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Welcome
to Maryland American
History and Genealogy Project
we are in the process of
building new State and County pages for the states where
the coordinator has moved on to other projects. St.
Marys County is looking for a new Coordinator would you
be interested? If so please contact
Webmaster.
Many of the present coordinators are always willing to give help and
suggestions to newcomers, you can learn, I did and that was after 60!!
Read our
About Page and see what our requirements are,
pretty easy!
Court House At
Chestertown
This "mother county" dates
back to 1634, and has an area of 360 square miles. It
was named in honor of the saint whom the devout
colonists took as their patron. It forms the extremity
of the southern Maryland peninsula, lying between the
Potomac and Patuxent Rivers, its lower eastern side
bordering on the Chesapeake. Historic Point Lookout is
at the wide mouth of the Potomac. St. Mary's touches no
other county except Charles, the Patuxent making in
between it and Calvert.
There are highlands along the
waterfront and lowlands in the interior. Some of the
soil is sandy, with a clay subsoil, and productive loam
is found in parts of the county. Half the cultivated
land is occupied by tenants. Forest areas abound in
white and red oak, poplar, sycamore, pine and chestnut.
Farms fronting on the Bay and rivers are generally
large, and vestiges of the old manorial life are
numerous.
Tobacco-growing chiefly
engages the attention of the farmers, and corn, wheat
and potatoes are also grown; much live stock of an
excellent grade is raised. The construction of a
railroad to Point Lookout, traversing the county, is
often urged.
St. Mary's only railroad, the
Washington City and Potomac, runs from Brandywine, on
the Pope's Creek Line, in Lower Prince George's, through
eastern Charles and into St. Mary's as far as
Mechanicsville, twelve miles from Leonardtown, the
county seat, located about midway of the county.
Steamboats from Washington and Baltimore touch at Points
on the Potomac, and the Weems Line vessels from
Baltimore ply the Patuxent.
Leonardtown, named after the
first Governor Calvert, is one of the most interesting
ancient colonial towns of Maryland. Its population is
463. The site of St. Mary's City is fourteen miles
southeast of the county seat, on St. Mary's River.
A seminary for girls is
established there, and at the tomb of Leonard Calvert a
monument has been erected. Charlotte Hall Academy, above
Mechanicsville, was established by legislative enactment
in 1774, and its alumni include many famous Marylanders.
Online Here or Other Sites
Maryland
AHGP
Source: History of Maryland, by
L. Magruder Passano, Wm. J.C. Dulany Company, 1901.
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