secret Line? that funneled intelligence and fugitives between Maryland and Virginia. In April 1865, as Union forces scoured southern Maryland for John Wilkes Booth after Lincoln?s assassination, Port Tobacco and its river corridor became a focal point of the search. Booth?s co-conspirator Thomas Jones hid him for days in the nearby Zekiah Swamp and planned to ferry him across the Potomac using the same covert routes long tied to the river?s wartime underground.
Suggested Links
Contact Information
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
580 Taylor Ave.
Annapolis MD 21401
877-620-8DNR
Website