Where is the City?

Where is the City?. Discovering. "Where is the city?" is one of the most often-asked questions about Maryland's first capital. In 1695, the capital was relocated to Annapolis under pressure to situate the colony's government in a more central location that was less associated with the Catholic Lords Baltimore. The freemen of St. Mary's City petitioned the Protestant royal governor in an emotional appeal to keep the capital at St. Mary's, but their request was denied., Without public offices and courts, the financial base of St. Mary's City disappeared, taking with it ordinaries, lawyers, clerks, and the printer. The buildings were gradually abandoned, and the city land became farmland., Now, nearly 400 years later, archaeologists are uncovering the long-vanished capital, and buildings are being recreated on their original sites. Surviving documents and recently-found artifacts offer glimpses into the lives of those who once lived there., [Captions:] , The remains of much of St. Mary's City ware literally just a few inches below the ground where you stand. Archaeology began in the 1930s and has been resumed on a regular basis since the 1960s to rediscover the lost world of 17th-century Maryland., Archaeologists uncovered the foundation of the St. John's house more than three hundred years after the house was built in 1638. During the first two decades of the settlement, the Assembly often met as St. John's. The foundation has been preserved and is visible at the site., This conjectural drawing of St. Mary's City in 1685 shows structures and fence lines discovered through archaeological research., Surviving historic documents can often be linked to archaeological evidence to gain a better understanding of St. Mary's City during the years when it was Maryland's capital., What became farmland after the capital moved to Annapolis is now the site of this museum and St. Mary's College of Maryland., [Timeline:] , 1659 Protestant Rebellion in Maryland , 1692 First Royal Governor Arrives in Maryland1694 St. Mary's City Freemen' Petition Governor to Keep Capital at St. Mary's City , 1695 Capital Moves to Annapolis , 1700s Area Reverts to Farmland , 1829 State House was Torn Down , 1840 St. Mary's College of Maryland Established , 1934 Reconstructed State House Built , 1960s Archaeological Investigations Begun by Historic St. Mary's City Commission , 1997 Reconstruction Begins on Original Sites of Important Buildings, [Aside:] , "...it was the prime and originall Settlemt of this Province and from the first Seateing thereof for above Sixty yeares hath been the Antient and Chiefe Seate of Governmt..." , The first argument stated in an appeal to the governor to keep the capital in St. Mary's City, 1694, By the mid-1690's, the original State House needed many repairs. Although the capital had moved, the building continued to be used for county court., Within a few years, however, it was turned over to the Episcopal parish at St. Mary's City. It was torn down in 1829 and the bricks were used to erect the current church., The reconstructed State House shown here was erected in 1934 for the 300th anniversary of the founding of Maryland. . This historical marker was erected by Historic St. Mary's City. It is in St. Mary's City in St. Mary's County Maryland