The county seat was then moved from Charles Town, on the banks of the Patuxent, to Upper Marlborough. In 1721, a courthouse was constructed in the town. Farms, many of which raised tobacco, dominated the surrounding areas. The town blossomed into an agricultural, social, and political hot spot. Upper was added to distinguish the town from the community of Marlboro (now known as Lower Marlboro) in Calvert County.Įarly in its life, when the western branch of the Patuxent River was still navigable, the town served as a port town for tobacco ships. In 1744, the new survey was approved and the town was given a new name, Upper Marlborough. Residents of the area were not happy with Greenfield's initial layout and petitioned the General Assembly to have the town replatted. Earliest plans showed the town being laid out in a grid pattern with an L shape. Streets, alleys, a meetinghouse, lots for small businesses, and 100 lots to be used for homes were laid out. It was declared that the town would be constructed, 'at the upper landing on the Western Branch, commonly called Colonel Belt's landing.' County surveyor Thomas Truman Greenfield conducted a survey of 100 acres (0.40 km2) of the three estates from which the town would be formed. In 1706, Marlborough Town was established as a port town by the Act for the Advancement of Trade and Erecting Ports and Towns. The home may have been the birthplace of Daniel Carroll, a signer of the US Constitution, and his brother, John Carroll, the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in America. It was owned by the Darnall and Carroll families. The house can still be found across from the present-day County Administration Building on Gov. The land, which was to become the town, was part of several estates known as Grove Landing, Meadows, and Darnall's Chance, owned by the Brooke, Beall, and Darnall families, respectively.ĭarnall's Chance, also known as the Buck House, was built between 16. It was named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, an ancestor of Winston Churchill. The area of Upper Marlboro was first settled around 1695.

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