CAM 2026 Port Tobacco Village Virtual Cache

To qualify for this cache, begin at the posted coordinates in front of the courthouse. On the right side of the steps, you’ll find a specific object. Identify or describe it and send a message to the cache owner with your answer.

Next, proceed to Waypoint 01 (N 38° 30.651′ W 77° 01.255), where you’ll find an informational sign about the jail. Determine the name of the last jailer.

Then continue to Waypoint 02 (N 38° 30.684′ W 77° 01.208), another informational board describing commerce in Port Tobacco. In the upper right corner of that sign, you’ll see a map that includes the location of the last jailer’s house, whose name you found at waypoint 1. Make your way to the jailer’s house, take a photo in front of it, and include the photo with your log entry. You don't have to be in the photo you can show your caching device in front of it.

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Park Hours
Open daily 8:00 AM -4:30 PM

Stagg Hall & Guided Tours: Open Thursday–Sunday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Tours typically depart from Stagg Hall and include visits to the Port Tobacco Courthouse and Burch House.

About Port Tabacco Village

Port Tobacco, located in Charles County, Maryland, holds a distinctive place in American history as one of the oldest English-settled communities on the East Coast. Established in the early 17th century, it grew to become Maryland’s second-largest port and played a central role in the economic, social, and political life of colonial America.

During the 18th and early 19th centuries, the town prospered largely because of tobacco cultivation, which thrived in the region’s fertile soil. Serving as the county seat from 1658 to 1895, Port Tobacco was a bustling port until the gradual silting of the Port Tobacco River made navigation increasingly difficult. As river access declined, so too did the town’s tobacco trade, and its prominence slowly faded.

Like much of Southern Maryland, Port Tobacco’s prosperity was built in part on enslaved labor. Enslaved men, women, and children worked on nearby plantations and in town households, contributing significantly to the local economy and the wealth of slaveholding families. The town’s story is therefore inseparable from the broader history of slavery in colonial and antebellum America.

Today, Port Tobacco is recognized for its historical significance and careful preservation. The village offers a tangible connection to Maryland’s colonial past, illuminating the tobacco economy and the state’s early development. Despite its modest size, it features several notable landmarks, including Stagg Hall.

Built around 1766, Stagg Hall is one of the oldest surviving structures in the village and an excellent example of Georgian colonial architecture. Constructed by two merchants as the headquarters for their mercantile business, the house includes a room recreated as a colonial-era general store. It represents the type of residence built by prosperous merchants and citizens throughout the Chesapeake region in the latter half of the 18th century.

Today, the house and surrounding historic village offer visitors a vivid glimpse into colonial life, with period furnishings, artifacts, and gardens that reflect 18th-century design and horticultural practices.

Cache Across Maryland 2026. 

This is one of the caches placed for Cache Across Maryland 2026. This year you must find all ten caches prior to the picnic held on Saturday, May 9, 2026 in order to qualify for a free Maryland Geocaching Society CAM geocoin. You must attend the picnic to get your coin. After the free coins are given out you will be able to buy coins while they last.

Make note of the code word found inside each cache container. You must enter all the code words into an online decoder in order to print your CAM certificate as well as print a claim form to submit and receive your geocoin at the picnic. More info on CAM is available here.