Locals and area visitors this weekend celebrated 300 years of Upper Marlboro history with the help of Colonial-era re-enactors, live music, barbecue and a little sunshine.
“This is interesting — and close by,” Ron Kozura, a Bowie resident of 40 years, said Saturday. “It’s very nice and they’ve done a lot of work. I like historical things and always have.”
The Town of Upper Marlboro and the Upper Marlboro Rotary Club helped sponsor the event that celebrated the 1706 founding of the Prince George’s County seat.
“Upper Marlboro used to be, in Colonial times, one of the major towns of the East Coast,” said John Keiffer, a town commissioner. “It’s important to highlight different parts of its heritage, and today’s celebration focuses on the Colonial times up to the Civil War era.”
On the Darnall’s Chance House Museum grounds, visitors bumpedinto actors portraying famous historical figures, including the town’s namesake, the Duke of Marlboro, and George and Martha Washington, who often visited the town.
Preserving history is a lifelong work for some, such as museum director Susan Reidy, who works to connect all ages to Upper Marlboro’s heritage.
Reidy said they “still struggle” with getting the community involved.
“It’s important what we do,” she said. “Seeing how this place was 200 years ago and then bringing that alive today is something you can’t get from a history book.”
Other tricentennial celebrations for Upper Marlboro include an art festival in July, a town symposium in August, lighting holiday trees in December, and the publication of “Marlboro: 300 Years of Living History” at the end of the year.
Getting on the map
» 1706: Upper Marlboro founded, named in honor of John Churchill, Duke of Marlboro
» 1742: Darnall’s Chance built by wealthy merchant James Wardrop in the bustling 18th-century port town
» 1752: First opera with orchestra in America is performed in Upper Marlboro
» 1757: Ben Franklin, then the deputy postmaster of North American Colonies, lists Upper Marlboro as a scheduled stop along the main mail route from Annapolis to St. Mary’s County
