LA PLATA — Charles County’s signer of the Declaration of Independence now has a bronze tribute on Charles Street, outside the church where he once served on the vestry.
The Maryland State Society Daughters of the American Revolution unveiled and dedicated an America 250 Patriot Marker honoring Thomas Stone on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Christ Church, La Plata, Port Tobacco Parish. The 30-by-30-inch bronze marker stands in front of the church in downtown La Plata, according to the society.
It is the fourth and final marker in the society’s project honoring Maryland’s four signers, following markers for Charles Carroll, William Paca and Samuel Chase. The project is part of the society’s observance of the nation’s 250th anniversary and aims to teach the public about the Marylanders who signed the Declaration in 1776. The society dedicated a separate America 250 Patriot Marker in Annapolis in September 2024 honoring all who helped win the Revolutionary War, according to its America 250 page.
Who was there
State Regent Elizabeth “Liz” Deering led the ceremony with state society officers and members from chapters across Maryland. They were joined by Christ Church leaders, including Senior Warden Karen Hile and Vestry Secretary Bonnie Rafer, who is also a member of the society’s Port Tobacco Chapter.
Officials who brought greetings included:
- Deputy Secretary of State Michael W. Lore
- La Plata Mayor Jeanine E. James
- Charles County Commissioners President Reuben B. Collins II
Collins presented a citation to the society’s America 250! Committee chair, Louise Devanny, and co-chair, Bliss Kaye, according to photo captions the society provided. During the program, the society presented its America 250! Medal and a certificate to Port Tobacco Parish of Christ Church for honoring the men and women who won American independence and for making education about their service and sacrifice a priority.
Stone’s Charles County roots
Stone was born in 1743 at Poynton Manor in Charles County, according to the National Park Service. A lawyer and planter, he was chosen in 1775 to represent Maryland in the Second Continental Congress, where he supported the colonies’ move toward independence, and signed the Declaration on Aug. 2, 1776. He declined reappointment to Congress in 1777 and later served in the Maryland Senate.
He made his home at Haberdeventure, his plantation near Port Tobacco, with his wife, Margaret Brown Stone, and their family. The Park Service notes that Stone enslaved as many as 30 African Americans there. The family moved to Annapolis in 1783. Margaret Stone died in June 1787 at 36, and Thomas Stone died about four months later, on Oct. 5, 1787, in Alexandria, Virginia, at 44. Both are buried in the family cemetery at Haberdeventure, now the Thomas Stone National Historic Site outside La Plata.
Stone was a member and vestryman of Port Tobacco Parish, which the Provincial Assembly established in 1692 as one of Maryland’s original 30 Church of England parishes. The parish’s church now stands in La Plata.
The Maryland State Society, founded in Baltimore on March 4, 1892, says it has more than 3,000 members in 46 active chapters statewide. Stone’s life and the 1926 La Plata tornado were also the focus of a new local history magazine the Chronicle covered in September.
