Historic St Mary's City: Tobacco Farm

The outdoor rubbish heap. 

It was interesting to me how compelling I found the tobacco farm to be. Especially as everything in St Mary's City is rebuilt - nothing is extant. Perhaps it was because the farm house reminded me of original buildings I grew to know and love in upstate NY. Perhaps they were just able to recapture the spirit of the place they were trying to portray. 

In the workshop. There were two male guides whose English accents weren't the best, but they still did a good job at playing the part. 

Inside the farmhouse. Lovely!

I loved the exposed beams, the iron chandelier & the painted chest. 

They had a very nice garden as well. 

Chickens!

They also had an interesting Spanish breed of pigs - they looked more like wild boars than the domestic pink pigs one thinks of today. 

It was nice that our visit coincided with the pig feeding. There was a tree on the property - a Medlar tree. Apparently you can't eat them straight off the tree, but must pick them and let them ripen after. I was so intrigued by this tree, and its various uses. We picked up a few of the fruits off the ground to give to the pigs. 

All these photos - and the ones in my next post - are courtesy of my friend Sarah (whose excellent blog, History Preserved, can be found in the above link). My phone died, sadly, so I was unable to take any more pictures at this time. 

Maryland Trip: Historic St Mary's City

Our next adventure took us to Historic St Mary's City. It was quite a long distance, but worth the journey. It is a fascinating site of historical and archaeological value, and I was impressed by their approach to visitors and tourists. 

St Mary's City was an 17th century settlement, and there is an interesting mixture of Native American and European structures, as the Europeans lived in Native dwellings at first when settling in this area.  

A diagram of the ship in which the Europeans came. 

I liked the wee ladies in their 17th century garb. 

Domestic finds. I love these!

There had been excavations on the site from 1971, and all the buildings were rebuilt on original foundations. 

Part of a dig covered up for the season!

This area is part of the Chesapeake Bay, and there was a rebuilt 17th century boat here as well. 

I'll be writing another post about this area, but I was impressed with their way of recreating the past. It felt very natural, and not too manufactured. It fit into the past.