A PLACE OF HISTORY & TRADITION St. Mary’s City, set on the gorgeous Religious Freedom Scenic Byway, is Maryland’s first settlement and capital, and the first place in the colonies to embrace both Catholics and Protestants. These days the whole town is an open-air museum with living history reenactments and reconstructions of the state house, a tobacco plantation, and the Dove , one of the two tall ships that brought colonists from England in 1634. Archaeologists just keep digging up more of the past, on display at the Archaeology Research Centre. It is also the campus of the public honors college, St. Mary’s College of Maryland—set within the city’s 800 acres of living history. Continue tracing history’s footsteps from here by taking the ferry from Colton’s Point to St. Clement’s Island to see the spot where the Dove and the Ark made landfall before the first Marylanders headed onto St. Mary’s City. Tour the reconstructed lighthouse and one-room schoolhouse. Colton’s Point is also home to the Potomac Seafood and Jazz Festival. See traditional living in modern Maryland at the active Amish and Mennonite communities of Loveville and Mechanicsville, which surround Leonardtown—easily accessible by bike. Community members sell quilts, traditional wooden furniture, leather goods, preserves, pies, and more. The Amish Quilt Auctions held Saturdays in November are a dream for lovers of traditional crafts. History buffs love Port Tobacco which, boasts attractions including the home of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Stone, as well as the “ruins” of the original village, including a 17th-century courthouse and a few residences. The view out over the waterways from the graveyard at St. Ignatius Church is considered the best in Charles County. And if you’re feeling the need for speed, lock in on the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum. The base is home to the U.S. Navy’s test pilot program. Attractions include a super cool collection of fighter planes and the only F-14 simulator in the world open to civilians. Find out if you have what it takes to be a Top Gun. Historic St. Mary’s City St. Clements Island Photos: (clockwise from top left) Historic St. Mary’s City (Historic St. Mary’s City), Historic St. Mary’s City (Historic St. Mary’s City) 92 / VISITMARYLAND.ORG
Maryland Official Visitors Guide 2022 Maryland Maryland Official Visitors Guide: Page 92
