Page 61 - Maryland Historical Trust - Archaeology Colonial MD

pelled me to try and recover his story. Maryland’s archives show that he was sent to Maryland in 1661 by Lord Baltimore to serve as a councilor and the surveyor general for the colony. He ful- filled those duties until 1670 when “being con- strained by urgent ocasions to leave the Province” he was recalled to England.38 Research revealed that this business involved assisting negotiations in Italy for the marriage of Charles II’s brother James (the future James II of England), to Italian princess Mary of Modena. This proved successful and Jerome stayed in England afterward but died suddenly in 1674 under the care of the Queen’s personal physician. He had powerful connections and a background few English shared. Born in England the year Maryland was founded, Jerome and his family moved to Rome during the English Civil War. He was raised and educated there. His father, Richard White, was a noted mathemati- cian and scientist who personally knew and did research for Galileo and other renowned Italian mathematicians such as Benedetto Castelli and Bonaventura Cavalieri. Richard measured tides, recorded comets, and did work in geometry. In 1648, he published a book on geometry in Rome, dedicating it to Galileo. And despite his Catholic faith, he was on the first list of scientists found- ing the Royal Society of London. Jerome’s uncle, Thomas White was even more famous. He pub- lished 65 books on topics ranging from theology and math to science and political theory and was friends with people like Mersenne, Descarte, and Hobbes.39 Jerome no doubt benefited from their work and knowledge in his own education, while also being able to directly observe ancient ruins and the execution of the innovative baroque ideas about architecture and city planning in 17th-cen- tury Rome. Few if any American colonists had such a remarkable background.
The St. Mary’s City plan consisted of two symmetrical triangles that placed key brick build- ings at the connector points of these triangles which met in the central square. The number 14 was clearly of significance given the 1400 foot distances, 140° angle at the base, and approximate- ly 28° angles where each triangle met the central square. The reason 14 and its multiples were em- ployed is unknown. Another notable feature is that the roads pointed inward to the central square and outward to buildings. This is the first identified intentional use in a colonial city of the concept rediscovered in the Renaissance of “perspective.” The structures themselves had symbolic signif-
icance in that they represented religion, govern- ment, justice, and perhaps education. The use of geometry, symmetry, perspective and symbolism are all features of city planning concept that came out of the Renaissance, referred to as “Baroque design.” Their most advanced application in the mid-17th century was in Rome. What is equal- ly intriguing is how the St. Mary’s composition placed the church and government symmetrically on opposite sides of the city. This may reflect in a physical way Lord Baltimore’s policy of having no established church, or in 21st century terms, a separation of church and state. It is probably no coincidence that when Royal Governor Francis Nicholson designed Annapolis, he placed the state house and church side by side in adjoining circles. A new social order existed at that time, with the Church of England being the official Church of Maryland. Urban plans are cultural creations that carry meaning and baroque planning was well suited to the expression of meaning. For this rea- son, it was applied to or proposed for capital cities such as Rome, Paris, London, St. Petersburg, and used for the three capitals on the soil of Maryland — St. Mary’s, Annapolis and Washington, DC.
Archaeological survey shows that buildings were being constructed along the main streets of St. Mary’s and an urban setting was slowly devel- oping. A sense of permanence was being sought by adding brick veneers to clapboard covered structures such as at Van Sweringens in the late 1670s, and the Calvert House in the 1680s. The first printer outside of Boston, William Nuthead, began work at St. Mary’s ca. 1684 and one of his print shop locations has been excavated.40 This was a distinctly urban craft, slow to appear in the colonies. Even more urbane was the appearance of a coffee house at St. Mary’s City in the late 1680s at the Van Sweringen site. Archaeology has identified a building that was probably this coffee house, the first in the Chesapeake region and one of the earliest in English America.41 At the time the city’s first mayor, Philip Calvert, was being buried in his lead coffin at the chapel, the prospects for St. Mary’s City seemed bright. The community was expanding and aspects of the baroque plan were becoming more obvious. But it was not to last.
A 1689 rebellion against Lord Baltimore re- sulted in Maryland becoming a royal colony. The decision in late 1694 to move the government to the Protestant stronghold of Arundletown was the death knell for Lord Baltimore’s capital.
59