Thomas Stone National Historic Site
Maryland
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
6.6 h fully dark
Hikes
Moderate
🟡
Crowds
low
Open today
Closed
Park Grounds Operating Hours: closed Nov 24 – Nov 24; Park Grounds Operating Hours: closed Dec 8 – Apr 25; Park Grounds Operating Hours: closed Dec 25 – Dec 25; Park Grounds Operating Hours: closed Jan 1 – Jan 1
Entrance
Free entry
In 1776, Thomas Stone and 55 others signed the Declaration of Independence. In doing so, Stone risked his home, his family's security, and even his life to support the Declaration of Independence's promise of freedom.
Topics
No entrance fee.
Hours & seasons
Thomas Stone National Historic Site is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
⚠ Park Grounds Operating Hours: closed Nov 24 – Nov 24; Park Grounds Operating Hours: closed Dec 8 – Apr 25; Park Grounds Operating Hours: closed Dec 25 – Dec 25; Park Grounds Operating Hours: closed Jan 1 – Jan 1
Generally open:
springsummerfallHours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 804-224-1732
✉ gewa_thst_information@nps.govConditions
Quietest months (fewer crowds): Jan, Feb, Oct, Dec
Typical crowds: low
Weather now: ☀️ Clear, 88°F
⛅ 89°/77°
🌦️ 91°/73°
🌦️ 98°/72°
Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 — orange months are the quietest by crowds.
Quietest months
Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.
Jan
24%
Feb
24%
Mar
91%
Apr
83%
May
100%
Jun
84%
Jul
83%
Aug
72%
Sep
67%
Oct
40%
Nov
52%
Dec
45%
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Things to do
Tour the Thomas Stone House
Short Loop: Stone Mansion · 4 mi · Difficulty: Easy<br /> <br /> Distance: 3/4 mile round trip
🟡 Long Loop: Stone Mansion · 1.4 mi · Difficulty: Moderate<br /> <br /> Distance: 1.2 miles round trip
Farm Outbuildings Loop · Difficulty: Moderate<br /> <br /> Distance: 2.1 miles
Long Loop: Stone Family Cemetery · 1.2 mi · Difficulty: Moderate<br /> <br /> Distance: 1.2 mile round trip
Short Loop: Stone Family Cemetery · 2 mi · Difficulty: Easy<br /> <br /> Distance: 1/2 mile round trip
Bicycle Port Tobacco to Smallwood State Park · 36 mi
Bicycle Colton's Point to Port Tobacco · 38 mi
Visitor centers
Thomas Stone Visitor Center
Accessibility
1 audio-described place(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Thomas Stone National Historic Site — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
Trail difficulty
Difficulty mix across this park's trails.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
People & stories
Figures tied to Thomas Stone National Historic Site — each spans a cross-park journey.
Bet: Freedom Seeker
— Enslavement, Women's History, African American HistoryThomas Stone
— Founders, Revolution 250, SignersPassport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 The Thomas Stone House
🎫 Thomas Stone Visitor Center
Places to see
Corn Crib
Southern Maryland National Heritage Area
The Terraces
The Thomas Stone House
audio
The Tobacco Barn
Audio & media
🎧
🎬
🖼
Learn more
View recipients of the National Park Service Freeman Tilden Awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to the practice of interpretation and education by NPS employees.
Benjamin Owen Tyler's engraving was considered the "first correct copy," enabling individual Americans to possess a reproduction of the Declaration of Independence. This copy was designed to look like the famous handwritten version with the signature of Thomas Stone and the 55 other signers.
Planting, curing and drying tobacco was a labor intensive task for those who had to tend to the crop. Discover how the tobacco plant played such an important role in 18th-century Maryland.
Was Thomas Stone a "reluctant revolutionary?" Since Thomas Stone was a moderate and was more cautious than others, he has often been labelled with this description. Read on to find out how this term does not accurately describe Thomas Stone.
Learn how the Harrison vs. Lee trial established Thomas Stone as one of the major trial lawyers in Maryland. Despite suffering defeat in the unpopular case, Stone's skill as a lawyer led Maryland to select him to represent the colony in the Continental Congress and ultimately led him to become one of 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Thomas Stone's uncle, was one of Maryland's most important Revolutionary figures. A member of the Maryland Senate, Jenifer was appointed to the Continental Congress and ensured Maryland's troops were well supplied during the Revolutionary War. His best-known contribution to American History came in 1787 when he became one of 39 men to sign the United States Constitution.
While exploring the area around modern Charles County, Captain John Smith encountered an Native American village, which he listed as “Potopaco.” The natural resources, the strategic position, and farming potential, led Europeans including Catholics, Anglicans, and Puritans to settle in the area. The mixture of Native American and European, as well as the different religious and cultural value systems led to tensions and conflict that raged for more than a century.
English-made woolen rose blankets (which were usually plain white, with multi-colored compass roses embroidered on the corners, and the ends blanket-stitched)
How Thomas Stone National Historic Site connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
Park
Activity
Topic
State
VisitorCenter
PassportStamp
Trail
ThingToDo
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