Marshall Hall National Colonial Farm

Originally, the land along the Potomac Riverl was settled by a tribe of Native Americans who spoke Algonquian and lived in permanent villages and who came to be known as the Piscataway. Before the arrival of the English, Native American populations lived in stockaded villages that contained as many as 30 dwellings. After the initial landing of the English in Maryland in 1639, Jesuits established missions with the Indians.

Soon colonists began settling along the Potomac in the vacant lands between these villages. The first plantations were near St. Mary’s City, but the natural tendency was to follow the shore of the Potomac River.
The Piscataway became allies with the colonial government of Maryland and were helpful during the 1642-52 wars with the Susquehannocks and the during the Seneca raids from 1664-66. The wars escalated until there was a joining of the Seneca-Susquehannocks. In 1682 Maryland negotiated peace with the Seneca, and again in 1685, this time including the Piscataway in the treaty. This was the end of the so-called “Indian Wars” in southern Maryland.

Marshall Hall was primarily a tobacco plantation. Production of tobacco through the labor of tenant farmers and slaves was the principle source of income during the hundred years between 1750 and 1850.
Other crops grown at Marshall Hall were wheat and corn.

In the early part of the 1900s, Marshall Hall was the site of an amusement park, and people from Washington would visit by means of a steamer. In the 1950s, the plantation burned down. There are presently reconstruction efforts going on, but all that remain of the manor house are freestanding walls.

Marshall Hall has a public boat ramp and a small beach. It is a good place to launch from to visit Mt. Vernon and the National Colonial Farm.

The National Colonial Farm is a middle-class farm and outdoor living history museum dating to 1775. The site features period buildings, gardens and heritage animal breeds. Tours of the farm are led by interpreters who bring the farm's history to life. Weekend demonstrations of colonial life are also offered throughout most of the year. The farm is managed by the Acokeek Foundation, a non-profit organization that has a special arrangement with the National Park Service.

The modern-day organic Ecosystem farm demonstrates that by adapting farming practices to the natural constraints of the environment, it is viable to produce a sustainable harvest of vegetables in an ecologically sound manner. The farm staff conducts research to improve soil quality, irrigation and seed selection, sells vegetables through a special program, and provides apprenticeships and educational opportunities for students, farmers and consumers.
The Foundation maintains a variety of other attractions which highlight the innate beauty of Piscataway Park. From woodland trails to a public fishing pier to its Native Tree Arboretum, there are endless opportunities for visitors to connect to the land around them. The Colonial Farm, the Ecosystem Farm, and Piscataway Park The Farm also has a soft landing for kayaks.

The National Colonial Farm is a Chesapeake Gateway Network site. For more information, click on the following: www.acokeek.org