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Useful Links

General County History

Historic Churches
(See Historic Places)

Historic Sites & Museums
(Also See Historic Places)

  • Maryland Historic Markers - Pictures & descriptions of the 20 Maryland historical markers located in St. Mary's County.  (Maryland Historic Trust)
  • African American Historic Sites - Website of UCAC.  Contains downloadable map of historic sites.  Also photographs, oral histories, and other resources.
  • Southern Maryland African-American Heritage Guide - Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s County have partnered with Destination Southern Maryland to create the Southern Maryland African American Heritage Guide and Map.
  • Charlotte Hall Historic District - The Charlotte Hall Historic District encompasses a small village intersected by "Old Route 5" which runs east to west through the town and along which many of the existing buildings and sites are situated. Within the historic district boundaries are 13 recorded buildings and sites of historic and/or architectural interest.
  • Charlotte Hall Military Academy - Initially established as Charlotte Hall School in 1774 by Queen Charlotte.  It provided for "the liberal and pious education of youth to better fit them for the discharge of their duties for the British Empire."  
  • Confederate Memorial Park - Scotland, MD - Located outside of Point Lookout State Park, the memorial park was constructed by the Point Lookout Descendant's Organization to honor those who were imprisoned and died at Point Lookout during the Civil War.
  • Drayden African-American Schoolhouse (c. 1890) - Known as one of the best-preserved African American schoolhouses in the country, this recently-renovated (2018), one-room structure stands on its original site and has not been significantly altered. Built around 1890, it continued use until 1944.
  • Historic Sotterly - Sotterley Plantation is the only Tidewater plantation in Maryland open to the public.  It consists of an early 18th-century mansion, an original slave cabin, a customs warehouse, smokehouse, necessary and corn crib, as well as a formal Colonial Revival garden.
  • Historic St. Mary's City - One of the premier historic sites in America, a museum of living history and archaeology telling diverse stories on the site of Maryland’s first capital in beautiful, tidewater Southern Maryland.
  • St. Mary's Fort - The history and latest discoveries from the archeological excavations of the earliest fort in Maryland, discovered in 2019 at Historic St. Mary's City, after decades of searching.  
  • McKenna Hall Museum - St. Peter Claver is the only predominantly African-American parish in the county. St. Peter Claver Catholic School was begun in 1916, and was the first Catholic school to provide education opportunities to African- American children in St. Mary's County. The school burned in 1928, was rebuilt, and remained open until 1965. The building, renamed McKenna Hall, serves as a museum.
  • Old Jail Museum - Built in 1876 and in use until 1945 by the oldest sheriff’s office in the nation.
  • Patuxent River Naval Air Museum  - Preserving the history and heritage of Naval Aviation and associated technology.
  • Piney Point Lighthouse Museum & Historic Park - The museum details the area's history and also includes an exhibit of the WWII U-1105 Black Panther German submarine, which lies just offshore in an area designated as the state's first Historic Shipwreck Dive Preserve.
  • Point Lookout State Park -  Location of a camp which imprisoned as many as 52,264 Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. A museum on site recounts this vivid history.
  • Summerseat Farm - With a history dating back to the late 17th century, Summerseat is a 120-acre working farm with a Queen-Anne style house, outbuildings including meat and dairyhouses, barns, and gardens. 
  • St. Clement's Island Museum - This museum shares the story of Maryland's founding and traces the route of the first brave English colonists who sailed across the dangerous Atlantic Ocean in two small wooden ships (the Ark & the Dove), landing on St. Clement's Island in March of 1634.
  • United States Colored Troops Memorial Monument - In St. Mary's County during the 1800s there were more than 6,500 slaves and over 700 were recruited as United States Colored Troops. This monument honors the United States Colored Troops and all Union soldiers and sailors from St. Mary’s County who fought during the Civil War.

Archives

  • Maryland State Archives - Guide to Government Records - The Maryland State Archives is the central repository for state government records of permanent value. The Archives operates with a broad legal mandate to acquire and care for both public and private records relating to the history of Maryland from initial settlement in 1634 to the present.
  • National Archives - The National Archives was established in 1934 by President Franklin Roosevelt, but its major holdings date back to 1775.  There are approximately 13.28 billion pages of textual records; 10 million maps, charts, and architectural and engineering drawings; 44.4 million still photographs, digital images, filmstrips, and graphics; 40 million aerial photographs; 563,000 reels of motion picture film; 992,000 video and sound recordings; and 1,323 terabytes of electronic data.

 

Miscellaneous Organizations

 

St. Mary's County Historical Society

41680 Tudor Place
Leonardtown,  MD  20650

301.475.2467


Check us out on Facebook - we post several updates each week about the history of St. Mary's County and exciting events related to our history!

https://www.facebook.com/stmaryshistory.org