St. Mary's College of Maryland Preservation Master Plan

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St. Mary’s College of MarylandPreservation Master PlanHistoric St. Mary’s City February 2008Chapter 2:History of St. Mary’s College ofMarylandINTRODUCTIONThis neck of land projecting into the St. Mary’s River at MillCreek is host to three institutions: Trinity Episcopal Church,St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Historic St. Mary’s City.The histories of these neighboring and overlapping entitieshave been intertwined since Trinity Church first beganusing the abandoned State House in the early eighteenthcentury, and later sold land to establish the school in 1844.Both church and college have grown to their present sizesin the knowledge that they stand upon the historic site ofMaryland’s first capital city.The following chapter is arranged chronologically todocument the colonial-period history of the St. Mary’s Citypeninsula, followed by detailed histories of Trinity Church,St. Mary’s Seminary/St. Mary’s College of Maryland, andHistoric St. Mary’s City.HISTORIC PERIODSEarly Colonial SettlementThe shores of the southern Chesapeake were first exploredby English traders in the early 1600s. Of greatest significancein the history of St. Mary’s City were the explorations ofCaptain Henry Fleet (1600-1660), a native of Kent. Fleetfirst arrived in the New World in 1621, initially visiting theJamestown settlement in Virginia before traveling north toexplore the Potomac region. In 1623, he was captured byAlgonquians and spent the following four years living withthe Nacotchtank tribe, where he gained great understandingof local dialects and cultural practices. Aware that Englishmerchants had a great demand for furs, and that theIndians had an increasing desire for European goods, Fleetfacilitated the beginnings of a fur trade in 1627-1632. Hedealt frequently with the Yaocomico tribe, who lived in villagesalong the St. Mary’s River, making him the first Englishmanknown to have resided in the area. With his brothers, Fleetsoon had a successful trading venture that exported beaverpelts, maize, and fish out of southern Maryland and importedPage 2-1
St. Mary’s College of MarylandPreservation Master PlanHistoric St. Mary’s City February 2008European goods for the native tribes (Fausz 1990:11-12).Fleet’s knowledge of local tribes and skill in dealingdiplomatically with the native inhabitants quickly brought himto the attention of Governor Leonard Calvert, who arrivedin the New World in 1634 with 150 colonists on the shipsArk and Dove, to establish a Maryland colony. While thecolonists camped temporarily at St. Clement’s Island, Fleetassisted Calvert as an interpreter and was instrumentalin locating a site for the new colony and negotiating itspurchase. The site was part of the Yaocomico lands, andthis small tribe was eager to sell a parcel to the English inexchange for goods and the promise of protection againstthe Susquehannocks. Calvert purchased “thirtie miles” ofprime land from the Yaocomicoes in exchange for a quantityof English goods, namely hatchets, axes, hoes, and clothing.According to legend, the transaction was conducted beneatha large mulberry tree which stood on the bluff near ChurchPoint until 1883. A monument to the memory of LeonardCalvert in the Trinity Church cemetery marks the site of themulberry tree (Fausz 1990:12).Governor Leonard Calvert’s arrival to establish a Marylandcolony was the culmination of many years of efforts byhis father, George Calvert (ca. 1580-1632), the first LordBaltimore, and his older brother, Cecilius Calvert, thesecond Lord Baltimore, to found a colony in the New World.George Calvert’s wealthy family was repeatedly persecutedby the Anglican government during his youth for practicingCatholicism. The Calverts appear to have renouncedCatholicism for a time, and both George and his fathersubsequently rose to political office, a privilege denied topracticing Catholics. In 1624, George publicly announcedhe had become a Catholic and resigned his position asSecretary of State. Despite this, King James made himBaron of Baltimore, and Calvert turned his attention towardestablishing a new colony in America. His nine-year attemptto found a settlement at Avalon in Newfoundland proveddisastrous, and in 1629 he abandoned the project andremoved his colonists to Virginia before returning to England.Although the Calvert colonists, as Catholics, were greetedcoolly in Virginia, Calvert explored unsettled areas of theChesapeake and liked what he saw. Upon his return home,he petitioned King Charles I for a land grant north of Virginiaand, drawing upon lessons learned in Newfoundland, drewup a charter, but died before it was executed (Hammett1990:1-3).Page 2-2George Calvert’s eldest son Cecilius, or Cecil, inherited histitle and received the Maryland charter from the King in June1633, two months after his father’s death. The charter gavethe second Lord Baltimore title to millions of acres, but Cecil
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