Exploring Maryland's Roots: For Families: Touring Maryland's Colonial Past

For Families

introduction

books to read together

cooking like a colonist

touring Maryland’s colonial past

Touring Maryland's Colonial Past

Places to visit in person
Places to visit online

Some places where you can explore Maryland's colonial past in person

Historic St. Mary's City
Exhibits such as the reconstructed State House of 1676, Smith's Ordinary, and the Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation, a working colonial farm, tell a unique story about the colony that became Maryland.

Historic St. Mary's City is located off Route 5 in Southern Maryland.
Consult their web site for driving directions, operating hours, tours, and fees.
The Maryland Historical Society
Located at 201 W. Monument Street in Baltimore, The Maryland Historical Society collects, preserves, and interprets objects and materials reflecting Maryland's diverse heritage. Visit their web site to find hours of operation, information about current exhibits focused on early Maryland history, and driving directions.
Historic London Town and Gardens
London Town was a bustling port in Anne Arundel County during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Located on a twenty-three acre parcel on the South River, the site features the William Brown House, a National Historic Landmark house museum; an eight-acre woodland garden; the Richard Hill Garden of native and imported medicinal plants; and a multi-purpose pavilion. The site, located on Londontown Road in Edgewater, is currently being excavated by archeologists from the Lost Towns Project.

Consult their web site for hours of operation, current projects, and driving directions.
Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum
A 544-acre park on the Patuxent River and St. Leonard Creek, Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum is now home to a state history and archaeology museum that explores the changing cultures and environment of the Chesapeake Bay region over the past 12,000 years.

The Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum is located in Calvert County. Consult their web site for hours of operation, driving directions, and a calendar of special events.
The Accohannock Native American Living Village
The Accohannock, one of the oldest historical tribes in the state, are in the process of building a Woodland Indian village that will be very much like those that existed at the time the first colonists arrived in Maryland. Located in Marion, Maryland, the village is the site of an annual pau wau (pow wow). Take a look at their web site to learn more about the project and the site, which includes a local bird sanctuary and wildlife refuge.

Some places where you can explore Maryland's colonial past online

Historic St. Mary's City
Tour the Woodland Indian Hamlet, the Town Center, the Waterfront, and the Plantation areas of this virtual tour of St. Mary's City. You can also explore a web-based version of a new exhibit at the museum's Visitor's Center.

Be sure to take a look at the life and times of John Halfhead, an indentured servant who arrived in the colony in 1634.
The Maryland State Archives The Archives of Maryland Online project provides on-line access to documents and other records related to the constitutional, legal, legislative, and administrative basis of Maryland government.

Be sure to look at Dr. Edward Papenfuse's article, about the 1649 Act Concerning Religion, for an insight into the nature of religious toleration during the early years of the colony.

Another Archive resource, Close Encounters of the First Kind presents an in-depth look at the native peoples of Maryland and their first encounters with explorers and settlers.

A third place you may want to visit at the archives supplies line drawings of colonial events as well as the Great Seal of Maryland . You can download these drawings using Adobe Acrobat and color them.
The Maryland Historical Society
A wide range of historical virtual field trips about Maryland’s past are presented.
The Lost Towns Project
Learn more about the colonial settlements at Providence and London Town in Anne Arundel County.
The MD Kids' Page
Be sure to look at the "History" section here to access lots of information about the early days of the colony, the Calvert family, Maryland's Native Americans, and a whole host of other topics related to Maryland's early history.