Evening star., 1934-06-10
ST. MARYS AC|TY
OF PAST GL0R|ES
Scene of Pageant a Charm
: ing Place to Visit Any
Time.
BY CHARLES B. DEGGES,
STAFF Correspondent of The Star.

Staff Correspondent Of The Star
'-' ST. MARYS CITY, Md, June O.
Boulevards and by-paths-they all
find their way these days to this
slumbering site of Colonial capital
that once prospered here on the gentle
sgreen bluff that peers over blue st.
F4Marys River
y Next Friday and Saturday thou
y sands of persons will journey here to
tread the soil claimed and built upon
: by the Calverts and hallowed by the
tpeace of religious tolerance in an age
rswhen freedom Of worship was the
,goal of migrating men and women.
.There1l be a pageant here, then, de-
picting the coming to these quiet wa
ters of the little vessels, the Ark and
the Dove The welcome given the
Calvert colonists by friendlier Indians
than those who greeted some other ex-
apeditions and the landing Of those
Englishmen 800 years ago last March
will be reproduced Elaborate cere-
monies are scheduled for st. Marys
CITY that will make this southerly
point of old Southern Maryland the
mecca for travellers and history lovers
for two intensive days.
A Pleasant Short Trip.
But somehow the charm of this
lovely region when there is no pro
gram" no celebration, is a very real
thing that makes this one of the most
attractive places for a short trip by
Washingtonians. This reporter is here
this week, when most Of that charm
and quiet is undisturbed save for the
last-minute preparations for the COM
ing pilgrimage.
Now, st. Marys City lies about rs
miles southeast OF Washington on the
peninsula formed by the ST. Marys
River and the Potomac River on its
west and the Chesapeake Bay on the
east. ST. Marys City is what it still
is called, but actually it is scarcely
more than a CROSSROADS. There are
an old church, a tiny post Office, a
girls seminary, residence or two and
a wharf that long since seems to have
forgotten the chaf1ng of the vessels
defenders on its time-Weary plllng
y These are the things of the proSaic
r7order that remain. To them has been
sfadded for its stand amidst the scenes
Of former civic activities a reproduc-
ticn of the towns old state house.
a The homes which once housed
names great in Maryland history
Fenwick, Carroll, Digges, Calvert
ID Brent-have disappeared and pleas
ant fields have grown over their very
foundations. Old Jellys Tavern has
:" faded with the rest, and now the par
~Ssonage of Trinity Church stands al
jto
-jail and all other structures likewise
have faded beneath those fields. In
short. not a solitary structure of the
first Maryland capital that once
boasted 60 houses in addition to its
public structures remains. Unlike old
jamestown, in the James River. where
a portion of the old church remains,
not even a ruin is left above the
ground to bark back to a glorious
past.
Whole Foundations Revealed.
80. Occasionally. a plowman's blade
ASturns up a bit of old masonry, a por-
tion of a foundation Of one Of those
buildings, and recently, with workmen
making ready for the tercentenary
celebrations whole dwelling founda-
tons nave been discovered.
But while buildings of that found
ing century are lacking. there is a
pronounced spirit in evidence here.
=. No Washingtonian should fail to visit
this place; it's worthwhile and it's
easily and Interestingly reached.
Now there are good roads and bad
roads in Maryland, and this peninsula
has its share of both. And to come
to St. Marys one doesn't have to re-
trace his steps in going home. The
course lies out Pennsylvania avenue
southeast and down Eleventh street
to the Anacostia River Bridge.
Through Anacostia and up Good Hope
road is the normal route, but Good
Hope road now is being made INTO
beautiful, more safely-traveled thor
oughfare, so those who plan to visit
Southern Maryland Immediately will
have to detour few blocks northward
to reach Good Hope Hill and the be-
ginning of Route No at the District
line.
Through T Village.
The road runs through Silver Hill,
Camp Springs and the thriving little
town of Clinton to T B, the village
- which bears those two initials as its
name. An explanation given by its
residents is that one Thomas Brooke
owned much land in that section of
Maryland, tracts which he marked
with posts bearing his initials. 1t just
happened that one of those posts stood
i. at the crossroads where the village
z, grew and so 1T B" became the ac-
cepted name of the settlement There
isn't much of interest there, so make
the sharp right turn on into the
south.
A mile below T the road meets
the intersection with the new Grain