Salubria Changed the Future of the Potomac Valley

Salubria Changed the Future of the Potomac Valley. . The nature of agriculture along the Potomac changed thanks to the techniques Dr. John H. Bayne used to produce fresh fruit and vegetables for the nation’s capital. Bayne ceased fighting for Maryland slaveholders to be compensated for emancipation, but he continued to serve the public. He passed away in 1870, leaving his property to his wife and children, and his legacy to the people he served. . . Maryland emancipation allowed African-descended people to live independently. Some, like Benjamin Addison, a newly freed man, moved with his free wife, Louisa Magruder, and their six children to Massachusetts. Others, like Augustus and Linly Berry and their children, remained in the Potomac Valley, forming communities such as Chapel Hill. They worked mostly as tenant farmers or servants. They worshiped openly at St. John’s Episcopal Church Broad Creek, or free Blacks established new congregations in the area. They married legally, learned to read and write, attended school, bought land, and voted. . . Photo captions: . . lower left: The ruins of “Want Water” mansion (1698-1700) still stand along the Potomac River. They are the Washington area’s oldest historic structure. From the ancient town of Broad Creek, Maryland, “Want Water” witnessed new towns and new peoples emerge in Alexandria, Georgetown and, today, Washington, DC. . Courtesy of the U.S. Park Service . . upper left middle: ”Next to Salubria stands the ‘Butler House’, a farm owned by free Blacks in the early 1850s. It is still owned by the family today.” . Courtesy of Washington Post. . . “Cows similar to those bred by colonial settlers are presented as a public attraction at the famed Accokeek Foundation along the Potomac” . Courtesy of Accokeek Foundation . . lower right: “Schools for the children of freed slaves included one at the African American community of Chapel Hill in Prince George’s Potomac Valley.” . Courtesy of the Library of Congress