Main Street

—The Nicholson Town Plan —

1694
Governor Francis Nicholson
Governor of the Province of Maryland, 1694-1698

[Image captions:]
· Photograph by Carol M. Highsworth. [LC-N3503-1883]
· Portrait thought to be of Francis Nicholson, c.1710. MSA SC 1621-590. Photograph courtesy of Michael Dahl.

Francis Nicholson became governor of the province of Maryland in 1694. He was largely responsible for the relocation of Maryland's capital from St. Mary's City to the more centrally located town on the Severn River that he named Annapolis. In keeping with his interest in the established church, Nicholson designed the new capital with the Anglican Church and the State House as focal points. He also provided for a boys' grammar school.

Annapolis is a remarkable urban environment. Laid out more than 300 years ago, the city evokes a sense of history and a sense of place, expressed in the character of its streets, its relationship to the water around it, and its pleasing human scale. Governor Francis Nicholson's 1695 town plan for Annapolis is the oldest surviving Baroque city plan in the United States.

[Image caption:]
Aerial of State House, State Circle, and Government House, 1967, by Mike C. Ernst [MSA SC #140-1-583]

Nicholson Town Plan Mural
Mural



location: 133 Main Street (Gorman Street Side), Annapolis

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Gov. Francis Nicholson
Framework of History
159 Main Street
163 Main Street
167 Main Street at Conduit Street
41 Cornhill Street
Mann's Tavern
Cornhill & Fleet Streets
Maryland State House
USS Maryland

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