Cream Pitcher & Sugar Bowl, Charles County

Charles County is the only county that is represented by two different pieces, a sugar bowl and a cream pitcher. Both of these pieces are aboard the USS Maryland SSBN 738, where they are displayed with two of the Garrett County candlesticks. 

Charles County was created in 1658 by an Order in Council; it is not to be confused with an earlier Charles County (1650-1653) known as Old Charles County. The current County was named for Charles Calvert (1637-1715), 3rd Lord Baltimore. The design of both pieces is quite similar, as both are decorated with cherries, strawberries and blackberries on the upper sections, while festoons of tobacco leaves separate the scenes on the lower sections. The upper sections both feature a “border of progress and innovation,” while the lower sections are each adorned with three scenes specific to the county. An eagle mounted on a blackberry bramble sits atop the lid of the sugar bowl.

Scenes (left to right, top to bottom):

The Mulberry tree has a deep connection with Maryland’s history. It has been said that Leonard Calvert, Maryland’s first governor, met under a large Mulberry tree on Church Point in St. Mary’s City with the local inhabitants, the Yaocomaco people, to acquire their land.

Despite early initiatives to make silk production profitable, Maryland lagged behind other colonies in developing the industry. The first silk factory in Maryland was not opened until 1829, after the development of a white mulberry tree that could produce two leaf growths a year, providing enough food for the silk worms.

Mulberry sprays and silk cocoons are also portrayed on the Calvert County coffee pot.

Peregrine Williamson, a jeweler from Baltimore, wanted to have a more durable writing instrument than the typical quill pen. He started testing designs in 1806 and by 1808 felt so confident in his pen he sent some as a gift to President Thomas Jefferson. In 1809, he was granted the first patent for a metallic pen and, in 1835, he was granted a second patent for an improved metallic pen. While Williamson’s original patent was lost in a fire, this depiction is based on one of his early pens held in the collection of the Maryland Center for History and Culture.

The first steel pen is also depicted on pieces from St. Mary’s, Somerset, and Wicomico counties.

This agrarian scene symbolizes the rich and fertile soil that is abundant in Charles County.

The building shown on the cream pitcher was constructed about 1790 and was used as the rectory of Trinity Parish until 1913. It was destroyed by fire in 1914.

The Cokesbury Bell came from Cokesbury College, the first Methodist college on the American continent. In 1789, when George Washington was heading to New York for his inauguration, the bell was rung in his honor as he passed by. In 1795, the tower that housed the bell was deliberately set on fire and everything was lost, except for the bell which was completely unharmed.

In 1888, the historic Cokesbury Bell was transferred to Goucher College, then in Baltimore City, and it remained with Goucher College until 1959 when it was presented to the Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. The bell is also depicted on the pieces from Somerset, Wicomico, and St. Mary’s counties.

The town of Port Tobacco was the original county seat for Charles County until 1895. The register of wills' office for the courthouse constructed between 1819-21 is depicted here. This Federal style courthouse originally consisted of a main building with two wings.

In 1892, the center block of the building was lost to a fire, but the two wings that housed the office of the register of wills and court’s clerk office remained intact. These surviving wings were appropriated for other uses.

Maker: Samuel Kirk & Sons (1815-1979)
Object: Sugar Bowl with lid, Charles County
Date: 1906
Medium: Sterling Silver
Dimensions: Overall height, 5 5/16”; Overall width: 6 7/8”
Accession number: MSA SC 1545-0940

After twelve years of design and development, the first telegraph message in the United States was transmitted on above ground poles between Washington D.C. and Baltimore on May 23, 1844. Samuel F.B. Morse sent the message "What hath God wrought” to his partner Alfred Vail.

The original transmitting and receiving sets are now at the Smithsonian Institute and are also depicted on the pieces from Baltimore City and Baltimore, Calvert, St. Mary’s, Somerset, and Wicomico counties.

The town of Port Tobacco was the original county seat for Charles County until 1895. The clerk’s office in courthouse was constructed between 1819-21 and is depicted here. The Federal style courthouse originally consisted of a main building with two wings. In 1892, the center block of the building was lost to a fire, but the two wings that housed the office of the register of wills and the court’s clerk office remained intact. These surviving wings were appropriated for other uses. In 1972, the 1819-21 courthouse was reconstructed and is now a museum.

The Christ Church of Port Tobacco is also depicted on the back left of this scene. The church was built in 1830, but it was deconstructed and rebuilt in nearby La Plata in 1904.

This scene depicts silk cocoons spun by silkworms. The cocoon is then spun into silk.

Havre-de-Venture was the home of Thomas Stone, one of the four signers of the Declaration of Independence from Maryland. The property was purchased by Thomas Stone in 1770 and remained in possession of his descendants until 1935. Architecturally, the home is unique as it is a curved five-part house. In 1971, it was declared a National Historic Landmark.

© Copyright  August 07, 2024  Maryland State Archives