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 2008• A modest, hip-roofed rear addition to the sacristywing was constructed in 1972, just after the churchwas placed on the Maryland Register of HistoricProperties by the Maryland Historical Trust (Shannon1972:C-1,C-8).• A new pipe organ was installed in 1983 and airconditioning was installed in 1986 (Milburn 1988).• In 1986, Trinity applied for and received a $1,000matching grant from the National Trust for HistoricPreservation to study the feasibility of restoring thebelfry to its open pre-1930s appearance. The studywas performed in 1990, and the church’s architecturalconsultant, James Wollon, recommended againstreopening the belfry due to concerns aboutauthenticity and a need to similarly recreate theformer roofwork from 1889.• Further consultation with Wollon and the MarylandHistorical Trust was made to discuss plans forpreserving the brickwork, painting the exterior, andreconfiguring the south entrance to accommodateboth steps and a long, curving ramped walkway.• In 1990, the ivy and foundation shrubs were removedand the brickwork was repointed and painted.• In August 1991, the original front walkway was dugup, archaeologists from Historic St. Mary’s Cityconvened to perform investigations, and the newwheelchair-accessible walkway, designed by Wollonand built by Raymond J. Cannetti and Johnny Cook(who had performed much of the earlier rehab), wascompleted in late 1991. The new entrance had apatterned-brick walkway that resembled brickworkat the nearby State House, new iron railings andoutside lighting, and new landscaping, including atree and boxwood hedges.• A new railing was also installed on the Sacristy stepsin the early 1990’s (Burwell 1991:1-4).In recognition of the sensitive and careful work done topreserve the church’s appearance while making it moreaccessible, the St. Mary’s County Committee of theMaryland Historical Trust presented the church with ahistoric preservation project award in 1992 (The Enterprise20 May 1992:A-2).According to parish legend, part of the altar rail, the crosseson the ends of the pews, and certain other objects in thechurch were carved from the wood of the famed greatmulberry tree that stood in the Trinity Church cemetery until1883, when it was so decrepit that it was cut down on order ofthe rector, Rev. John B. Gray (Fletcher 1992). Although thetiming of the tree’s cutting in 1883 would make the creationPage 2-13
St. Mary’s College of MarylandPreservation Master PlanHistoric St. Mary’s City February 2008of furnishings for the 1889 church possible, the type of woodused in these particular furnishings has not been verified.The mulberry tree’s wood was apparently used to carve allkinds of trinkets and other objects that were sold in at leastone Baltimore shop as souvenirs to finance the building of anew memorial church (The Sun 21 June 1889:n.p.).The Old Mulberry Tree as drawn by MissPiper, a Seminary student, in 1852 (Fausz1990:30; original in possession of St. Mary’sCity).Old Rectory (1898-1918) on site of currentRectory, ca. 1903 (Trinity Church Archives).Page 2-14Other Parish BuildingsIn February 1860, John M. Brome and his wife Susanconveyed five acres of land on what is now Rosecroft Roadto the Vestry of Trinity Church for use as a rectory (St.Mary’s County Land Records JTB#3:321). The first rectorywas built at that time near where the Historic St. Mary’s Citylaboratory now stands. It burned in 1898 (Fletcher 1992).A new rectory was constructed in 1899 in late VictorianCarpenter Gothic style across Brome’s Wharf Road from thechurch, much closer than the old one had been. This site,which became the permanent home of the Trinity ChurchRectory, was also owned by the Brome family. In 1907,Trinity Church sold the Rosecroft Road property back to JohnThomas and Emma Brome in exchange for $250 and the1.47-acre parcel near the church on which the 1899 rectorystood (St. Mary’s County Land Records EBA#7:59). Thisrectory too caught fire in early January of 1917, sparked bywhat was believed to have been a defective flue. These twofires destroyed many parish records and the belongings ofthe rectors (The St. Mary’s Beacon 11 January 1917:n.p.).The current Rectory was built in 1917-1918 on the samesite as the 1899 rectory (Fletcher 1992; Vestry Minutes1917-1918). Probably due to the history of disastrous fires,the new rectory was constructed of “hollow tile” masonryinstead of frame. The plans were accepted at the February24 th , 1917 vestry meeting, at which time it was estimated thatthe new building would cost $4,000. It had four bedroomsand a bathroom. When St. Mary’s Seminary caught fire in1924, the Rev. Whitmore became the only casualty of thenight when, in his attempts to prevent the rectory roof fromcatching fire, he fell to the ground and injured himself. Inthe immediate aftermath of the fire, the Rectory becamea temporary base of operations for Principal France, theSt. Mary’s Seminary trustees, and various governmentofficials as they worked to rebuild the school, with the strongsupport of the Whitmores. In the months after the fire, MissFrance and 24 of her students were housed in the Rectoryalong with Rev. Whitmore and his family of five (Fausz1990:63-64; Whitmore and Keen 1981:9-11). Students atthe Seminary in the early twentieth century were requiredto attend church at Trinity or the local Catholic or Methodistparishes, depending on their denomination (Fletcher 1992).The Rectory was wired for electricity from its own Delco
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