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Who Lived Here?
The
majority of people living here in the 1750s on what was
Maryland’s northwestern frontier were descendants of
settlers from England and Scotland. Most property was
owned by speculators who
had purchased land patents from the
Lords Baltimore and then lured tenants or purchased slaves
who did the actual farming of tobacco and other crops. Some
tenants, including those who had been indentured servants,
were able to eventually buy their own land. Farms were
generally small, and the typical planter’s house was a one
or two-room cabin with a sharply pitched roof extended to
cover a narrow front porch. Homes were made of logs and
sometimes covered by planks. Tobacco was not only the cash
crop; it often served in place of cash.
Although the official currency was English
shillings and
pounds, tax assessments were in pounds of tobacco.
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