Historic St. Mary’s City is located on the St. Mary’s River, in a beautiful tidewater landscape of water, rolling hills, farmland, and forest. The 835-acre living history and archaeology museum is on the site of Maryland’s first capital (1634-1695). Our team is fortunate to build upon decades of cutting-edge research, with recreated structures in the historic town center, a Woodland Indian hamlet, a tall ship, and a tobacco plantation staffed by costumed or uniformed interpreters who help visitors understand the stories of Maryland’s history. Ongoing archaeological excavations continue to reveal new information about life in the past, and a new visitors center will come online in 2026. Since its inception, the Research and Collections department has identified over 300 archaeological sites within the St. Mary’s City National Historic Landmark (NHL) and curates more than 6.5 million artifacts, representing millennia of human history. The museum is one of Southern Maryland’s leading tourism attractions and hosts an active school tour program. Its collections are a resource for professional archaeologists, scholars, and college students. The HSMCC Field School in Historical Archaeology, one of the longest-running field schools in the nation, attracts students from all over the United States, as well as from other countries. The museum is overseen by the Historic St. Mary’s City Commission (HSMCC), an independent agency of the State of Maryland, under the Office of the Governor.