St. Mary's City, Maryland
Encyclopedia
St. Mary's City, in St. Mary's County, Maryland
, is a small unincorporated community near the southernmost end of the state on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay
. It is located on the eastern shore of the St. Mary's River
, a tributary of the Potomac
. St. Mary's City is the fourth oldest permanent settlement in British North America. It is considered the birthplace of religious tolerance in the United States, as the colony passed the Maryland Toleration Act
(1649).
A section of the community, Historic St. Mary's City, was declared a National Historic Landmark
on August 4, 1969.
settlers. They arrived on the ships Dove
and Ark
. Leonard Calvert
, one of the Barons Baltimore
and a Roman Catholic, led the group of settlers. Originally land in the colony was given to Leonard's father George Calvert by King James I
, but the senior Calvert died before the claim was established.
The original St. Mary's was laid out according to a Baroque town plan, but most residents of St. Mary's City preferred to live on their tobacco
plantations in the surrounding countryside. The settlement was meant to be the capital of the new Maryland Colony. A Yaocomico
village had formerly occupied the location, but the Tayac
Kittimundiq, paramount chief
of the Piscataway
nation, ordered the village cleared and gave it to the English newcomers. He wanted to develop them as allies and trading partners. For some time, the Piscataway, their tributary
tribes, and the English coexisted peacefully.
farming, which was the most important export commodity. An increasing town population contributed to the desire for constructing public buildings, some of which were a state house, a Jesuit chapel, a jail, and an inn.
During and after the English Civil War
, fights between Protestants and Catholics developed in the colonies as well. In 1689, the religious tensions became so great that Protestant settlers revolted against the Lords Baltimore. The English Crown took over the Maryland colony and appointed royal governors.
relocated the capital from St. Mary's to the more central Annapolis in 1695. The colonial statehouse in St. Mary's was turned into a Protestant church the same year.
The town lost its reason to exist. Remaining inhabitants were mostly farmers. The former town center was converted to agricultural land, and archaeological remains were undisturbed in the ground. The smaller farms were consolidated into a large plantation
which operated through the 19th century. Much of the historic area remained under a single property owner well into the 20th century. By the mid-20th century, few 17th-century buildings still stood. The town center site appeared to be farmland with a few private residences, and an expanding school that would become St. Mary's College of Maryland
.
and the Historic St. Mary's City museums. The museum complex is staffed by archaeologists. It includes a visitor center/museum building, outdoor living history
exhibits, reconstructed colonial buildings, the St. John's site museum, and a working 17th-century-style farm. This complex, developed to interpret the site for visitors, was created after Historic St. Mary's was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1969.
Some important discoveries include:
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, is a small unincorporated community near the southernmost end of the state on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
. It is located on the eastern shore of the St. Mary's River
St. Marys River (Maryland)
The St. Marys River is a river in southern Maryland in the United States. It rises in southern St. Mary's County, and flows to the southeast through Great Mills, widening into a tidal estuary near St. Marys City, approximately wide at its mouth on the Potomac River, near the Chesapeake...
, a tributary of the Potomac
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
. St. Mary's City is the fourth oldest permanent settlement in British North America. It is considered the birthplace of religious tolerance in the United States, as the colony passed the Maryland Toleration Act
Maryland Toleration Act
The Maryland Toleration Act, also known as the Act Concerning Religion, was a law mandating religious tolerance for trinitarian Christians. Passed on April 21, 1649 by the assembly of the Maryland colony, it was the second law requiring religious tolerance in the British North American colonies and...
(1649).
A section of the community, Historic St. Mary's City, was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
on August 4, 1969.
Beginnings
St. Mary's City was founded in 1634 by a group of EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
settlers. They arrived on the ships Dove
Maryland Dove
The Maryland Dove is a re-creation of a late 17th-century trading ship. She was designed by the naval architect and naval historian William A. Baker....
and Ark
The Ark (ship)
The Ark was a 17th century ship which carried passengers bound for the Maryland colony during the pioneering 1634 expedition. The settlers began a permanent settlement in a shared Indian village south of St. Clement's Island and named it St. Mary's...
. Leonard Calvert
Leonard Calvert
Leonard Calvert was the 1st Proprietary Governor of Maryland. He was the second son of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, the first proprietary of the Province of Maryland...
, one of the Barons Baltimore
Baron Baltimore
Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore Manor in County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 for George Calvert and became extinct on the death of the sixth Baron in 1771. The title was held by several members of the Calvert family who were proprietors of the palatinates...
and a Roman Catholic, led the group of settlers. Originally land in the colony was given to Leonard's father George Calvert by King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, but the senior Calvert died before the claim was established.
The original St. Mary's was laid out according to a Baroque town plan, but most residents of St. Mary's City preferred to live on their tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
plantations in the surrounding countryside. The settlement was meant to be the capital of the new Maryland Colony. A Yaocomico
Yaocomico
The Yaocomico, or Yaocomaco, were an Algonquian-speaking Native American group who lived along the north bank of the Potomac River near its confluence with the Chesapeake Bay in the 17th century...
village had formerly occupied the location, but the Tayac
Tayac
Tayac is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:...
Kittimundiq, paramount chief
Paramount chief
A paramount chief is the highest-level traditional chief or political leader in a regional or local polity or country typically administered politically with a chief-based system. This definition is used occasionally in anthropological and archaeological theory to refer to the rulers of multiple...
of the Piscataway
Piscataway (tribe)
The Piscataway are a subtribe of the Conoy Native American tribe of Maryland. At one time, they were one of the most populous and powerful Native polities of the Chesapeake Bay region. They spoke Algonquian Piscataway, a dialect of Nanticoke...
nation, ordered the village cleared and gave it to the English newcomers. He wanted to develop them as allies and trading partners. For some time, the Piscataway, their tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
tribes, and the English coexisted peacefully.
Expansion
In the second half of the 17th century, St. Mary's City had an economic boom due to successful tobaccoTobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
farming, which was the most important export commodity. An increasing town population contributed to the desire for constructing public buildings, some of which were a state house, a Jesuit chapel, a jail, and an inn.
During and after the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, fights between Protestants and Catholics developed in the colonies as well. In 1689, the religious tensions became so great that Protestant settlers revolted against the Lords Baltimore. The English Crown took over the Maryland colony and appointed royal governors.
Decline
Maryland governor Sir Francis NicholsonFrancis Nicholson
Francis Nicholson was a British military officer and colonial administrator. His military service included time in Africa and Europe, after which he was sent as leader of the troops supporting Sir Edmund Andros in the Dominion of New England. There he distinguished himself, and was appointed...
relocated the capital from St. Mary's to the more central Annapolis in 1695. The colonial statehouse in St. Mary's was turned into a Protestant church the same year.
The town lost its reason to exist. Remaining inhabitants were mostly farmers. The former town center was converted to agricultural land, and archaeological remains were undisturbed in the ground. The smaller farms were consolidated into a large plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
which operated through the 19th century. Much of the historic area remained under a single property owner well into the 20th century. By the mid-20th century, few 17th-century buildings still stood. The town center site appeared to be farmland with a few private residences, and an expanding school that would become St. Mary's College of Maryland
St. Mary's College of Maryland
St. Mary's College of Maryland, established in 1840, is a public, secular liberal arts college located in St. Mary's City, Maryland. It is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges and designated as a Public Honors College . St. Mary's College is a small college, with about 2,000...
.
Present
Present-day St. Mary's City is primarily the location of St. Mary's CollegeSt. Mary's College of Maryland
St. Mary's College of Maryland, established in 1840, is a public, secular liberal arts college located in St. Mary's City, Maryland. It is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges and designated as a Public Honors College . St. Mary's College is a small college, with about 2,000...
and the Historic St. Mary's City museums. The museum complex is staffed by archaeologists. It includes a visitor center/museum building, outdoor living history
Living history
Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is...
exhibits, reconstructed colonial buildings, the St. John's site museum, and a working 17th-century-style farm. This complex, developed to interpret the site for visitors, was created after Historic St. Mary's was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1969.
Archaeological history
St. Mary's City is known for its archaeological sites. The digs began in 1971, and that year, a museum was established. Since then, much of the old city has been found.Some important discoveries include:
- A 1645 fort with a surrounding moatMoatA moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
, claimed to be the only structural remains of the English Civil WarEnglish Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
in the American Colonies. - Façon de Venise glassware;
- A set of KutahyaKütahyaKütahya is a city in western Turkey with 212,444 inhabitants , lying on the Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the capital of Kütahya Province, inhabited by some 517 804 people...
ceramics, one of only two known examples found in the United States; - three 17th-century lead coffins;
- The foundation of a Jesuit chapel;
- A quantity of lead type, indicating that the site where it was found was the documented William Nuthead Printing House. The print was the first in the Southern ColoniesSouthern ColoniesThe Southern Colonies in North America were established by Europeans during the 16th and 17th centuries and consisted of olden South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and Georgia. Their historical names were the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, the Province of Carolina, and the Province...
. - St. John's Freehold, where Maryland's citizen government was instituted.
- Garret Van Sweringen's Inn, a 17th-century inn founded by Garret Van Sweringen, a leader in St. Mary's City's development.
- 19th-century slave quarters from St. Mary's City's later plantation period.
- Extensive artifacts from successive Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
occupations; and - The 18th-century house of merchant and planter John Hicks, with an extensive ceramic assemblage.
External links
- Historic St. Mary's City
- St. Mary's City Historic District, St. Mary's County, including aerial photo from 1987, at Maryland Historical Trust
- Boundary Map of the St. Mary's City Historic District, St. Mary's County, at Maryland Historical Trust
- "Brick Chapel at St. Mary's City stands as a landmark of religious freedom," My Catholic Standard, by Mark Zimmermann, July 22, 2010.
