Apothecaries rose comes to mind.

Eugene de Beauharnais can stay on the small side 2 to 3 ft.

How about a blend of those colors in stripes? Rosa Mundi

1894 is Francis Dubreuil. The size is right, and the fragrance is heavenly, but it is 50 years later than your request.

Sammy

Rose de Rescht is the perfect rose, its origin is unknown though it is listed as "pre-1900".

All of these suggestions are good. Personally, I would go with either Rosa Mundi or The Apothecary's Rose (Officinalis) since they are very ancient and historically symbolic. They have inspired many poets, writers and artists (including Redoute). Rosa Mundi is a sport of Officinalis so why not plant both? Officinalis dates back before the year 1500, and Rosa Mundi before 1581. They are very hardy, healthy and low-maintenance and stay within the bounds you listed. They also look wonderful in a mixed planting scheme.

Good luck in your endeavor!

Celeste

Officinalis (The Apothecary's Rose)....meets your criteria for a short dark pink or red rose

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ROSA MUNDI

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I've seen Souv. de la Malmaison in Ohio, NH, and (?Wisconsin)--1843 Bourbon. In northern climates it seems to be a much smaller plant than it is down here. I'd think it could be kept to the 3X3 you're looking for. The intricate blooms would be an interesting contrast to r.virginiana, and in a warm sheltered spot it should repeat well. For a glorious color note, the 1845 Laffay moss rose "Nuit de Young"--was under 3' for me in Ohio, by far the smallest of my OGR's. Unforgettable. For a perennial border I'd pick one of these and repeat it rather than plant an assortment. (If you wanted to just outright cheat on dates, Sweet Chariot is a great rose for this situation, everblooming, easy to grow & the right look!)

> 1894 is Francis Dubreuil.

*** If this is an educational site, the rose in commerce as "Francis Dubreuil," wouldn't
be the best choice, since there's now very little doubt that it is not 'Francis Dubreuil.'

It's a 1930 Hybrid Tea Rose: 'Barcelona.'
That would sort of mess up the idea of the display.

But I do like Barb's suggestion of Souv de la Malmaison, if it's well suited to the area.
It's so particularly lovely (where it's happy) and it has a good story to go with the rose.

Jeri

Francis Dubreuil is not really Francis Dubreuil? It is Barcelona? I didn't know that.

ARE, Chamblees, and the ARS Handbook list it as a tea, 1894. I don't doubt you, Jeri, but how do you know these things? I need to look at Help Me Find, maybe, or just read more.

My Francis Dubreuils are absolutely beautiful.

Sammy

Do you plan to spray?
If not, Apothecary rose, Rosa Mundi or some other smaller healthy gallicas will work. You can prune them to fit your size requirements. I love Rose de Rescht, but for me it gets too much crud to consider it no spray. It all depend on what you are comfortable to accept. SDLM will get a lot of winter dieback here, so needs a lot of care and also gets half naked from BS. Francis Dubreuils and Eugene de Beauharnais definitely need regular spray program here to keep any leaves. Requirement that it should stay this small, really limits your choices.
Olga

We are leaning toward the Apothecary's Rose and Rosa Mundi. My associate wants to avoid the unattractive brown masses from spent flowers too, so clean petal fall.

This garden is going to be tended primarily by volunteers so we are trying to make selections that are as low maintenance as possible. Yes, size limitations are a factor as we are trying to get perennials and shrubs in for all season interest but have limitations on account of the presence of two mature black walnut trees in the same yard which cannot have removed. VERY high maintenance trees with leaf and nut fall plus the juglone issues. Yuck.

The Apothecary Rose and Rosa Mundi are not going to be low maintenance. At least not after they get established. In a mixed border, they are going to require annual deep digging to clear the suckers out of where they don't belong. If this isn't done, you'll end up with a bed of roses - no perennials.

This is a deceptively tough question. The two classes of short, hardy, old roses both have a strong tendency to run all over the world. Things that stay put are questionably hardy as well as questionably disease resistant.

Mad_GallIca, Are we going to face the same situation with Rosa Virginiana?

If we were to look at post-1850 (we would be able to justify it due to desire for a couple roses by benefactors) are there any short growers that would do the trick as far as the growth, hardiness, maintenance factors desired?

Two other suggestions - Rose du Roi, a damask perpetual (Portland) rose (zone 4b) and Hermosa, a china whch is zone 6b so may be a bit tender depending where you are in MD. Both are pre-1850. Both stay around 3'.

Yes, you are going to have the same issues with Virginiana. This isn't something that will necessarily show up in a year or two, but within ten years, it will be a problem.

A later date gets you polyanthas. While it's not the most blackspot resistant class in the world, there are some good ones in there. Given the size range, that's where most people would automatically try to start the search.

Can you grow Chinas in your area? I was thinking of Loius Phillipe. He grows to 4' so should be easy to keep down to your 3' requirement. He might not even reach 4' in your zone.

But you can get Rosa Mundi and Apothecary rose grafted on Multiflora from Pickering and plant graft at the soil level. This way it will not sucker. At least that is what I have in my garden and so far, no suckers (6-8 years).
Olga

I stand by my recommendation of Rosa Mundi and the Apothecary Rose. Like Olga, all my gallicas (including Rosa Mundi and Apothecary Rose) are grafted onto multiflora rootstock from Pickering and have NOT suckered. And I am in a colder zone (zone 4) with the graft buried 3-4 inches deep....planted with the graft at soil level you shouldn't have any real suckering issues.

Celeste