Breathing New Life into the Solomon Simpson Plantation
A Tale of Saving and Stewarding a Historic Property
By Tom rojas, marie rojas and Wib Middleton
About one mile north of Poolesville along Maryland Route 109 there is a turn-off to a country lane that takes you to a stunning historic property with open fields framed by forest land. It’ s the home of Poolesville residents Tom and Marie Rojas. Originally part of a much larger 385- acre farm known as the Solomon Simpson Plantation, their land has historically significant structures dating back to the mid-1780s.
According to the couple’ s research, the first owner of this farm was Solomon Simpson( 1736- 1804) from Frederick County, Maryland. He was a captain and major in the 16th Battalion of the Maryland Militia and also recruited and contracted for teams and wagons for the government. His wife was Dorcus Dowden, whose father owned Dowden’ s Ordinary, a tavern on Route 355 in Clarksburg that served as the meeting place for Maryland officials who initiated the Repudiation Act of 1765.
Several years before Lewis and Clark embarked on their voyage of discovery, Simpson began building a stone house on his farmland where corn, wheat and barley were grown. He had at least 17 slaves working the fields and living in wood structures which are long since gone. The only pre-civil war slave structure which remains is the two-story stone summer kitchen with bedrooms above, having one of the few surviving dry sinks in the county.
After passing through several owners, Dr. William Jones and his son bought the property in 1851
and soon afterwards added two more floors to the house. His son lived there until 1919. It changed hands several times afterwards, and eventually became a rental property for decades. Tom and Marie Rojas learned about the house in 1999 through a neighbor in Cabin John where they were living. Although they were not looking to purchase a property at that time, a neighbor coaxed them into seeing it. Once there, they immediately fell in love with the land and decided to buy it.
After the purchase, they made some cosmetic improvements and structural reinforcements to the house. A horse stable, paddocks, and a riding facility were also put in, which served as a rental income source. They used the farm as a weekend retreat for the next 15 years before finally deciding to do a full restoration. Because the property had a historic designation, they were required to work with the county in planning the restoration as well put in a contemporary kitchen addition. The historic people were enthusiastic
Two views of the main house built in 1890 and the two-story slave quarters attached, as part of the original Solomon Simpson Plantation from 1783. Tom and Marie Rojas restored this historic property over three years and now call it home, along with their dogs, cats, chickens, horses and beehives.
42 plenty I spring sowing 2025