Hollywood in St. Mary's County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Tobacco's Impact

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, January 6, 2013

1. Tobacco's Impact Marker

Inscription. Tobacco farming dramatically changed Southern Maryland's natural environment by depleting the rich soils of nutrients. In the 18th and 19th centuries, farmers rotated fields, introduced fertilizers and guano (bat dung), and employed deeper plowing methods to maintain production levels. All these activities taxed the environment.

The laborious, 14 month farming cycle impacted the social and racial landscapes, as well. Beginning in the late 17th century plantation owners turned to African slaves to work the "the money crop." Transported across the Atlantic Ocean in deplorable conditions, these slaves were housed in spartan "cabins" here in the colonies. Sotterley's lone surviving slave cabin dates from c. 1850.

Erected by Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Agriculture. A significant historical year for this entry is 1850.

Location. 38° 22.554′ N, 76° 32.406′ W. Marker is in Hollywood, Maryland, in St. Mary's County. It can be reached from Sotterley Lane. The marker is on Sotterley Plantation along the rolling road, south of the main house. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 44300 Sotterley Lane, Hollywood MD 20636, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southern Maryland.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in the Tidewater,

and in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking

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distance of this marker: Sotterley's Slave Cabin (about 300 feet away); Middle Passage Site, Sotterley (about 400 feet away); War Hits Home (about 400 feet away); You are entering Historic Sotterley's Sacred Space / The Sankofa Bird (about 400 feet away); Sacred Space Project / Sankofa Bird (about 400 feet away); Food and Culinary Traditions at Sotterley (about 500 feet away); Remembering Ancestors at the Sotterley Plantation (about 600 feet away); Slavery at Sotterley (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hollywood.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Sotterley's Remaining Slave Cabin (was about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, January 6, 2013

2. Tobacco's Impact Marker

Rolling Hogheads on the Rolling Road image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, January 6, 2013

3. Rolling Hogheads on the Rolling Road

Hogsheads (barrels) were packed using a "prize" - a contraption that compressed the tobacco leaves.

Slave Cabins image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, January 6, 2013

4. Slave Cabins

A row of slave cabins were built along the "rolling road" - a pathway for rolling hogsheads from tobacco barns to Sotterley Creek.

An ox-cart on the rolling road image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, January 6, 2013

5. An ox-cart on the rolling road

The remaining slave cabin at Sotterley image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, January 6, 2013

6. The remaining slave cabin at Sotterley

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on January 14, 2013, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. This page has been viewed 676 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on January 14, 2013, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.