St. Mary's City in St. Mary's County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Layers of the Past
Discovering
This area demonstrates that there are many layers of the past at St. Mary's City. Artifacts have come out of the ground here from a span of nearly nine thousand years, starting with prehistoric Native American sites and continuing through recent times.
After the first capital at St. Mary's was abandoned in the 1700s, this property was farmed. During the 1840s, Dr. John Mackall Brome built a large Greek Revival-style house, along with various outbuildings supporting an 1,800-acre plantation.
Archaeologists discovered that Dr. Brome's house stood over the ruins of another house built by Governor Leonard Calvert at the town center in about 1635, more than two centuries earlier. The Historic St. Mary's City Commission decided in 1991 to relocate the Brome-era buildings in order to be able to study and interpret the Calvert house and the original town.
“The landscape is a palimpsest on to which each generation inscribes its own impressions and removes some of the marks of earlier generations… ” — Micheal Aston and Trevor Rowley Landscape Archaeology, 1974.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Colonial Era. A significant historical year for this entry is 1635.
Location. 38° 11.075′ N, 76° 26.026′ W. Marker has been reported damaged. Marker is in St. Mary's City, Maryland, in St. Mary's County. Marker can be reached from Old State House Road. In Historic St. Mary's City along a walkway called Aldermanbury Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Saint Marys City MD 20686, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location. Reclaiming the Lost City (within shouting distance of this marker); The Arrival of Governor Copley (within shouting distance of this marker); Witness to History (within shouting distance of this marker); A Place to Talk, Drink, & Smoke (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); ...and Coffee House (about 300 feet away); …about the Corner of Vansweeringens Garden fence (about 300 feet away); Keep It Clean (about 300 feet away); …Adjourn to the Arbour at Vansweringens (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Mary's City.
More about this marker. Marker has significant weather damage.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 5, 2022. It was originally submitted on January 14, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. This page has been viewed 498 times since then and 5 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on January 14, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 2. submitted on December 18, 2021, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on January 14, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.