Governor Sir Francis Nicholson and Bloomsbury Square - Annapolis, MD
N 38° 58.764 W 076° 29.535
18S E 370742 N 4315549
This plaque tells the history of the Bloomsbury Square (the plaque is in the middle of this Square) and the relationship former Governor Sir Francis Nicholson, Charles Carroll, and William Bladen have in its creation and development.
Waymark Code: WME9RF
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 04/23/2012
Views: 11
You expect to find bits of history so close to the center of Marylands governmental center. This sign of history will not disappoint. Its double columns of text is packed with historical background about the very place surrounding the plaque for several blocks. The plaque is on the corner of the William S James Senate Building at the corner of College Ave. and Bladen Street. The plaque reads:
"Governor Sir Francis Nicholson and Bloomsbury Square
Bloomsbury Square was named after a square in London where the Lords Baltimore, proprietors (owners) of Maryland, lived and where prospective settlers went in 1633 to get information concerning the proposed new colony of Maryland. Bloomsbury Square was part of the master plan for Annapolis derived by Sir Francis Nicholson (Governor, 1694-1699) when he moved the capital from St. Mary’s City to Annapolis in 1695. Bloomsbury Square is bounded by Calvert Street, Northwest Street, Church Circle, College Avenue, and St. John’s Street. It was first owned by Charles Carroll. Esq. the settler and William Bladen. Charles Carroll, Esq., the settler, (1660-1720), was a noted Maryland lawyer and landowner. He was the grandfather of Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832), who was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the first United States Senators from Maryland. William Bladen (1670-1718), also a lawyer, owned one of the first printing presses in Annapolis, and held numerous offices including the clerkship of both the Lower House of Assembly and the Governor’s Council. He was the father of Thomas Bladen (1698-1780), Governor of Maryland.
Bloomsbury Square has had an interesting history. On its northern edge, now College Creek, is the probable site of a shipyard which on January 5, 1747 launched one of the largest ships ever built in colonial times for the Chesapeake tobacco trade, the Rumney & Long. Some of the earliest documented homes of free blacks in Annapolis were located here, as well as the 19th century Annapolis Gas Works, and an interurban rail depot. In recent years, the William S. James Senate Office Building, the Income Tax Building, the Louis L. Goldstein Treasury Building, the Thomas Hunter Lowe House of Delegates Building, and other State government structures have been built in the Square. Care has been taken in these newer buildings to preserve the concept of courtyards reminiscent of the original plan for Bloomsbury Square.”
Below this text is the reverse side of the Maryland State Seal, under which is stated, “The obverse of the great seal of Maryland shows Lord Baltimore as a knight in full armor mounted on a charger.”
Group that erected the marker: Unknown
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
177 College Avenue
Annapolis, MD USA
21401
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Visit Instructions:
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