Page 119 - Maryland Historical Trust - Archaeology Colonial MD

in 1677 and bequeathed the property to his two sons William and Richard. William inherited the northern half of the property where a town was established in 1684.4
Mount Calvert Town was created in 1684 by a supplemental to the 1683 Act for the Ad- vancement of Trade that designated the location of towns, their legal division into 100 one-acre lots, trade restrictions, and town overseers to be in charge of recording incoming commerce. Mount Calvert’s choice as a town site, like all legally des- ignated town sites, was a matter of political per- suasion and favor.5 Ninian Beall, Henry Darnall, and Henry Jowles were the three individuals most responsible for Mount Calvert becoming a town site. William Groome, Jr. was still a minor when Mount Calvert was designated a town. Groome’s mother Sybil married Henry Jowles following the death of William, Sr., thus making Jowles William’s guardian. Henry Jowles was a powerful Protestant politician who served terms in both houses of the Maryland assembly as well as the position of Sheriff and Justice of Calvert County. Henry Darnall was a member of the elite Catho- lic ruling family of Maryland, cousin to Charles
Calvert, the third Lord Baltimore, and one of the most powerful men in the colony. Darnall was instrumental in the passage of the 1680s town legislation, and his home plantation was the “Woodyard” located to the west of Mount Calvert. Ninian Beall was a wealthy land speculator and powerful leader of the Scottish Presbyterians liv- ing in early Calvert County. As first commission- er, Ninian Beall would have most likely taken up a lot as a base for recording commerce arriving at the landing. Locating a town at Mount Calvert, rather than another location to the south, favored each of these individuals and it is likely that they lobbied for the designation.6
Prince George’s County was created in 1696 out of portions of Charles County along the Po- tomac River, and Calvert County along the Patux- ent River, including Mount Calvert. Fortunately, most of the records from Prince George’s County have survived, providing a wide range of informa- tion about the growth and demise of the town at Mount Calvert after 1696. Mount Calvert was the only legislated town within the boundary of Prince George’s County in 1696 and was desig- nated the first county seat. One of the first acts of
figure 2
View of Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park looking northeast.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL T. LUCAS, COURTESY OF THE MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION.
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