The land once known as Dorsey Farm and now Serenity Farm has a history that includes Native American settlements, a colonial plantation, slavery, and a British military encampment. Since 10,000 B.C., Native Americans camped and hunted along the Patuxent River, and Pope's Creek pottery made between 500 B.C. and about A.D. 300 has been found there. In 1608, Captain John Smith noted many tribal villages along the Patuxent River. In the 1650s, colonists established a plantation, and sherds of German-made pottery from the 17th century plantation have been found. In 1707, Captain Richard Smith received 725 acres, and the Smith family owned the land for 117 years. In 1790, a burial ground for the Smith family's African American slaves was established above Smith Creek. In 1814, more than 4,000 British soldiers landed at Benedict and encamped on the hills to the west while Clement Dorsey owned the land, and 62 caliber musket balls from the British camp have been recovered. In 1824, local merchants James and William Morton purchased the farm. The Brown family acquired it in 1954, and in 1965 the Robinson family purchased the farm, which Adina Via Robinson named Serenity Farm; the family continues to own, operate, and occupy it today.