St. Mary's City

Former Maryland capital preserved as an archaeology-rich living history site on the St. Marys River.

St. Mary's City is not really a city now. It is the site of Maryland's first colonial capital, spread along the St. Marys River in southern Maryland, with a small college campus beside it and a large historic area where archaeologists have rebuilt pieces of the 17th-century settlement.

For travelers, the reason to come is Historic St. Mary's City. The museum combines active archaeology, reconstructed colonial buildings, a recreated Yaocomaco village, and the Maryland Dove, a working reconstruction of the ship that came with Maryland's first settlers. It is a quieter cousin to Jamestown and Williamsburg, but the story is just as important: early Maryland, religious toleration, plantation life, and the Chesapeake frontier.

St. Mary's City is best as a half-day or full-day stop if you are already exploring southern Maryland. The setting is calm, the river is beautiful, and the history feels close because the modern town never grew over the old one.

Guide

Getting There

St. Mary's City is easiest by car. From Washington, D.C. or the Capital Beltway, follow routes south through southern Maryland toward Leonardtown and St. Mary's County. The drive usually takes around two hours, longer with weekend traffic.

Public transport is limited, so do not plan on arriving casually by train. Once there, the historic area is walkable, and a bicycle is useful if you want to explore the quiet roads nearby.

Guide

Things to Do

St. Mary's City is almost entirely about history and landscape. The core visit is Historic St. Mary's City, where the outdoor museum and archaeology sites explain the old capital better than a normal plaque trail could.

Leave time for the waterfront. The Maryland Dove and the river setting make the place easier to understand: this was a colony tied to water, tobacco, and long travel by boat.