Not many people know that the small, remote college town of St. Mary’s City was once the capital and chief city of Maryland. Even fewer know that it was one of the first places where the American principle of religious freedom was put into practice. The Province of Maryland was founded in 1632 by the Catholic Cecil Calvert, Baron Baltimore. He and his father wished to create a haven for English Catholics at a time when they were frequently persecuted. The colony was one of the first to be founded…
