An American Lion

John Trumbull “Declaration of Independence” 1826

Oh, to be mediocre.

I have never been mediocre. I was cursed to be brilliant, cursed to be quick with an answer, handsome to a fault and modestly aware of my own abilities. I have led a life of extraordinary care, and it brings me to today, feeling powerful and mighty, but sad that one of our founding father’s—a one Mr. Thomas Stone of Maryland—is neglected in this way.

Thomas Stone was born near Port Tobacco, in Charles County in 1743. He was born into an old and influential colonial family. Stone became a successful lawyer and politician, serving at the county, state, and national levels of ten at the same time. Stone was chosen as a member of the Second Continental Congress in 1774, and after much internal deliberation supported independence from England. Stone’s fervent involvement in shaping his country was matched only by his care of his family. “One of the most interesting aspects about Thomas Stone is his personal struggle and dedication to country and family,” says Laurie Hock, a park guide at the Thomas Stone National Historic site. “He was a man trying to do the right thing for his country while managing a large extended family,” she says. Indeed, the cause for independence took time and money, straining Stone’s finances and demanding time away from his family. For Stone, the struggle was particularly difficult due to the illness of his wife Margaret, who became gravely ill with mercury poisoning following a smallpox vaccination.  After some 12 years at Habre de Venture, Stone moved his family to Annapolis to spend more time with them. Stone’s wife Margaret died in 1787 at the age of 36. Stone died just four months later at age 44.

Following Thomas Stone’s death, Habre de Venture passed down through five generations of Stones. In 1936, the house was sold and passed through two different families until a 1977 fire destroyed the central section of the house. According to Christine Smith, supervisory park ranger, community members spent years trying to have Habre de Venture designated a National Park Service site. “Almost 20 years of dedication by the community saved the house. People in the community wanted to make sure the house was restored and saved. It says a lot about a community’s ability to preserve something,” she says. The community prevailed and Habre de Venture was authorized as a National Historic Site in 1978. The National Park Service purchased the property in 1981. Restoration of Habre de Venture began and the park was opened to the public in 1997.

Somehow, though, Thomas Stone still got a national park. But not a very popular one.

The Thomas Stone National Historic Site ranked 344th last year among 360 sites where the National Park Service tracks attendance.

Rangers at the lonely visitors center here hope a Ken Burns film on national parks will draw people and help them make their case that the Thomas Stone site is not a mistake but an example of the park system’s next big idea.

If anybody believes it, there will be lots of available parking.

“We’re here,” said Scott Hill, the site’s supervisory park ranger. “And (we) want to see people.”

Burns’ six-part series opened on public broadcasting stations. In it, Burns focuses heavily on “The Big 58,” the scenery-rich icons such as Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and Hawaii Volcanoes that carry the formal title “National Park.”

The point of Burns’ narrative is that the concept of a protected slice of nature — open not only to the wealthy or to royalty but to everybody — was an American invention.

The parks were “an idea … as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence, and just as radical,” the film’s narrator says.

In 12 hours of film, the Thomas Stone National Historic Site isn’t mentioned once.

That’s a shame. To be dissed by the likes of Ken Burns is an epic burn. Stone was also majorly dissed by John Trumbull in that he isn’t even in the painting you see above—and yet, five men who didn’t even sign the Declaration of Independence are immortalized in the painting.

I’d go see this place, but who wants to spend their weekend in Charles County, Maryland? I mean, I’m old but I do have a life.