In 1845, the name of the paper was changed to the Port Tobacco Times and Charles County Advertiser but retained its original founders as editors and publishers.

Twenty thousand Federal troops are stationed upon the soil of Charles County, their camps extending from Mattawoman Creek to Liverpool Point.

A competitor newspaper, the Maryland Independent, was begun in Port Tobacco in 1874, and its editor, Adrian Posey, narrowly averted a duel with Cox over comments published during the 1884 presidential election.

[5] The Pope's Creek Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad arrived in Charles County in 1873, leading to the rise of new commercial centers near Port Tobacco, such as La Plata.

Many citizens agreed, until the courthouse burned down on August 3, 1892 in what was suspected to be arson; the deeds to the land were discovered a few yards from the fire, undamaged.