ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. – Celebrate Maryland’s 384th anniversary on Saturday, March 24, 2018 in the city where it all began. Join us by gathering at the Inn at Brome Howard for our annual ceremony at 11:00 a.m. featuring local dignitaries, and students from each of the 23 counties in Maryland, and Baltimore City. The inn is located at 18281 Rosecroft Road, just a mile past the Visitor Center at Historic St. Mary’s City.
Our keynote speaker will be Chanel Compton, representing the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC). After the ceremony, we will open our new exhibit in the Brome Quarter entitled, “Struggle for Freedom: African American Life in St. Mary’s City in the 19th and 20th Centuries,” which tells the story of African American people during the period of enslavement, post emancipation, and into the 20th century — a story of resilience and self-determination.
The program will also include the presentation of HSMC’s highest honor, the Cross Bottony Award, to the MCAAHC, whose grant support made it possible for HSMC to preserve and interpret the Brome Quarter, where enslaved and, later, freed African Americans lived for more than 200 years. The symbolism of the Cross Bottony medal is that it is an element of Lord Baltimore’s crest, first issued in 1625, and used for the Maryland state flag and as part of the official Maryland seal.
Visit the museum on us! Admission is free in honor of the day. For information, contact 240-895-4990 or info@hsmcdigshistory.org. All sites are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Start your visit at the HSMC Visitor Center (18751 Hogaboom Lane).