National Colonial Farm and Colonists
National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park
The National Colonial Farm, an outdoor living history museum, was established by the Accokeek Foundation in 1958. The farm depicts life for an ordinary tobacco planting family in Prince George’s County in the 1770s. Historic sites like George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon, represent what many believe life was like in the colonial period. However, large plantations were far from the norm. Very few colonists enjoyed such luxury. The majority were poorer planters, tenant farmers, indentured servants, and slaves.
Structures located within the colonial site are open to the public and include a circa 1770 farm dwelling, an 18th century tobacco barn, a smokehouse, and an out-kitchen. The kitchen garden features 18th century varieties of herbs, flowers, and vegetables. Historic varieties of field crops such as “Orinoco” tobacco, “Virginia Gourdseed” corn, and “Red May” wheat are cultivated on a seasonal basis and are the source for much of the farm’s heirloom seed stock. The National Colonial Farm is a recognized leader in the field of historic plant preservation.
The Piscataway People and their Homeland
Piscataway Park is at the heart of the Piscataway world. With its ample natural resources, this land has been home to Native American people for more than 400 generations. Today it remains the cherished homeland of the Piscataway people of Southern Maryland.
The Piscataway people are alive and well. Like other modern Americans, many Piscataways have moved to far-flung places, but the heaviest concentration is still in Charles, Prince George’s, and St. Mary’s counties, particularly in La Plata and Brandywine. The Piscataway community has been growing in size since the nineteenth century. It is tied together by a common culture, by neighborhood connections in Southern Maryland, through lines of kinship extending to all Piscataway people, and by several tribal organizations.
On January 9, 2012, Governor Martin O’Malley signed two executive orders, formally giving state recognition to the Piscataway Indian Nation and the Piscataway Conoy Confederacy and Sub-tribes and the Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians. Presently, the Piscataway people have no federal recognition and no formal reservation.
The Accokeek Foundation is committed to working in partnership with the Piscataway people and the National Park Service to fully integrate the Native American past, present, and future into its exhibits and programs. It is also committed to drawing upon Piscataway values in its stewardship of the land and in its community relations.
Publications about Piscataway Indians!
The Accokeek Foundation has expanded interpretation of Native American history and culture with several publications about Piscataway Indians. As steward of this unique, historically-significant site in Piscataway Park, the Accokeek Foundation seeks to deepen the public’s appreciation of the ancestral presence of Piscataway Indians in the area, as well as contemporary Piscataways’ commitment to preserve and share its culture. A brochure, a poster for children, a poster for general audiences, and a bookmark have been developed with guidance from Native American scholars and support from the National Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network.
Limited quantities of these publications are available for free to the public at the Museum Gift Shop and Visitor Center.
