The St Michaels Museum at St Mary's Square is pleased to provide a new and expanded version of "A Walking Tour of St. Michaels."
This online and print brochure allows you to identify historically important buildings and learn a little about their history as you stroll through the historic areas of St. Michaels.
You can click on the map below for a printable version or you may also scan the QR code at the associated property and you will be taken directly to the specific property on your smart phone or tablet. Many thanks go out to the St Michaels Museum Walking Tour Committee for undertaking this wonderful project.
The St. Michaels Museum is a fundamental part of the St. Michaels community and part of what makes St. Michaels walking village a fun place to live and visit.
Tourists and residents alike enjoy the museum for the vivid interpretation of St. Michaels' culture and history, including the historic artifacts and the stories of the people preserved as oral histories, and a continuing calendar of dynamic programs and activities. Children learn to value and appreciate St. Michaels' history because of the museum's participatory programs and activities both in the classroom and on-site.
1. St. Mary’s Square
St. Mary’s Square: W1812, FD
The Square was a central feature of the original plan of St. Michaels developed by British factor (agent) James Braddock. In 1778, he purchased 127 acres at an auction of the real estate of Captain Philip Wetheral (Site 5). Braddock laid out approximately 20 acres of this land into a square, streets, and 58 lots (mostly 60 x 120 feet), calling his town “St. Michaels” after the parish and river of that name. A “public market house” was built in the center of the Square around 1805. The guns and cannons used in the Battle of St. Michaels during the War of 1812 were stored in it. The large Revolutionary War cannon on the Square was brought here from Sewell’s Point, VA. The smaller cannon (nearer the bell) is said to have been used to defend St. Michaels against the British on the night of August 10, 1813. At the head of the Square stands Granite Lodge, built in 1839. The building stands on the site of the first Methodist Church in St. Michaels on land donated to the Methodists by James Braddock in 1781. Between then and now, the building has served variously as a church, schoolhouse and as a storehouse for muskrat skins. Frederick Douglass likely attended church here with his owner, Thomas Auld, when he lived in St Michaels on Cherry St. and nearby farms as a young slave in 1833-35. The Square has been the scene of many gatherings of people including General Perry Benson and his troops leading up to the Battle of St. Michaels.The “Mechanics’ Bell” now located on the Square was rung daily at 7, noon,and 5, and measured the working day for the carpenters in the nearby shipyards.
2. St Michaels Museum
The St Michaels Museum
The museum is located on the former site of the St Michaels High School. It is a three building complex comprising: the Jeremiah Sewell House, a 19th century white waterman’s family home, the Chaney House (ca 1850), owned by free black brothers and third, the Teetotum Building (ca 1870s) formerly a commercial structure. All three buildings were moved here from other St Michaels locations. The buildings house a large collection of historic artifacts that reflect the history of life, commerce, and culture of St. Michaels
3. Cannonball House
The Cannonball House: W1812, SB Mulberry St.
During the Battle of St. Michaels, a cannonball penetrated the roof of this house, rolled across the attic floor and bounced down the staircase, frightening the occupant, a Mrs. Merchant, who was carrying her infant daughter downstairs. The brick house was built in 1805 by William Merchant, a shipwright. William Merchant died intestate, and the house was sold by John Dorgin, trustee, in 1831, for the sum of $1,000
4. The Cottage
The Cottage: SB 401 Water St.
The house built about 1840, was the home of the Robert D. Lambdins family from
1840 to 1905. Lambdin and his sons were shipwrights who built large Bay craft such
as schooners, pungies, and bugeyes as well as the popular working and racing canoes.
His shipyard was located behind the house at the foot of Mulberry Street.
