Skip to main content
HomeRESEARCH2 - Historic Maps

Historic Maps


Significant Maps Covering St. Mary's County Arranged Chronologically


  • 1612 - John Smith's Map of Virginia - This map is based on a three-month exploratory survey by boat in the summer of 1608 under the direction of Captain John Smith and is the earliest published map of the entire Chesapeake region.
  • 1600's - Menard's Map of 17th Century Patents - In early 1971 the St. Mary's City Commission retained Russell Menard to study landholding settlement patterns and population growth in seventeenth century St. Mary's County.  The result was a map showing the probable location of 425 of the nearly 500 surveys listed in the 1705 rent roll for the county. The placement of the tracts should be considered tentative at best, but the map provides a useful tool for study of the early settlements of the county. 
  • 1640-1663 - The Manors of the Lower Patuxent River  - Not much is known about this hand-drawn map by Henry Barkley, dated 1935. It seems fairly accurately drawn, shows an abundance of historical information, and even lists sources of information.
  • 1670 - Augustine Herrman's Map of Virginia and Maryland - This was a large 4-sheet map that provided some of the earliest details about the Chesapeake Bay region.  Herrman spent ten years surveying for this map which was made at the request of Lord Calvert, in part to support boundary discussions between Maryland and Virginia.  Only five copies of this map are known to exist.  While not 100% geographically accurate (good for 1670), this map does provide valuable information on the location of plantation houses on the water.  The article below is a summary of research done to identify the plantations; see especially the section on St. Mary's County. 
  • 1794 - Map of the State of Maryland - Dennis Griffith, a surveyor, produced this accurate map of Maryland, which is considered the finest eighteenth-century map of the state. Carefully executed and containing many topographic details, Griffith's map was an achievement for its time and is considered the first official state map. (Description from Mapping Maryland)
  • 1824 - Part of St. Mary's County - This is a large map that was made in 1824 by the U.S. Topographical Engineers under the direction of Major James Kearney.  It consists of only the southern half of the county - roughly from Cedar Point to Point Lookout.  It was undoubtedly made as part of the Topographical Engineers mandate to survey the early nation's waterways, and to prepare defenses.  The accuracy of this early map is astounding for the time, as the county's shorelines and waterways match almost perfectly to today's maps.  One incredibly valuable aspect of this map is that it shows locations of homes along with the names of the owners/occupants.  The original and only known copy map is large, approximately 48" x 60" and is in the National Archives in College Park, MD.  
  • 1824 - Map Showing the Relative Positions of the Projected Forts for the Defense of the Patuxent River - This map appears to be based on the 1823-1824 map above, but just shows the Patuxent River.  An interesting feature is the planned forts at Point Patience and Thomas Point (a.k.a Town Point).
  • 1835 - Map B - Stratigraphy of St. Mary's and Charles Counties
  • 1841 - Map of Maryland -Lucas Fielding Jr.
  • 1857 - Map of The Patuxent and St. Mary's Rivers - This map was compiled from the 1824 maps done by the Bureau of Topographic Engineers.  It has detail for the Patuxent River side of St. Mary's county farther north than on the 1824 map.
  • 1859 - Wathen Survey of Henry Key's Land (Leondardtown) - This is a beautifully done survey map of the lands of Henry Key, the owner of Americus Felix Secundus (today's Tudor Hall and the home of the SMCHS).  The survey covers land on the east from Tudor Hall to the west where current route 5 intersects with Newtowne Neck Road.
  • 1866 - Martinet's Map of St. Mary's County - These pages are from Martinet's Atlas of Maryland, which contained a double-page spread for each county, as well as a one-page description of the county.  It also contains statistics about each county including population (white & black), and agricultural yields.
  • 1881 - Map Showing the Southern Maryland Railroad and It's Connections - This map was probably included in a prospectus attempting to promote a railroad through St. Mary's County.  Several attempts were made to build this railroad beginning in 1868.  It was never constructed.
  • 1903 - St. Mary's County Showing Topography and Election Districts
  • 1928 - Leonardtown, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps - These maps were designed to assist fire insurance agents in determining the degree of hazard associated with a particular property and therefore show the size, shape, and construction of dwellings. The maps also indicate widths and names of streets, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers.  Sanborn maps are thus an unrivaled source of information for their time about the structure and use of buildings in American cities.
  • 1935 - Map of Maryland State Road System
  • 1959 - St. Mary's County Topography and Election Districts
Physical Maps in the SMCHS Collection


There are over 100 maps in the SMCHS Library.  Maps can be found by searching our library catalog.  To list all maps, select "Advanced Search" under the "Library Catalog" button on the left.  The select the "Map" checkbox, and click the green "Search" button.  This will return a list of all our maps.  Most of the maps have been digitized, and are available for viewing online by clicking the "View map here" link in the search results.  If you would like to see the physical map, come to the library during normal operating hours.


County Map Resources


Interactive County Map - The St. Mary's County GIS website map is an excellent resource for historical research.  There are multiple basemaps (current and historic) as well as photographic and satellite imagery.  There are also options to overlay many types of information including property boundaries (with links to current owner and deed information), as well as locations of all historic districts, places on the National Historic Register and Maryland Historic Trust Sites. 

Interactive History Map - This map, while similar to the interactive county map above, allows simultaneous viewing of the county basemap or satellite imagery with a variety of historic maps.  The current and historic maps can be viewed by changing the transparency of the historic map or by swiping left/right between the two maps.  Many of the maps listed on the left side of this page are available for viewing interactively.  More maps are being added continuously.


Other Historic Map Resources