Haunted Leonardtown Maryland: St Mary’s County Ghost Expedition 2015

Tudor Hall is one of the oldest buildings in Leonardtown MD dating to around 1745. It was constructed on a large estate called America Felix Secundus

The home was built by Abraham Barnes, a successful tobacco farmer who organized militia for the French-Indian and Revolutionary Wars. He died in 1778 leaving the estate to his son Richard

A long-term tenant of the home was John Thompson Mason, who was Richard Barnes’ brother-in-law and brother of George Mason, author of the Bill of Rights. In 1804, John T Mason Jr inherited the Barnes estate

Before 1817, ownership of the home was transferred to Philip Key, an uncle of Francis Scott Key, the author of the national anthem.

Another relative, Eliza Key, had helped to save the home when the British attacked Leonardtown in 1814

In 1818 Henry Greenfield Sothoron Key inherited the estate from his father, which by this time had been renamed “Tudor Hall.” In 1820 the estate underwent extensive remodeling

The property was subsequently passed to his son Joseph Key who lived there until his death in 1917. The property remained in the possession of heirs of Joseph Key until 1949

By this time the haunted legends in connection with Tudor Hall and their possible connection to the Key family appear to have been established.

According to local legend, the bell of an old, broken clock within Tudor Hall would toll whenever a member of the Key family died

In 1949, Mary Patterson Davidson purchased the estate, saving it from demolition. She would later suffer an untimely death

In accordance with her wishes the estate was deeded to the St Mary’s Library Association for use as a public library and memorial to men from the county who had died serving in World War II

In 1968, the estate was restored to its 1830 condition and the estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973

In 1984, the Saint Mary’s County Historical Society (SMCHS) purchased the building which currently houses the SMHCS library

The nearby Old County Jail was constructed in 1876 and currently serves as SMCHS headquarters

In 1972, a large rock was transferred outside the facility that is believed to be associated with the ghost legend of Moll Dyer

Moll Dyer emigrated to Maryland 1677. She lived alone on the outskirts of a settlement that preceded present-day Leonardtown. She was viewed as an eccentric due to her old world ways. She had been regarded as a witch and was feared and hated by superstitious townsfolk

Without a trial she was accused by townsfolk as responsible for a series of misfortunes to include an epidemic in 1697, a flood and crop failure

According to accounts, Moll Dyer fled into the woods in winter after a mob had burned her home to ashes. Days later her frozen corpse was found kneeling upon a large stone with one of her hands affixed to it

Local legend says “if you place your hands were Molls’ hand had shaped the stone, you’ll feel a second icy pair, gripping your own”



[maryland-paranormal.com]





REFERENCES:



Bourne. (1970). National Register of Historic Places Nomination: St Mary’s County Jail. Maryland Historical Trust, SM-159, St Mary’s County, Leonardtown MD. Maryland State Archives, msa.md.gov



Canfield, N. (2015, Jan 22). The Moll Dyer Witch Haunting in Leonardtown MD. HubPages: Kitty the Dreamer, hubpages.com

Clark, N. (2013, Oct 25). Exhuming Some Favorite Haunts of Southern Maryland. SoMD News, somdnews.com



Fenwick, C.E. and Reno L.D. (2014, Feb 13). History of the Old County Jail. St Mary’s County Historical Society, smchs.org



Maryland Office of Tourism. (2015). Haunted Maryland: St Mary’s County: The Frozen Witch of Old St. Mary’s. Visit Maryland, visitmaryland.org



Poole, M.S. (1989). Tudor Hall and those who lived there. Chronicles of St Mary’s, Vol 37, No 4, pp 295-270. Reprint. St Mary’s County Historical Society, smchs.org

SMCHS. (2014, Mar 21). History of Tudor Hall: Compiled from multiple sources. St Mary’s County Historical Society, smchs.org



Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium. The Battle of St Leonard’s Creek. Destination Southern Maryland, destinationsouthernmaryland.com

Townsend, A. (1972). National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Tudor Hall [America Felix Secundus]. Maryland Historical Trust, SM-10, St Mary’s County, Leonardtown MD. Maryland State Archives, msa.md.gov





IMAGES:



Tudor Hall [America Felix Secundus] FRONT ELEVATION, (Dec 1936), St Mary’s County, Leonardtown MD, Photo: E.H. Pickering [Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey]

Tudor Hall [America Felix Secundus] VIEW OF FRONT, (May 1937), St Mary’s County, Leonardtown MD, Photo: E.H. Pickering [Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey]

Tudor Hall [America Felix Secundus] INTERIOR FIREPLACE, (1936-1937), St Mary’s County, Leonardtown MD, Photo: Frances Benjamin Johnston [Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey]



Tudor Hall [America Felix Secundus] OUTBUILDINGS, (Dec 1936), St Mary’s County, Leonardtown MD, Photo: E.H. Pickering [Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey]

Portrait, MOLL DYER, The Moll Dyer Witch Haunting in Leonardtown MD, [hubpages.com], Photo: Kitty the Dreamer

Old County Jail, OLD JAIL MUSEUM, St Mary’s County, Leonardtown MD, [visitstmarysmd.com], Photo: Visit St Mary’s [St. Mary’s County Division of Tourism]

St Mary’s County Jail, SM-159, St Mary’s County, Leonardtown MD, [msa.md.gov], Photo: [Maryland Historic Trust]