Patuxent River Park
16000 Croom Airport Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
301-627-6074; TTY 301-699-2544

HISTORY

Duvall Tool Museum
The Duvall Tool Museum includes farm implements, household items, and trade tools from the 19th century. The museum is named after W. Henry Duvall, who purchased the 19th century farm implements, domestic items, and hand tools which are housed in this extensive collection. The museum features exhibits, guided tours, and demonstrations.

Blacksmith Shop & Farriar and Tack Shop
The building containing the Blacksmith Shop and the Farriar and Tack Shop was contructed by volunteers in 2001. The Blacksmith Shop is based on an existing chestnut wood blacksmith shop in Aquasco that was built around 1880. The newly constructed blacksmith shop contains a working forge which was first fired on June 6th 2002. Both the blacksmith shop and Tack Shop contain many turn-of-the-century tools and artifacts.

Tobacco Farming Museum
The Tobacco Farming Museum relates the story of tobacco in southern Maryland from its initial use by American Indians through its continued controversial use today. The museum has early twentieth century tobacco related farming equipment, including a c.1900 tobacco press.

Duckett Cabin
The Duckett Cabin is a rare surviving example of a tenant farmer's log house from the 1880's. The cabin originally stood on the Trueman farm in Aquasco in southern Prince George's County and was moved to Patuxent River Park and restored in 2001. The cabin was built by Charles Duckett, a former slave of the Trueman family and ex-Union Navy landsman during the Civil War. A kitchen garden is located beside the cabin and plants and vegetables which were available 100 years ago are grown here and used during open hearth cooking demonstrations in the cabin.

Next to the Duckett Cabin are three outbuildings: a one hole wood privy from the early twentieth century, a chicken coop, and a meat house. These outbuildings were brought to the complex from farms in Prince George's County where they were no longer in use and in danger of being destroyed. The meat house contains stretchers for drying animal hides and was used to store smoked meats.

The Sears Roebuck and Company 1923 Simplex Sectional House
The Sears Roebuck and Company 1923 Simplex sectional house was moved to Patuxent Rural Life Museums from Clinton in order to save this rare structure from destruction. It is a pre-fabricated mail order house that was originally purchased by the Lowe family for about $443. The house has three rooms with no plumbing or electricity. It was intended by Sears to serve the needs of working class families in rural settings. The house is being furnished with period pieces and is open to the public during regular open hours.