Prior to our visit to St. Mary’s County and Leonardtown, we had the impression that it was going to be a rural location. We could not have been more wrong! The area is anything but rural. Yes, you will have the option of being in a rural setting with those advantages, but it will be like no rural setting you have seen before. St. Mary’s County is a very suburban area with all its advantages and none of the disadvantages you have in suburbs of large metropolitan areas.
There is no pollution, traffic, crowds, and limited crime. All the amenities you can think of are here: exceptional schools (some of the best in the entire country!), fine dining, major restaurant and retail chains, wineries, breweries, recreation, proximity to professional sports and a vibrant job market.
If you love outdoor activities, this is your Mecca. They have over 400 miles of shoreline with endless running, biking, and hiking trails. Situated at the Mason Dixon line where the Potomac River, The Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay converge, any water activity you could want is available. From boating and sailing, fresh water, and deep-sea fishing, kayaking, and canoeing, swimming, and sunbathing they have it all.
St. Mary’s County is the birthplace of Maryland. Maryland was an idea of George Calvert, First Lord Baltimore, who wanted a place where all religions were allowed to practice freely. George Calvert petitioned King Charles I in the early 1600s for a land grant to establish a new colony. George Calvert died before he was able to see his idea come to life. His son, Cecilius Calvert, Second Lord Baltimore, inherited his estate. In November 1633, Cecilius Calvert sent his brothers George & Leonard Calvert, along with 140 passengers aboard the Ark and the Dove bound for Maryland. The two ships landed on St. Clement’s Island in March of 1634.
On March 25, 1634, Father Andrew White, who sailed with the first colonists, celebrated the first Roman Catholic Mass on St. Clement’s Island. The island was small, so the ships traveled further south. Leonard Calvert bought about 30 miles of land below the Wicomico River from the Yaocomaco Indians with bolts of fabric, axes, and other farm tools. The settlers moved in among the Indians who assisted them while they established their settlement. This area became the State’s first capital, St. Mary’s City. The capital was later moved to its permanent home in Annapolis.
St. Mary’s County is a world-class center for research, development, testing and evaluation of aviation and unmanned/autonomous systems (UAS), and the advanced manufacturing and aircraft industries. The county has over 200 high-tech aerospace and defense companies (Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, Northrup Grumman, Raytheon, BAE Systems, etc.), and more PhD’s/Aerospace Engineers per capita than any place in the country. They have the highest concentration of PhD's in the country. St. Mary’s County’s private sector industries generate $3.6B in economic output. St. Mary’s County is near DC, Annapolis, Baltimore and Richmond, VA. There are three international airports within 90 minutes.
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