St. Mary’s City, MD – One of the earliest archaeological sites excavated at Historic St. Mary’s City is St. John’s Freehold, which for most of Maryland’s early history served as everything from family home to meeting place for provincial government in the early to late 1600s.
St. John’s is the focus of a new book by Sally M. Walker, “Ghost Walls – The Story of a 17th century Colonial Homestead.”
Walker will present a discussion of her book and signing April 25 as part of HSMC’s Tidewater Archaeology Weekend from 2:30-4 p.m. at the Visitor’s Center, 18751 Hogaboom Lane, St. Mary’s City. The event is free.
John Lewger, who served as provincial secretary for the colony in its fledgling years, and Simon Overzee, the nefarious tavern owner who at one point in time inhabited the stately structure, are all present in this book, as well as detailed architectural changes the edifice endured during the first 40 years of troubled history.
Lewger was hauled to England in chains in 1645 by pirate Richard Ingle; Overzee acquitted in the 1650s for the murder of his servant.
This story of St. John’s is in many ways, a history of Maryland’s formative years, but also chronicles the extensive historic research St. Mary’s City archaeologists have undertaken over the past four decades. The two are symbiotic, because one relates to the other.
Decades of intensive labor unearthed mysteries as well as incomparable information, vital to understanding how Maryland’s first citizens lived and died in what was then remote wilderness.
HSMC archaeological teams have labored in old fields for 40 years, weaving a tapestry not only from the artifacts gleaned from summer screenings, but also valuable information, defining features which might appear as nothing more than dark stains in the soil.
Mapped over the years, the fields unveiled old roads, fence palings, structures and graves, revealing locations critical to understanding the historic site: the home of Maryland’s first governor, Leonard Calvert; the layout of the colonial town; and in 1984, three mysterious lead coffins, now the subject of a Maryland Historical Society exhibit in Baltimore.
One of the most fascinating of all discoveries, however, hovered in the shadows of the trees.
St. John’s was first unearthed by Henry Chandlee Forman in 1932 and again by Garry Wheeler Smith in 1972 when Silas Hurry, now curator of collections and archaeological laboratory director for Historic St. Mary’s City, was only a college student.
Throughout years of extensive research, teams returned to St. John’s again and again. Walker chronicles both the history and the research in a well written, at times riveting narrative with extensive photos and art revealing crucial pieces of a puzzle considered a mystery for generations. The work also highlights a new modern facility to house the fragile site.
An enticing nugget among the dozens of unique artifacts featured in the pages is a youthful face molded of pipe clay. Hurry found half of it at St. John’s in the 1970s.
In 2004, a crew member working at the site found the other half.
In the book, the piece is featured restored, one of many detailed photographs embellishing this compelling story.
Considered one of the most important historic sites in the state when Lewger was secretary, St. John’s witnessed Margaret Brent’s first demand for a woman’s vote and an African-American’s participation in the General Assembly.
This isn’t just Maryland history, it’s American history before there was an America.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com