Formed January 1, 1637 (1st county)
Saint Mary’s County (113,775), Leonardtown (4,561)
A red brick Colonial Revival type structure was built in 1902 by B. F. Smith, architect. The courthouse is on Courthouse Drive at Washington Street. Maryland State Highway 5 is six blocks to the north. The building was remodeled in 1957. A 1901 version of the courthouse was also in Leonardtown. A District Courthouse also supports the county. The county is named for the saint. The county seat is named for Benedict Leonard Calvert, 5th Lord Baltimore. Saint Mary’s County was the birthplace of 2 Maryland Governors, George Plater and James Thomas. The county was the first county formed on January 1, 1637 from unorganized territory.
Saint Mary’s County government consists of a manager, an administrator, and a sheriff (executive). It has 5 Council Members (legislative.) Thirty-eight Circuit Court Judges serve St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles, and Princes George’s counties, Six District Court Judges serve St. Mary’s, Calvert, and Charles counties and a court clerk and a county attorney serve Saint Mary’s County (judicial.) Saint Mary’s County is on the southern border with Virginia. The Potomac River is its southern border. The county center is 4 miles East-Northeast of Leonardtown. The county is surrounded clockwise by Calvert, Dorchester, and Somerset counties and Virginia and Charles County.
The area of the county is 611 square miles. It is 8 out of 24 in the state. It ranks 12 out of 24 in population in the state. It has a density of 186.2 persons per square mile making it 15 out of 24 in the state. Saint Mary’s County has 4.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county. The county is shaped like a funnel pointing southeast. Leonardtown is near the south-central coast of the county. Leonardtown is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 4.0% of the county population. This county is in the Lexington Park Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Leonardtown
