Oxon Hill in Prince George's County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Salubria Changed the Future of the Potomac Valley

By Richard E. Miller, June 24, 2014

1. Salubria Changed the Future of the Potomac Valley Marker

Inscription. 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

By Richard E. Miller, June 24, 2014

2. Salubria Changed the Future of the Potomac Valley Marker

-in the Salubria Memorial Garden

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

Erected 2014 by Tanger Outlets: Experience Salubria.

Location. 38° 47.58′ N, 77° 0.217′ W. Marker is in Oxon Hill, Maryland, in Prince George's County. Marker can be reached from Oxon Hill Rd. (Maryland Route 414) south of Tanger Blvd., on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6800 Oxon Hill Road, Oxon Hill MD 20745, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Judah and Resistance (here, next to this marker); Slavery in the Potomac Valley (a

"The Butler House": early free-Black homestead, northwest of Oxon Hill Farm Road image. Click for full size.

By Richard E. Miller, June 5, 2014

3. "The Butler House": early free-Black homestead, northwest of Oxon Hill Farm Road

- presently overgrown with foliage and seemingly abandoned.

few steps from this marker); Dr. John H. Bayne: A Leader In His Community (a few steps from this marker); Emancipation in Maryland (within shouting distance of this marker); Dr. John H. Bayne of Salubria “Prince of Horticulture” (within shouting distance of this marker); Front Door to Maryland History (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); John Hanson (about 700 feet away); "Salubria" (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oxon Hill.

Also see . . . The Butler House: Oxon Hill, MD. - early African American homestead - National Register of Historic Places, 2005 (Submitted on July 18, 2014, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)

Categories. • African Americans • Agriculture • Notable Places • Settlements & Settlers •

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on July 17, 2014, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 239 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 17, 2014, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 3. submitted on July 18, 2014, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.