St. Mary's City, Maryland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
St Mary's City, Maryland
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"The State House", a reconstruction of the original 1676 Maryland Statehouse, Maryland's first capitol building and also the home of the Maryland colonial assembly, which stands near the original site.
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 St Mary's City, Maryland
Location in Maryland
St Mary's City, Maryland
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Maryland |
| County |  St. Mary's |
| Founded | March 27, 1634 |
| Founded by | Leonard Calvert |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.20000 sq mi (3.10799 km2) |
| • Land | 1.10000 sq mi (2.84899 km2) |
| • Water | 0.100000 sq mi (0.258999 km2) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 933 year round residents plus about 1,400 student residents during spring and fall semesters |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | eastern (Americas) |
| ZIP code |
20686
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Birthplace of religious freedom in North America with the passage of the Maryland Act of Toleration in 1649. The first place where a (possibly) African American person, Mathias De Sousa, served in an assembly as a voting legislator and first place where a woman, Margaret Brent, petitioned (unsuccessfully) for the right to vote. |
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St. Mary's City Historic District
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St. Mary's City Historic District: Reconstructed 1667 Catholic Church, built on site of the original Jesuit mission church in the St. Mary's City colonial settlement, Maryland's first colony.
HSMC, July 2009 |
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| Nearest city | St. Mary's City, Maryland |
| Built | c. 1667. Rebuilt 2009. |
| NRHP reference No. | 69000310 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | August 4, 1969 |
| Designated NHLD | August 4, 1969 |
St. Mary's City, also known as Historic St. Mary's City, was Maryland's very first European settlement and capital. It was founded way back in March 1634. Today, it's a special historic area run by the state. You can visit a recreated colonial town and a museum complex there. About half of the area is also home to St. Mary's College of Maryland. Around 933 people live here all year, plus about 1,400 students during school semesters.
This community is located in southern St. Mary's County, Maryland, which is at the very tip of the state on the western side of Chesapeake Bay. The St. Mary's River borders the community. This river is a small, salty tributary of the Potomac River, close to where it flows into the Chesapeake Bay.
St. Mary's City is famous as the founding place of the Colony of Maryland. It was the capital from 1634 until 1695. It's also the fourth oldest permanent English settlement in the United States. What's really cool is that St. Mary's City was the first place in North America to officially welcome people of both Catholic and Protestant Christian faiths. This made it a very early example of religious freedom.
It's also a globally recognized place for archaeological research. Many archaeologists come here to study and train. Over the last 30 years, more than 200 archaeological digs have happened in St. Mary's City. Scientists are still digging and learning new things about the past here!
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Contents
- Explore Historic St. Mary's City
- St. Mary's College of Maryland
- The Story of St. Mary's City
- Archaeological Discoveries
- Images for kids
Explore Historic St. Mary's City
Historic St. Mary's City is a large place where you can learn about history. It has four public museums and shows what Maryland's first capital and settler village were like.
You can visit several living history museums here. Actors dressed in old-fashioned clothes bring history to life. Archaeologists and students also explain the science and history behind the discoveries. You can see public archaeological sites and reconstructed colonial buildings. There are even year-round outdoor historical reenactments. You can also visit a working colonial farm and a full-sized replica of the Dove sailing ship. This ship was one of the two original ships that brought the first Maryland colonists!
Historic St. Mary's City also teaches about the lives of woodland Native Americans from the colonial era. Sometimes, members of the Piscataway Indian Nation perform reenactments and share their culture. The Piscataway people lived in St. Mary's City first. They became friends with and helped the early colonists.
The area also hosts summer plays with historical themes and other special events. The State of Maryland owns Historic St. Mary's City. It is run by a non-profit group. Besides regular tourists, the organization welcomes over 20,000 students on field trips each year. The "Historic St. Mary's City Commission," a state agency, manages the site.
St. Mary's College of Maryland
St. Mary's College of Maryland is a public college that focuses on honors students. It is funded by the state and offers a liberal arts education. It's one of only a few "Public Honors Colleges" in the country. The state of Maryland wanted it to be like expensive private colleges, but available to more students.
The college is not religious. Its name honors the original colonial settlement. Half of the college campus is located where the old settlement used to be. In 2014, U.S. News & World Report ranked St. Mary's College as 5th among "Top Public Schools" in its "Best Colleges and Universities" report.
The Story of St. Mary's City
How the Colony Began
George Calvert's Dream
The idea for colonial St. Mary's City came from an English Lord named George Calvert. He was born into a Catholic family. At age twelve, he was sent to a Protestant tutor. George then followed the official religion and had a successful career serving the king. He first tried to start a colony in Newfoundland in 1621. But after a few years, Calvert decided a warmer place would be better.
After his wife died in 1622, Calvert resigned his job in 1625. He returned to his childhood Catholic faith. At this time, Catholics faced religious persecution in England. In 1631, King Charles I gave Calvert a special grant for his service. George Calvert dreamed of starting a colony in North America. He also wanted it to be a safe place for persecuted Catholics.
Cecil Calvert Takes Over
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Maryland Archives, 1914. Painted by Florence Mackubin.
George Calvert died just before the King approved the Maryland charter. However, the King gave the grant to his oldest son, Cecil. Cecil Calvert continued his father's plans. They truly wanted to help Catholics, but the colony also needed to make money. Supporters of the Virginia colony in England did not want a new colony to the north. So, Cecil stayed in England to handle political problems. He sent his younger brother, Leonard Calvert, to lead the settlers instead. Cecil never came to Maryland himself.
Leonard spent the rest of his life in Maryland. He guided the settlers through many challenges and helped them succeed. They grew and sold tobacco back to Britain. Leonard, more than anyone else in his family, truly founded colonial Maryland.
The Ships: Ark and Dove
In November 1633, two ships, The Ark and The Dove, set sail from the Isle of Wight. Leonard Calvert led them. They carried settlers, Jesuit missionaries, and indentured servants. After a long, difficult sea journey, they stopped in Barbados for supplies. They finally arrived in what is now Maryland in March 1634.
They chose to settle on a hill overlooking the St. Mary's River. This was a calm, tidal river near where the Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The Yaocomico branch of the Piscataway Indian Nation had lived there before. They had left the site because it was open to attacks from the Susquehanna.
The settlers had a former Virginia colonist with them who spoke the local language. They quickly met with the chief of the region. The Tayac Kittamaquund, the main chief of the Piscataway Indian Nation, sold thirty miles of land to the English. He wanted them as allies and trading partners. He was interested in their advanced tools, metal-working, gunpowder, and new foods. For some time, the Piscataway, their related tribes, and the English Marylanders lived together peacefully.
Naming St. Mary's City
St. Mary's City was officially named and founded on March 27, 1634. The name came from the king's idea to call the colony "Marianus" for Queen Henrietta Maria. They decided on "Terra Mariae," which means "Maryland." The first group of settlers had 300 people, mostly English and some Irish. There might have been at least one indentured servant of mixed African and European heritage. Other indentured servants came from England and Ireland.
The group included both Catholics and Protestants. This was a time when Catholics faced religious challenges in the British Isles. Leonard Calvert (1606-1647), a Roman Catholic, became the governor. He continued to lead the settlers. St. Mary's City became the capital of the new Maryland colony. It remained the capital for sixty-one years, until 1694.
First Maryland Assembly
Maryland's first assembly, a group of lawmakers, met in 1634 and continued through 1635. This assembly quickly started to question some of Cecil Calvert's rules. However, they did not challenge his ownership of the colony or his rule for religious tolerance. They successfully pushed for more personal freedoms. They also wanted to change Calvert's rules to fit the colony's real needs. For example, Calvert wanted them to live closely in the new fort. But the assembly felt that spreading out for farming was more important. Leonard Calvert supported the assembly's wishes in letters to his brother. Cecil Calvert mostly agreed.
Mathias de Sousa was a settler described as "mulatto" (mixed African and European heritage). He arrived as an indentured servant for the Jesuit missionaries. He later gained his freedom and became an assemblyman. This might make him the first person of African heritage to be part of a lawmaking group in North America.
Early Religious Tolerance
George Calvert, the First Lord Baltimore, gave instructions in 1633 for the new Maryland Colony. He said the governor and all settlers must practice religious tolerance. After George Calvert died, his son Cecil Calvert, the new Lord Baltimore, also gave instructions for religious tolerance. These were sent with his younger brother Leonard Calvert, who came with the first settlers in 1634. Leonard was appointed the first governor. They also told Catholics to be careful not to upset Protestants with their faith. These instructions became Maryland's first laws.
Most early settlers continued this idea. When they formed their first assembly, they passed the Maryland Toleration Act in 1649. This law further protected religious freedom.
Maryland's First Colonial Town
The original St. Mary's settlement was planned in a Baroque style. Settlers lived close together in a town with a church, stores, and homes. Farms, fields, woods, and orchards were laid out in a grid. However, most St. Mary's City residents later preferred to live on their tobacco plantations in the countryside. The settlement was meant to be the capital of the new Maryland Colony.
Growth and Challenges
Tobacco and Slavery
St. Mary's City's economy grew quickly because of successful tobacco farming. Tobacco was a very important export. This also led to more slavery. Older rules that allowed enslaved people to gain freedom by converting to Catholicism or by becoming indentured servants after many years were ended. The colony started to rely more and more on enslaved labor.
As the town grew, people wanted more public buildings. They built a state house, a Jesuit chapel, a jail, and an inn.
Religious Tensions
During and after the English Civil War, fights between Protestants and Catholics grew in the colony. These tensions often came and went. Sometimes they were quiet, and sometimes they flared up, causing changes in St. Mary's City and Maryland.
Margaret Brent's Courage
Margaret Brent was a smart and successful Catholic settler in St. Mary's City. She managed her own business affairs, even though it was unusual for women at that time. She also came to the colony as a single, unmarried woman, which was against common expectations.
The law was on Brent's side, but people's beliefs often made it hard for women to get their rights. She had to defend her legal rights to make sure they were respected.
Brent defended her right to run her estate in court before the assembly in St. Mary's City. She argued her case strongly and won. This made her the first woman in English North America to speak for herself in court and before an assembly. She also asked for the right to vote in the assembly.
Brent also worked as an attorney in the colonial court, mostly helping women. She was known for being very good at law. Records show she argued at least 134 cases. While she didn't directly campaign for women's rights in general, her actions helped pave the way.
The Plundering Time
1644–46: A Time of Trouble
The violence from the English Civil War reached the colonies. A Protestant group attacked St. Mary's City. Many settlers left, and several buildings were burned. After the attack, only about 100 people remained in town. The attackers took control of the city and built more defenses.
They stole from the homes of all Catholic residents who refused to change their faith. They also stole from anyone who was friends with a Catholic. The colonists later called this period the Plundering Time.
1647: Leonard Calvert Fights Back
Leonard Calvert had been away from St. Mary's City for a few years. He stayed in the colonies and married Margaret Brent's sister. This made Margaret Brent his sister-in-law. Almost two years later, Leonard Calvert gathered a militia (a group of armed citizens). He led an attack to take back St. Mary's City. They succeeded in driving off the Protestant militia and regained control.
Calvert and his men then successfully attacked Kent Island in the Chesapeake, which was a stronghold for his enemies. Calvert was winning, but the danger remained. However, within a year, Leonard Calvert became sick and died. This created a temporary power vacuum in the colony. It also worried the people of St. Mary's City because Calvert's militia, which protected the city, had not been paid.
Margaret Brent Steps In
Leonard Calvert had named Margaret Brent as the person to carry out his will. This was very unusual for a woman at that time. She handled the sale of Leonard Calvert's property. At the same time, Calvert's unpaid militia became a security problem for St. Mary's City. If the militia left because they weren't paid, the city would be open to attack again. So, Brent asked the Maryland Assembly for power over the property of Cecil Calvert, Leonard's brother, who lived in England. She then used money from selling some of these properties to pay the militiamen.
The Maryland assembly later said her actions were necessary in an emergency. But Cecil Calvert in England was unhappy that Brent spent his money. Even though the assembly said Brent's actions might have saved the colony, the Calverts did not approve.
The Maryland Assembly defended Brent, saying:
...the Colony was safer in her hands than any man's in the Province,
and she rather deserves favor and thanks for her so much concerning
[herself] for the public safety.
But this did not change Cecil Calvert's mind.
This disagreement also caused problems between the Brent family and Cecil Calvert. Brent's brother, Giles Brent, had married a Native American princess. In the same letter accusing Margaret Brent of mismanaging Leonard Calvert's estate, Cecil Calvert also spoke badly about Giles Brent for marrying a Native American woman. At the end of the letter, Cecil Calvert ordered Brent and her siblings to leave the Maryland Colony.
Even though the assembly largely supported Brent, she also asked for the right to vote in the assembly during this time. However, the assembly denied her that right because she was a woman. This was the first known time a woman in English North America tried to get the right to vote.
Despite the Maryland assembly's support, Cecil Calvert demanded that she and her siblings leave. So, Brent left the colony with her sister. They lived on an island in the Potomac River for a year, then moved to the Virginia colony. Other relatives moved directly to Virginia. Brent started a new property there called "Peace." She became very successful and lived in Virginia for the rest of her life.
1649: Maryland Toleration Act
The Maryland Toleration Act was created and passed by the Maryland assembly in St. Mary's City. It was the first law to officially require religious tolerance among different Christian groups (especially Catholics and Protestants). It was passed to fulfill the wishes of George Calvert and his son Cecil Calvert, who wanted the colony to be a place of religious tolerance. More importantly, the act aimed to end the religious fighting that had recently happened. At that time, most of the assembly was Protestant, but the leaders, including the governor, were Catholic.
The act stayed in effect for 40 years. It helped keep peace in the colony during that time.
The City's Decline
Tobacco Problems
In the 1660s, tobacco prices started to drop. This was probably because other colonies were growing more tobacco, creating more competition. Maryland planters then started mixing their tobacco with other leaves to make up for the lower prices. This helped for a short time, but it hurt Maryland tobacco's reputation in England. This made the yearly tobacco crops worth even less. All of this slowly made the Maryland Colony unstable. It also made the hidden religious tensions between the mostly Protestant planters and the Catholic leaders worse.
This also led to an increased reliance on slavery in St. Mary's City. Plantation owners wanted to avoid paying for labor to grow tobacco.
New Statehouse and Printing
In 1676, the original brick Maryland Statehouse was finished. This was where the Maryland colonial assembly met. The reconstructed statehouse you see today is not in the exact original spot. That spot is now under the churchyard of Trinity Episcopal Church. When the original statehouse was taken apart in 1829, Trinity Church was built using its bricks.
In 1678, William and Dinah Nuthead moved to St. Mary's City. They became the first printers in Maryland. Dinah Nuthead could not read or write, but she often helped her husband with the printing press. She learned by watching him. After her husband died in 1695, Dinah continued the printing business. She got a license from the colonial government, becoming the first female printer in the colony. When Dinah moved to Annapolis, Maryland in 1695, she kept their printing business going there.
Photo by J. Pitts, courtesy of the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium.
Religious Conflict and Change
In 1689, about forty years after the Maryland Toleration Act, tensions between Protestants and Catholics became very strong. Protestant settlers revolted against the Lords Baltimore in the Protestant uprising in Maryland. The English Crown took control of the Maryland colony. They appointed royal governors, replacing the Calvert family.
Religious tolerance, which was once required by law, was ended. First, the King made a decree, and then a new, mostly Protestant assembly in the new capital of Annapolis passed a law.
Catholics Lose Rights
In 1692, Catholics in the Maryland Colony lost the right to vote. They were also no longer allowed to worship in public. They could only worship in their private homes. New laws also limited Catholic immigration to the colony.
Even though Catholics later got the right to vote back, other forms of discrimination against them continued for most of the next century. This left lasting religious tensions in Maryland, which were still felt even when John F. Kennedy was elected president in the mid-20th century.
Capital Moves to Annapolis
The new Protestant Maryland governor, Sir Francis Nicholson, moved the capital from St. Mary's City to Annapolis (then called "Anne Arundel Town") in 1695. Annapolis was more central. The colonial statehouse in St. Mary's was turned into a Protestant church that same year.
In 1695, St. Peters freehold, which was the home of Maryland governors in St. Mary's City, was destroyed in an explosion. No one knows if it was on purpose or an accident. A large amount of gunpowder had been stored in its basement. This freehold had been the home of the new Protestant Governor Francis Nicholson for a short time. Before that, it was the home of Philip Calvert, the former Catholic Governor and Cecil Calvert's half-brother, until he died in 1682.
Discrimination in the 1700s
During the 1700s, Catholics became a group that faced challenges in Maryland, including St. Mary's County. Catholics were not allowed to serve in the militia. They were taxed twice as much when money was needed for the military. They were also still discouraged from moving to the colony. Wealthy Catholics often practiced their religion in secret and sent their children abroad for Catholic schooling. But poor Catholics could not afford this and faced more discrimination. Because of this, many converted to Protestantism over the years to avoid problems. By the late 1700s, the Catholic population had dropped to 9%.
The City is Abandoned
With the government gone, the town had no main purpose. The people who stayed were mostly farmers. The old town center became farmland. The archaeological remains from the colonial town were left untouched underground.
1700s–1865: Plantation Era
Farms Become Plantations
The small remaining farms in St. Mary's City were combined into a large antebellum-style slave plantation. This was done by the Brome-Howard family. It operated for most of the 1800s. The main plantation house was built over the ruins of one of the Calvert family homes.
Civil War Impact
During the Civil War, Union troops took over St. Mary's County. Like much of Maryland, the county had Southern sympathies. Union forces burned piers and wharves in St. Mary's County. This was to stop trade with the Confederacy, which was just across the Potomac River. Brome's Wharf in St. Mary's City was also burned. It was part of the Brome-Howard Plantation, owned by Doctor Brome, who owned enslaved people and likely supported the Confederacy. There is archaeological evidence that the Union Army might have stayed at the plantation for some time. Records show that Brome later complained that Union troops damaged his piano while searching the main plantation house.
Records show that one quarter of the 66 enslaved people at Doctor Brome's plantation in St. Mary's City escaped during the Civil War. At least two of them then joined the Union Army. Even before slavery was legally ended, the Union Army allowed enslaved men to gain their freedom if they became soldiers. Other records show that the total number of enslaved people there was 59.
It was the specific actions of the 38th USCT in this battle that inspired Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler to order the creation of this medal.
Barnes and Harris also received the Medal of Honor.
Circa 1865 - Smithsonian Museum of American History.
Two men who escaped slavery from the St. Mary's City area, Alexander Gough and William Gross, joined the famous 38th United States Colored Infantry Regiment of the Union Army. This regiment won awards for bravery in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm during the American Civil War. Gough survived the war and lived the rest of his life in Baltimore. Two other African American men from the area, William H. Barnes and James H. Harris, were free tenant farmers before the war. They also served in the same regiment. Harris and Barnes each received the Medal of Honor for their actions in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm. There is evidence that more enslaved people from the Brome plantation also fought in the war. In total, over 700 African Americans from St. Mary's County served in the Union Army during the Civil War.
The United States Colored Troops Memorial Statue in Lexington Park, Maryland, seven miles north of St. Mary's City, honors these African American soldiers. It remembers the men from St. Mary's County, including those from the 38th United States Colored Troops Regiment, who fought for the Union. A plaque at the site specifically mentions Barnes and Harris and their Medals of Honor.
Farming After the War
The Civil War ended slavery on the plantation. The area mostly remained a large farm, worked by tenant farmers. It was owned by the original owners' descendants until the 1900s. By the mid-1900s, few 17th-century buildings were still standing. The town center looked like farmland, except for a few homes. Also, after 1840, a women's school slowly grew, starting with a small part of the area.
Writings About St. Mary's City
In 1838, the novel Rob of the Bowl was published. It was a story about the fight for religious tolerance in Maryland. It was set in St. Mary's City and nearby St. Inigoes. The book starts with a poem that the author, John Pendleton Kennedy, chose to describe St. Mary's City long after it was no longer the capital.
This poem also talks about the 1800s idea of St. Mary's City. It was a place where great things happened, like the founding of Maryland's government and religious freedom. But it eventually became like a ghost town.
No more thy glassy brook reflects the day,
But choked with sedges, works its weedy way;
Along thy glades a solitary guest,
The hollow-sounding bittern guards its nest;
Amidst thy desert walks the lapwing flies,
And tires their echoes with unvaried cries.
Sunk are thy bowers in shapeless ruin all,
And the long grass o'ertops the mould'ring wall
The Deserted Village
St. Mary's City Reborn
1840: St. Mary's Female Seminary
The book Rob of the Bowl tells a partly fictional story of old St. Mary's City. After the book became popular, the author wished there was a monument to remember the original St. Mary's City.
A few years later, in 1840, a non-religious high school for women was started on the old grounds. This was in response to Kennedy's wish for a monument. Its founders called it a "living monument" to the start of religious tolerance. They created it to educate young women in the county and state. The school was called St. Mary's Seminary.
The school was intentionally non-religious. This was to honor and promote religious tolerance. It also helped heal Protestant-Catholic tensions that still existed in St. Mary's County. The name was later changed to St. Mary's Female Seminary. This made it clear that the school was only for female students.
Early 1900s Changes
In 1926, the former St. Mary's women's school was expanded. It became a two-year junior college for women, combined with the last two years of high school (four years total). This was a natural step for the now elite, state-funded women's school.
Through a law passed by the Maryland Legislature, St. Mary's removed its gender limit. The word "female" was dropped from the school's name. While boys could enroll, they were not offered housing. The school's name changed to St. Mary's Seminary Junior College.
The St. Mary's City Commission was created in 1966 by the State Assembly of Maryland and Governor Millard Tawes. This new state agency reported directly to the Governor. Its job was to "preserve, develop and maintain" St. Mary's City as a state "monument." It also oversaw ongoing archaeological work.
The Junior College was ordered to become a four-year institution in 1966 (starting in 1968). It was renamed "St. Mary's College of Maryland". It was set up as a four-year public liberal arts college. Its goal was to offer a liberal arts education to students who couldn't afford expensive private colleges. This reorganization was finished in 1967.
1969: National Landmark
St. Mary's was named a National Historic Landmark in 1969. A plan suggested buying 1200 acres. It also recommended building a museum, visitor center, and a working tobacco farm. It suggested public transportation and rebuilding the Ark and Dove as first steps to rebuild the historic city.
1976: Wings of the Morning Play
To celebrate the founding of St. Mary's City, a play called Wings of the Morning was created by Kermit Hunter. This outdoor drama featured characters like Leonard Calvert and Mathias de Sousa. It helped launch the career of Denzel Washington, who made his stage debut as DeSousa. Other famous actors were also in the cast. On July 4, 1976, a Washington Post review of the play was read in Congress.
1980–Present Day
After years of test digs and historical research, the possible locations of the original town were narrowed down. Archaeological digging increased a lot to uncover the original layout of the colonial settlement.
In 1984, Lord Baltimore's World was a big, months-long colonial reenactment. It had professional actors and live Shakespearean theater. It happened in St. Mary's City and celebrated 350 years since Maryland's first colonists arrived.
After four years of intense digging, most of the original town layout was found. People thought the layout would be messy, but it was actually carefully planned in a Baroque style. This was similar to Williamsburg, Virginia and Annapolis Maryland. Old St. Mary's City, Annapolis, and Williamsburg are the only three towns in North America planned and built in a Baroque layout.
The St. Mary's City Commission changed its name in 1991 to the Historic St. Mary's Commission. This commission still manages about half of St. Mary's City. It is in charge of preserving over 800 acres of land and 3 miles of shoreline.
St. Mary's City Today
Historic St. Mary's City is now a popular tourist spot in Maryland. About 20,000 students visit each year, plus about 25,000 other tourists. The historic area continues to grow. More period sites are being rebuilt and recreated. Historic St. Mary's City is an outdoor living history museum. It has actors in costumes showing colonial life, museum exhibits, and many reconstructed buildings.
St. Mary's College of Maryland is now a nationally recognized top educational institution. In 2014, U.S. News & World Report ranked St. Mary's College as 5th in the nation among "Top Public Schools" in the "Colleges" category.
Archaeological Discoveries
The National Park Service says St. Mary's City is "probably the most intact 17th-century English town surviving in our nation represented entirely by archaeological resources." Many archaeological digs and research projects continue in St. Mary's City. In the last 30 years, there have been over 200 archaeological digs in the city.
First Excavations
After explorations by Henry Chandlee Forman in the 1940s, excavations began in 1971. This was when the St. Mary's City Historic Commission was created. This state group was tasked with finding and preserving archaeological remains in St. Mary's City. They also set up a museum and did historical research. Since then, much of the original colonial St. Mary's City has been found. The Historic St. Mary's City Commission continues to dig in the area today.
Archaeology Field School
The Historic St. Mary's Commission (formerly the "St. Mary's City Commission") runs the Historic Archeological Field School every summer. Students from all over the United States and other countries attend. Many graduates now have important jobs in archaeology. The students not only study but also work at many active archaeological dig sites in St. Mary's City. The school gives a lot of hands-on experience. It teaches all parts of professional archaeological work. This includes working on real digs, analyzing and preserving artifacts, and cataloging and archiving them. The school has been running for over 40 years.
Current Work
St. Mary's City has many active archaeological dig sites. They focus on history from before the colony, during the colonial period, and the time of slavery.
Important Discoveries
Some important archaeological discoveries in St. Mary's City include:
- The site of the first printing house in the Southern colonies. A lot of lead print type was found, showing it was the William Nuthead Printing House.
- A 1645 fort with a moat. This is believed to be the only remaining structure from the English Civil War in the American Colonies.
- The site of St. John's Freehold, where Maryland's citizen government was started.
- Façon de Venise glassware.
- A set of Kütahya ceramics, one of only two known examples found in the United States.
- 19th-century slave quarters from St. Mary's City's later plantation period.
- Three 17th-century lead coffins. One is thought to be the coffin of Philip Calvert, a former colonial chancellor and judge.
- The foundation of a Jesuit chapel.
- The site of St. Peters Freehold, the former home of Maryland Chancellor Philip Calvert. St. Peters freehold was destroyed in a big explosion in 1695. 900 pounds of gunpowder stored in its cellar went off. No one knows if it was on purpose or an accident. British scientists found it, and it was shown in a British Time Team documentary on The Learning Channel.
- Garret Van Sweringen's Inn, a 17th-century inn started by Garret Van Sweringen, an innkeeper and leader in St. Mary's City.
- Many artifacts from different times when Native American people lived there.
- The 18th-century house of merchant and planter John Hicks, with many ceramic pieces.
- Former slave quarters and living areas found on the current campus of St. Mary's College of Maryland. A monument honoring enslaved people was put up by the college.
These findings come with thousands of artifacts and bone fragments. They have been cataloged and put into St. Mary's City historical museums and archives. These artifacts are still being studied. They continue to help us learn more about that time period.
St. Mary's Fort
In late 2019, St. Mary's Fort was uncovered and then revealed in March 2021. The first English colonists built this structure in 1634. It was their fourth colony in the New World, after Jamestown (1607), Plymouth (1620), and Massachusetts Bay (1630). Also, a silver coin from the time of King Charles I was found there.
Images for kids
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Reconstruction of the original Schweringen's Inn that originally stood in St. Mary's City. St. Mary's City Historic District, July 2009.
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Reconstructed 17th-century planter's house typical of colonial St. Mary's City. St. Mary's City Historic District.
