Historic St. Mary's City
Historic St. Mary's City
4.5
Points of Interest & LandmarksHistory Museums
Wednesday
10:00 - 16:00
Thursday
10:00 - 16:00
Friday
10:00 - 16:00
Saturday
10:00 - 16:00
Sunday
10:00 - 16:00
About
Historic St. Mary's City is a museum of living history and archaeology on the site of Maryland's first capital. The living history exhibits are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Duration: More than 3 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles154 reviews
Excellent
86
Very good
55
Average
10
Poor
1
Terrible
2

reefghost
Glen Burnie, MD5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Family
While we expected the visit to be informative and interesting, the experience far exceeded our expectations, mainly because of the very knowledgeable and engaging staff. Jerome, Noah, and the other guides brought history to life and made it fun.
Written 12 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

bluegrassmom3
Owensboro, KY458 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2023 • Family
My sister and I came her to witness where our ancestors landed from England. It was a worthwhile trip and the staff was truly dedicated to bringing to life the history of the city.
Written 15 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

LAURIE S
Buckhannon, WV439 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
Absolutely staggering historical recreation of Maryland’s pre-colonial period. Costumed docents explain several exhibits. Flat walking paths as property is spread out but plenty of benches and water fountains. Property tickets include museums, restorations, dove boat, and demonstrations. Take a picnic lunch and refillable bottles as limited refreshments available. Plan to spend the whole day there to see it all. Start at the blue visitors center for good overview to get grounded. Use the map so you don’t overlook anything.
Written 30 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Corrie P
Chicago, IL66 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
It's like a mini Colonial Williamsburg! It's very walkable for my little kids. I think their favorite part was the Dove. The presentations and demonstrations are a lot of fun and the staff/volunteers are very knowledgeable. Lots of picnic tables, and bathrooms are easy to find. Would definitely recommend this place for a family with young kids.
Written 20 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

John L
White Marsh, MD268 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Couples
An excellent introduction to early life in the colonies and the founding of the State of Maryland.
Written 4 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mvidro
Washington DC, DC435 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022
We essentially spent the day touring the site. We particularly enjoyed boarding the replica Dove, which brought colonists to Maryland's shores in 1634. Touring the original State House was also interesting.
Written 8 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

VirginiaCW
Mount Pleasant, SC934 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Friends
This is like a mini Williamsburg on the western bank of the Chesapeake not far from the airbase and then incredible little find. A colonial village much of which has been restored much of which is suggested in gorgeous shape with a school right there if you’re anywhere near it and you in anyway enjoy history you should absolutely make the time and effort to go here.
There’s a ship a lot of the old buildings the hall it’s gorgeous
Written 23 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review! We are happy to see you visited our living history museum!
Written 6 September 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Louisa A
maryland22 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
St. Mary's City is one of my favorite places. It's perfect for a leisurely day of wandering around the gorgeous historical acreage, exploring all the sites and buildings, new and old. The Godiah Spray Farm is fun and usually inhabited with actor-interpreters who do demonstrations and can answer questions about colonial life. A must-see is the Dove replica in the harbor. See the one that is there now, soon, as I have heard a rumor that it will be dismantled and replaced in the near future. Plenty of variety of spaces for a lawn or water-front picnic (bring your own unless Enzo's is open). The gift shop has a terrific selection of fun, functional and educational souvenirs, and cold beverages and a few snacks. While you're in St. Mary's City, don't forget to check out St. Johns Site Museum on the other side of the College campus. Plenty to see and do in St. Mary's City to last a whole day...or maybe spend a night or two at the Chancellor's Point camping area. If you're lucky, you may run across the crews of archaeologists scattered around the City who are there digging most weekdays. Oh, and there are modern, clean bathroom facilities on site.
Written 6 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for the detailed review! 1978 Dove will be docked at Historic St. Mary's City for the next year or so and will be open for tours when the new Maryland Dove is away on outreach trips. We are thrilled to have the new vessel, and equally happy we can still share the 1978 Dove. We hope to see you again soon!!
Written 6 September 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

T H
5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Friends
We spent a day at historic St. Mary. I’d planned on a couple hours, but I was not giving this site enough credit before we got there. The welcome center had a quaint museum, but the grounds were jam packed. Every site has people in time appropriate costume just waiting to share history and answer questions. The farm even has some very personable cows and pigs! It’s easy to see why this area was settled, and why it succeeded where some other early settlements suffered. I’ll be going back with my kids soon.
Written 30 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review! We agree - there is much to see and do here. We typically advise giving 3 - 4 hours to see all the museum has to offer. We hope to see you and your children again soon!
Written 6 September 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Heather M
Maryland127 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2021
I took my daughters here as I know they won't be doing this as a field trip at their school and I had gone on a field trip when I was in elementary school. I did my research on their website, which I strongly recommend. (For example, we already knew the St. John's Site Museum was closed due to electrical issues, so we weren't upset to learn that when we arrived.) It was a great way to learn about Colonial Maryland. Here are the highlights:

Be prepared to walk a LOT. Everything is spread out, as much of it is set up on the actual locations of buildings from 400 years ago and the town had people spread out.

It's a work in progress. Most of the houses/buildings are just frames. However, there are many complete buildings including a church, inn, and state house. There is also a Woodland Indian Hamlet and a reproduction of a sailboat you can tour.

The staff are knowledgeable and it wasn't crowded when we went so we got a lot of one-on-one attention and questions answered. Everyone was friendly and helpful.

Go to the Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation! Apparently most people don't go to this particular part of the site because it's set away from everything else. However, you can walk there if you're not exhausted yet or you can drive your car there as they have their own parking area.

There is ONE restaurant at Historic St. Mary's City. It has very limited hours and a very limited menu. It is also quite popular with the college students at St. Mary's College, so go before class lets out if you're there on a weekday during the school year. The food was delicious, and I really enjoyed it. However, I had a hunch my kids wouldn't eat what they had, so I packed PB&J for them and that was a good choice. Even the grilled cheese was too fancy for them. The menu is online. Check it out if you have picky eaters like me.
Written 6 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 153
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

HISTORIC ST. MARY'S CITY: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Historic St. Mary's City

Historic St. Mary's City is open:
  • Wed - Sun 10:00 - 16:00