London Town, designated by the Town Act of 1683 as one of Maryland's oldest towns, originally covered 100 acres and became an important tobacco-shipping center as well as the County Seat from 1684 to 1695. Travelers through the original thirteen colonies almost certainly came to or through it, and at its active waterfront 8 to 12 ocean-going ships anchored in the South River to load hogsheads of tobacco from nearby plantations and unload European goods and sometimes slaves from Africa or the Caribbean. Its decline began in 1747 when the Maryland State Legislature did not choose it as an official tobacco inspection port, and by the end of the American Revolution it was almost abandoned. The William Brown House, an extravagant brick tavern built in 1760 as the town was being abandoned, later served as part of the County Almshouse, and from 1828 to 1965 a portion of the town and the house were used for that purpose. Archaeologists rediscovered London Town in 1994, uncovering some buried remains while others still await discovery, including finds from Rumney's Tavern connected to residents such as Edward and Elinor Rumney. Recreated kitchen and field gardens, along with Native American and African plants, reflect the crops, medicinal plants, and cultural blending that shaped the lives of European colonists and the many merchants, tradesmen, servants, and slaves who made London Town an important tobacco port.