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The St Mary’s County Historical Society was founded in 1951 to collect, preserve, research, and interpret the history of St. Mary’s County, Maryland. In addition to genealogical and scholarly research, the Historical Society publishes The Chronicles of St. Mary’s. This journal, provided to members and friends, offers in-depth studies of all aspects of St Mary’s County’s history and people. The publication enjoys wide readership and is often referenced in scholarly publications and research.
Beginning in 2020, the Historical Society embarked on a new program entitled Historically Speaking. The intent of this lecture series, particularly those given in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Democracy at St Mary’s College of Maryland, is to bring focus to the some of the less visible facets of the political, legal, and economic history of colonial Maryland and their bearing on the formation of democratic institutions within and beyond the State’s borders. Thus far, six lectures have been held in the series with topics ranging from the roots of US religious liberty in Southern Maryland to origin individual rights in the US Constitution.
With an active membership of six-hundred and fifty, the Historical Society is headquartered in Tudor Hall. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Tudor Hall is one of the oldest buildings in Leonardtown and all that remains of “America Felix Secundus”, a 1,100-acre plantation granted to Abraham Barnes in 1744. It is known that George Washington visited Tudor Hall and it is one of the few buildings in Leonardtown to have escaped pillaging and ruin by the British in the War of 1812.
As its headquarters Tudor Hall is home to the Historical Society's extensive genealogical and historical resources, numerous artifacts relating to the County, as well as a small bookstore. The Historical Society acquired Tudor Hall in 1984 granting an easement to the Maryland Historical Trust in 1989 for preservation of the land and the building’s exterior and interior.