St. Mary's College of Maryland Preservation Master Plan

St. Mary’s College of MarylandPreservation Master PlanHistoric St. Mary’s City February 2008extensive knowledge and appreciation of the archeologicalremnants of the ancient city. The Tercentenary Commissionretained Baltimore architects Herbert G. Crisp and JamesR. Edmunds, Jr. in association with Horace W. Peaslee ofWashington to design the replica, though some variationswere made from the original design:• the original specifications called for hipped roofs on boththe stair tower and the porch, but only the stair tower ofthe replica has a hipped roof;• shingle tiles were used for roofing instead of pantiles;and• the width of the porch projection was two feet wider inthe replica than in the original.Early view of replica State House, 1934(Maryland Tercentenary Commission 1934).In cases of discrepancies in measurements, the architectsdeferred to their own preferences (Forman 1938:286-287).All in all, however, the replica was by and large a faithfuland well-researched reconstruction, though undoubtedly farsturdier than the original, poorly-constructed State House of1676 (Forman 1938:290).The weekend of June 15-16, 1934, was packed withevents, and thousands thronged to St. Mary’s City to jointhe celebration. Dedication of the majestic iron gatesbetween the State House and Trinity Church, given bythe Society of the Ark and Dove, kicked off the festivities.Gifts, including furnishings, were presented to the StateHouse by different genealogical societies, as well as theMayor and City of Baltimore. The Freedom of Consciencemonument was dedicated as well. Both days featured amilitary parade, followed by the spectacular drama of theArk and Dove replicas sailing around Chancellor’s Point,and a pageant reenacting the landing of the Calvert partyand its interactions with the Piscataway tribe (MarylandTercentenary Commission 1934).Suburbanization and PreservationDuring the three decades following the Tercentenary, theState House and grounds had little oversight from thegovernment of Maryland. A custodian, John J. Lancaster,Sr., of St. Mary’s County, cared for the building from June1934 to July 1966 with little compensation (St. Mary’s CityCommission Annual Reports 1967:2). St. Mary’s Collegedid use the State House for special events, but it otherwiseseems to have been primarily a stop for relatively smallnumbers of tourists, as there was no on-going programof tours or events. In 1969, after the formation of the St.Mary’s City Commission as an agency to maintain the StateHouse, the General Assembly passed an Act to provideTercentenary Centennial program cover(Maryland Tercentenary Commission 1934).Page 2-37