In the goode olde dayes

December 10, 2008 7:29 AM

What's important about St. Mary's City? Margaret Brent was the first woman to petition for the right to vote in English America in 1648
Mathias de Sousa was the first man of African descent to vote in North America in 1642.
The first Catholic Mass was celebrated in English America by Fr. Andrew White 1634, who also described his 1633 Voyage to Maryland (translated from latin). It was also the location of the first Print House in the southern colonies of America. (more articles).( map Then and Now)
posted by adamvasco (4 comments total)

Hey, my alma mater! 92'. Wow how nice, a MeFi FPP. It's a little podunk out of the way place few people go too but yeah it has a ton of important history and beautiful sort of lazy Sunday afternoon serenity conductive to drinking Natty Boh. According to Wikipedia:

St. Mary's City is the fourth oldest permanent settlement in British North America and is considered the birthplace of religious toleration in America, owing to the Act Concerning Religion. The city was also the first place in America where a woman asked for the right to vote, and a man of African descent voted in the Assembly at one point.

posted by stbalbach at 7:40 AM on December 10, 2008

Thanks adamvasco. I love a good history post.
posted by Abiezer at 10:23 AM on December 10, 2008

Ditto. Good post.
posted by resurrexit at 12:07 PM on December 10, 2008

St. Mary's County is also probably one of the more beautiful areas in Maryland. Great post, by the way.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 3:32 PM on December 10, 2008