St. John’s Freehold Brings History into Focus

When the St. John’s Site Museum at Historic St. Mary’s City opened on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 2 p.m., it marked the end of more than 70 years of archaeological research and exploration.

Painstaking preservation allows museum visitors to see the entire site.

As described by Susan Wilkinson, Director of Marketing & Communications for HSMC, “The St. John’s Site Museum offers a new and totally different experience for those who have enjoyed our living history exhibits.  Most Marylanders know that St. Mary’s City is an important place in state history, but would be hard-pressed to say exactly why, beyond ‘It was the first capital.’”

 Wilkinson explained that visitors will discover Maryland’s remarkable legacy of liberty exploring the archaeology and history of the site. The exhibits dramatize the events that shaped the nation’s first freedoms. There are audio and video installations, which demonstrate colonial lifestyles while profiling significant individuals.

 The museum is built over the St. John’s Freehold archaeological dig which has been painstakingly preserved. The foundation of the original structure and original artwork illustrate the evolution of the house and the tobacco plantation that surrounded it.

 Museum patrons learn while visiting that the first archaeological explorations of Historic St. Mary’s City were initiated by H. Chandlee Forman in the 1930s. During that time, a number of sites were identified, but

Many displays are interactive.

remained unexplored until the 1970s when Historic St. Mary’s City archaeologists began investigating the first capital’s history in earnest.

 The history of St. John’s Freehold is quite significant to the origins of Maryland and the young nation. Originally it was a fine plantation carved out of the wilderness by the first provincial secretary of the colony, John Lewger. St. John’s Freehold was a two-room farmhouse built in 1638, four years after the founding of Maryland. The structure was a version of a mid-level English farmer’s home.

 Because it was the residence of Sec. Lewger and one of the largest enclosed spaces in early Maryland, the provincial court, assembly, and council often met there before government buildings were constructed. Landmark events unfolded within its walls and pivotal characters found a stage, or shelter, under its roof.

 During the years of archeological explorations, many historically significant artifacts were discovered and are on display around the museum; many with interactive audio and video displays to enliven the experience for museum visitors.