You are now standing on the house site of Richard Smith, Sr., who in 1657 was appointed to fill the newly created office of Attorney General for Maryland.
The following year, this plantation—-"St. Leonard's—-was used by the colonial General Assembly and Lord Baltimore's Council of Maryland for a series of meetings. Among the laws passed by the Assembly at St. Leonard's that year was a peace treaty between Lord Baltimore and rebellious settlers; a bounty for killing wolves; a bill that required the registration of birth, marriages, and deaths; another that established the penalties for servant women who had illegitimate children; the creation of legal protection for the estates inherited by minor children; and the establishment of penalties for public drunkenness.
(Inscription under the image at the left top) Excerpts from the 1773 plat key describing the Smith Cemetery.
(Inscription under the image at the right top) 1773 plat showing Richard Smith's Sr.'s house location-Detail of plat "i" is Smith's house, "k" is the family cemetery.
(Inscription under the image at the right center) Archaeological test trench showing part of a grave shaft (outlined in red) at the Smith cemetery. The large stone to the right probably marked the grave's location.
A map of the plantation drawn in the 1770s indicated that the Smith family cemetery was located here, in an area where the Museum planned to install utility lines. Archaeological test trenches immediately uncovered the tops of graves, exactly where the map indicated they should be, and so the utility lines were moved to leave the burials undisturbed.
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