IMaryland was convened at Saint Mary's on February 26, 1635, meet- 

 ing, it is said, under the Old Mulberry. Under its branches, also, the 

 first Mass is believed to have been celebrated by the little community. 

 The historic tree became a centre of popular interest in the village; 

 on its trunk were nailed Governor Calvert's proclamations and those 

 of his successors; as well as "notices of punishment and fines, the 

 inventories of debtors whose goods were to be sold and all notices 

 calling for the public attention." In comparatively recent years, the 

 "rude nails" which had fastened these documents to the tree, were 

 still to be seen in the wood. 



About seventy feet distant from the tree, the State House was 

 built, and for sixty-one years the little capital flourished. Not all 

 was harmony, for Lord Baltimore refused, at first, to approve the 

 Acts of the Assembly, holding that under the charter of Maryland 

 he alone had power to make laws. In return, at their next session, 

 the colonists rejected all his bills and passed their own. After this, 

 their rights were not again questioned, and in 1637, they became in 

 reality a self-governing body. • 



Political freedom having been established, religious liberty was 

 also guaranteed in the famous "Toleration Act" passed in 1649, which 

 has been styled the "proudest memorial by colonial Maryland." 

 Within the old State House, says Dr. James Walter Thomas, the 

 historian, were laid "to a great extent the foundations and outlines 

 of the present legal, civil and social structure of Maryland, and of 

 some of its most cherished institutions." 



In 1691, Saint Mary's was placed under Royal Government and 

 the Church of England established there. In 1694, Anne-Arundel- 

 town or Annapolis was proclaimed State Capital, partly on the plea 

 that Saint Mary's was not sufficiently accessible. 



In vain, did the inhabitants offer to maintain a coach and six 

 horses for "riding post," between Saint Mary's and Pawtunxet, during 

 the sessions of the Legislature. The history of the town was virtually 

 finished, and gradually the place became, indeed, a deserted village. 



It is interesting to note, in passing, that the Pawtunxet road, 

 leading to Annapois, is still known as the "Three Notched Road," 

 due to the fact that by order of the Assembly of 1704, it as well as 

 other highways, were distinguished by notches cut in the trees, and 

 the Pawtunxet main road was marked by three such cuts, some of 

 which are still visible. 



The usefulness of the Old Mulberry did not all vanish with the 

 fall of its little city. It yielded some of its wood for furniture to be 

 used in the Episcopal Church later built there, and some for the mak- 

 ing of souvenirs sold for the benefit of the same Church. Living 

 through parts of at least three centuries, and witnessing some of the 

 most interesting scenes of colonial history and much that was of vast 

 importance to future generations in its own State, the veteran Mul- 

 berry fell in 1876, sincerely mourned by many who had learned to 



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