A Place in Chesapeake History

A Place in Chesapeake History. . Here, where St. Leonard Creek meets the Patuxent River, people lived and events took place that helped shape the region’s , and America’s , history., Look downriver towards Solomons and see the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge in the distance. Upstream on the right you can see the town of Broomes Island. Or look out across the river, towards St. Mary’s County to Sotterly Plantation. , St. Leonard Creek contains several historical landmarks, Thomas Johnson III, first governor of Maryland, was born in 1733 at the Brewhouse. This property was bought by the Macklls in 1840s. Mackall’s Wharf was one of the two steamboat landings on the creek until the early 1900s. The 2nd landing, Sollers Wharf was located across the creek., Capital Punishment on the Point, John Dandy , Rogue, gunsmith, executioner, murderer, executed., A blacksmith and gunsmith, Dandy’s skills were more important to early Maryland than was his reputation for violence. Convicted of killing an Indian servant, Dandy’s sentence was commuted to performing 7 years of public service, including acting as the colony’s executioner. In 1657 he was found guilty of murdering a second servant, after the corpse bled when he touched it. He was hung on a “Island” as the mouth of St. Leonard Creek, which was probably the point where you are standing.