Early History of the Area

Originally, the land at Marshall Hall was settled by a tribe of Native Americans, called the Conoy, who spoke Algonquian and lived in permanent villages, each having a chief, or “Tayac.” High chiefs were called “Emperor” by the colonists, as was the chief that lived on Piscataway Creek at Moyaone. Before the arrival of the English, the Emperor lived in a stockade village that contained as many as 30 dwellings. In 1639, five years after the initial landing of the English in Maryland, Governor Leonard Calvert allowed the Jesuits to establish missions with the Indians. One of the four initial missions was led by Father Andrew White who converted the Emperor of the Piscataway. From this point on, the Piscataway by-in-large lived peaceably with the colonists

Soon colonists began settling along the Potomac in the vacant lands between Piscataway villages. The first plantations were near St. Mary’s City, but the natural tendency was to follow the shore of the Potomac River. In 1662, minor disputes between the settlers and the Native Americans over land use caused William Calvert to patent Calvert Manor (renamed Piscataway) on the south shore of Piscataway Creek as a reservation. This action was taken just in time because in 1663, Randall Hanson, a lieutenant of the Charles County militia, obtained two patents named Hansonton and Charley. These patents were on the Potomac adjacent to Calvert Manor and extended south to the present day Marshall Hall.

The Piscataway became allies with the colonial government of Maryland and were helpful during the 1642-52 wars with the Susquehannocks and the during the Seneca raids from 1664-66. The wars escalated until there was a joining of the Seneca-Susquehannocks. Randall Hanson’s plantation was attacked in 1675 and several members of his family and household killed. Continued raids of the combined tribes in 1680 on their fort caused the Piscataway to flee to Zachia Swamp in southern Charles Co. In 1682 Maryland negotiated peace with the Seneca, and again in 1685, this time including the Piscataway in the treaty. This was the end of the so-called “Indian Wars” in southern Maryland.

Still, the land at the center of the Marshall Hall estate was not patented for many years. There were difficulties locating the boundaries of Calvert Manor, with the scattering of Native Americans who had claim rights, and many patents were based on locating boundary “landmark trees” from almost sixty years earlier. In resurveying, some patents previously thought contiguous were found to be separated by vacant land, and this is how Thomas Marshall was able to patent a 66-acre tract of land on the Potomac south of patent Charley, as late as 1728.

First Marshalls of Maryland

Thomas Marshall was not a first son or the first of his line in the colony of Maryland. His father died when he was 4 years old leaving his older brother William 410 acres, and Barbara, Thomas, and Richard each an inheritance of 100 acres on the Wicomoco River in Charles Co. This land was once part of a much larger tract patented in 1651 as “Marshall” by his grandfather William Marshall, an emigrant from England; who, before his death in 1673, had accumulated 1,870 acres.

Thomas may have been raised on the Wicomoco land, but he also had several ties to people in the vicinity of his future Potomac tract. His mother, Elizabeth Hanson Marshall, was the daughter of Randall Hanson who had patented “Hansonton” and “Charley.” On November 18, 1696 Randall Hanson sold John Fendall and, Thomas’s uncle, Joshua Marshall 500 acres of Hansonton and 360 acres of Charley. Under a deed of partition dated November 24, 1696 Fendall kept the Hansonton section and Marshall kept Charley. This was followed on September 11, 1700 by a deed of confirmation signed by John Ackatamaka (Ackelahama on DAR historical marker), described therein as “Emperor of the Piscataway,” consenting to the deed transfer from Hanson to Fendall and Marshall. This may have been a requirement during the resurveying effort, following the peace treaty with the Piscataway. It is probably this deed that later contributed to the persistent legend that Marshall Hall land was granted to the Marshalls by the Piscataway.

In 1698, soon after the death of Thomas’s father (William Marshall II) his mother Elizabeth married John Fendall. It is quite possible that at that time William III, Barbara, Thomas, and infant Richard moved to Hansonton on the Potomac. It is known that when Uncle Joshua died in 1702 without heir, Fendall served as executor of the Charley property for William Marshall III.

Mistakes Happen

With newfound peace in the area, patent claims 60 years earlier by men such as Randall Hanson were finally being developed. James Stoddert, a county surveyor, was first on the scene in the new wave of land speculation to claim pieces others had overlooked. When Stoddard died in 1726, Thomas Marshall married Elizabeth Bishop Stoddert that September. On January 7, 1727 Thomas applied for a survey of “Mistake.” I’d wager there was no mistake about his marriage and the filing of this patent! By patenting “Mistake” in 1728, Thomas laid the foundation for the development of the estate that would eventually become Marshall Hall. He proceeded to build a mansion on the bank of the Potomac, east of the “Greenwich” tract patented by Randall Brandt.

The house was started around 1730, but there are no specific records to confirm its date of construction. Thomas Marshall married the widow Stoddert when he was 31 years old, and may have owned a home before their marriage. Marshall did own other land and Stoddert had a dower claim of life use of one-third of Southampton Plantation. By custom, she could have resided there with her Stoddert children and new husband as long as she wanted.

Thomas was a justice of the peace of Prince George’s Co. from 1737 to 1748, when the boundary between Charles and Prince George’s moved and he became a legal resident of Charles Co. Records indicate that in large, the Marshalls were only involved in politics at the county level. In colonial society, however, this office was powerful and prestigious. Justices, appointed by the governor, ran the county government, decided tax rates, hired sheriffs, and allocated funds. They sat in courts of law deciding local land disputes and registering deeds.

By 1851, Marshall Hall was put up for auction. John Augustine Washington of Mount Vernon bought the property, described then as 365 acres. John Augustine was the great-grandson of John Augustine, brother of George Washington. He was the last Washington to own and live in Mount Vernon, selling it in 1858 to the “Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union.” Washington owned Marshall Hall for 8 years, selling it in 1859 - a year after Mount Vernon. Later, he fought in the Civil War as an aide-de-camp to General Robert E. Lee and was killed on reconnaissance in 1861.

In 1889 it was sold to the Mount Vernon and Marshall Hall Steamboat Company. The steamboat “Charles Macalester” “The greatest scenic short-river trip in the world” (ref: Mrs. Kendall-Lowther) left twice a day and midsummer evenings from Washington to Mount Vernon and Marshall Hall. Marshall Hall became an area attraction with the construction of a small Victorian amusement park. From the beginning of the park’s history, jousting tournaments took place each year as well as the crowning of a local beauty - the predecessor of today’s Maryland Renaissance Fair.

In 1954, leases of “Marshall Hall Park, Inc.” were made to the Wilson Excursion Line. Resident manager, Lorenzo Addison, said the park’s biggest competition has always been with Mt. Vernon. In sharp contrast to the rest of the park was the peak-roofed, shingled mansion, where Addison lived in cool summer comfort behind 20-inch thick walls. “When I first came here (in 1933) there was talk of restoring Marshall Hall,” he said, “but they decided that a dead president pulls too many people to Mt. Vernon and dropped the idea.” In 1958, a group of investors known as “Pot O’ Gold, Inc.” built a concession area that included: a snack bar, cocktail bar, and a building named “Happyland” containing 185 slot machines. At that time, Charles Co. was the only jurisdiction close to the District that allowed gambling. Many children's amusements existed: a swimming pool, ice-rink, roller coaster, ferris wheel, (c. 1905) carousel house with merry-go-round, shooting gallery, “frontier” railroad, and many other “kiddie” rides and arcades.

As new real estate development along the Potomac became visible from Mount Vernon, lobbying by private citizens and organizations like the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association occurred. As a result, in 1961, Public Law 87-362 was enacted, protecting the historic setting of Mount Vernon against commercial and industrial development. P. L. 87-362 designated Piscataway Park as a scenic overview for the Mount Vernon property. This law excluded Marshall Hall, but helped start the preservation movement for historic properties in Charles Co.

In 1966 the property was sold to Marshall Hall Development Corporation. Many of the late 19th century park structures stood until the mid-20th century when; in turn, along with most of the 18th century farm buildings, they were demolished to make way for a modern amusement park. Such was the fate of the large brick stable and carriage house, razed that year to make room for a cement picnic pavilion.

In 1969, Marshall Hall Amusement Park was sold to Joseph Goldstein (brother of Maryland comptroller, Louis Goldstein) and Star Enterprises. Goldstein had big plans to turn Marshall Hall into Disney-like park called “Spirit of America.” To this effort he started cutting trees along the Potomac shoreline, exposing the roller-coaster to view at Mt. Vernon. In October 1974 the US Government authorized the National Park Service to purchase 446 acres at Marshall Hall and an additional 179 acres, located at Ft. Washington Marina from Joseph Goldstein. Public Law 93-444 added 837 acres to Piscataway Park, including Marshall Hall Amusement Park and other adjacent Charles Co. land. On October 21, 1976 President Ford authorized the takeover, by signing a bill to appropriate 4.9 million dollars. An article in the Washington News said that the future of Marshall Hall involved a 10-year dispute with Joseph Goldstein who had been paid $900,000 by the US Government in 1972 for a promise not to further develop his land. The 1976 bill set January 1, 1980 as the phase-out date for Marshall Hall Amusement Park.

The Government Watch

On Friday night, October 17, 1981 - after 1 a.m., “the 256-year-old plantation house across the Potomac from Mount Vernon ... was totally destroyed in a fire deemed arson by State fire marshals.” The next days’ Washington Post article went on to say Marshall Hall was considered one of Maryland’s finest early colonial houses and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the largest house in southern Maryland built before 1740. At the time of the fire the Park Service was just completing an architectural study and restoration plans for the house. “We were surprised to find so much of the original house still intact including early floors, mantels, and magnificent paneling hidden behind sheetrock walls, said Park Service project coordinator David Sherman.” “It’s very upsetting to those of us in historic preservation, because it was a fine building with great prospects,” said Mount Vernon resident director John Castellani. The Marshall and Washington families were very close, establishing a public ferry across the Potomac between the two estates and even allowing intermarriage among their slaves, according to Mount Vernon librarian Ellen McCallister. As always, Mount Vernon managed to get the last word...

Commercial Era

Marshall Hall remained in private hands until 1884, when it became owned by partnerships interested in commercial ventures. In 1889 it was sold to the Mount Vernon and Marshall Hall Steamboat Company. The steamboat “Charles Macalester” was christened by Mrs. Lily Macalester Laughton, regent of the “Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union” in honor of her father. It was built in 1889, in Wilmington, Delaware, expressly for the Mount Vernon traffic. “The greatest scenic short-river trip in the world” (ref: Mrs. Kendall-Lowther) left twice a day and midsummer evenings from Washington to Mount Vernon and Marshall Hall. Marshall Hall became an area attraction with the construction of a small Victorian amusement park. From the beginning of the park’s history, jousting tournaments took place each year as well as the crowning of a local beauty - the predecessor of today’s Maryland Renaissance Fair.

In 1966 the property was sold to Marshall Hall Development Corporation. Many of the late 19^th century park structures stood until the mid-20th century when; in turn, along with most of the 18^th century farm buildings, they were demolished to make way for a modern amusement park. Such was the fate of the large brick stable and carriage house, razed that year to make room for a cement picnic pavilion.