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nestled along the banks of the W Comico
River just 3 miles from downtown
Solsbury pton Historical Park provides a
window into 18th century Plantation life
on the Eastern Shore in addition to the
restored Colonial Plantation buildings
you can also discover 4 and 1/2 miles of
walking trails brackishwater marshes
forests open space and Scenic views of
the W Comico River also available are
picnic areas with grills fishing ponds
public restrooms and a nature center the
900 acre Plantation known as pton Manor
was purchased by Isaac handy and his
wife an theil in
1726 50 years before the United States
became a nation they thereupon began
building the now restored Manor House
known as pton Hall which was completed
in 1741 with the skills and labor of
approximately 20 African slaves the
handy family grew tobacco for export to
England as well as a variety of food
crops for their own cons consumption and
for shipping to markets up and down the
Eastern Seaboard they also operated a
lumber mill maintained fruit orchards
made cider and Brandy and mil grain
Additionally the handies were part
owners of several ships which were used
to transport the plantations bounty to
far away markets throughout the 1700s
tobacco was the plantation's primary
cash crop the dried tobacco was packed
into large barrels known as Hogs heads
which were rolled down to Mulberry
Landing War DF at the wat's edge over
what was known then as the Rolling Road
the Hogs heads of tobacco and other
Plantation products were then loaded
onto scows and moved to ships anchored
in deeper water for transport to their
destinations the driveway used to enter
the park was once part of that Rolling
Road and at low tide you may be able to
see remnants of the malberry landing
Warf which was built in
1746 and is the oldest documented
bulkhead WARF in the United States by
the 20th century the manor house pton
Hall had fallen into disrepair and by
the 1960s had become uninhabitable but
in 1963 the decaying buildings were
transferred to the pton hall Foundation
along with 262 Acres of the plantation's
original acreage after doing meticulous
research the pton hall Foundation
restored the manor house to its original
condition right down to the paint colors
and Furnishings pton Historical Park is
is open all year From Dawn till Dusk the
manor house is open to the public on the
1 and third Sundays of each month from
May through October between the hours of
1 and 300 p.m. Private Tours can also be
arranged and several public events and
festivals take place at the park from
Spring through fall for more information
visit the W Comico County recreation
parks and tourism website or pton Hall
foundation.com
