(ST MARY’S CITY, MD – Tuesday, March 10, 2020)
Celebrate Maryland in the place where it all began! Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC) invites the community to commemorate the 386th anniversary of the founding on Saturday, March 21 by offering free admission for all! As Governor Hogan declared 2020 to be “Year of the Woman” in honor of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment, HSMC Maryland Day will have a focus on the women who made a difference in Maryland in the past, as well as the present.
Living history sites will be open from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Plan to visit the Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation to see heritage breed cows, pigs and chickens, and the Woodland Indian Hamlet to learn about the people and culture that were here before Maryland. Step on board Maryland Dove to imagine the risk taken on the original journey in 1634; explore the reconstructed Town Center, the place for all government business in the 1600s; and the St. John’s Site Museum to examine what archaeology has discovered; travel through two hundred years in the Struggle for Freedom, as this important exhibit shares the story of the hardships of enslavement, the struggles through emancipation, and the celebration of a family living together in the early 20th century.
The Maryland Day ceremony will take place at the State House (47418 Old State House Road) at 1:00 p.m. Keynote speaker Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the first female Lieutenant Governor of Maryland (1995-2003), will discuss her involvement during the instrumental years of HSMC. Christa Conant will receive the museum’s highest honor, the Cross Bottony award, for her years of volunteerism to the institution. Music for the ceremony will be provided by the Southern Maryland Youth Orchestra, Southern Maryland Youth Choir, and the Southern Maryland Gospel Choir. The program will close with the Ceremony of the Flags, a perennial crowd-pleaser, when children from across Maryland present their county colors.
Be sure to save time for lunch! Local eatery Enso Kitchen will be serving delicious artisan breads and sandwiches on site before the ceremony.
Historic St. Mary’s City is a museum of living history and archaeology on the site of Maryland’s first capital in beautiful, tidewater Southern Maryland. For more information about the museum contact the Visitor Center at 240-895-4990, 800-SMC-1634, or info@DigsHistory.org.
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Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC) invites the community to commemorate the 386th anniversary of the founding on Saturday, March 21 by offering free admission for all! Outdoor exhibits will be open from 10 a.m.—4 p.m. An official ceremony will take place at 1 p.m., featuring keynote speaker Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and will close with children from across Maryland presenting their county colors in the Ceremony of the Flags.
