On May 10, 1692, Maryland's new governor, Sir Lionel Copley, met with the colony's legislature for the first time. This meeting marked the beginning of royal control of Maryland and it occurred at Garrett Van Sweringen's Council Chamber. The scene depicted here shows Copley arriving at Van Sweringen's with members of the Governor's Council standing ready to greet him. Copley was likely dressed in his finest clothing and rode his magnificent white horse named Draggon. Copley's 1693 estate inventory tells us that Draggon was worth 8£ sterling, a sum more than four times the value of a typical Maryland house.
Van Sweringen's Council Chamber Inn
The Private lodging house run by Dutch Settler Garrett Van Sweringen offered the finest lodgings in early Maryland. In the 1670s, he refurbished a standing building, added brick veneer and chimneys and opened a "private lodging house" that appealed to the colony's elite. To learn more about the fascinating history and archaeology of this unique site, continue walking along Aldermanbury Street until you reach the exhibit entrance at the orientation pavilion.

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Show me all markers in:  Saint Marys City, MD  |  St. Mary's County  |  20686  |  Maryland  |  United States of America

The Illusion of Brick
A Change in Government
The Council Roome
A Private Lodging House
The Servants
The Kitchen
A Busy Kitchen
Cellar Archaeology
The Cooling House
...Adjourn to the Arbour at Vansweringens

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