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St. Mary's County - REAL PEOPLE - Will Gates
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GATES >> My name is Will Gates and I am the captain of the Maryland Dove. My title at
the museum is maritime currator which means I take care of a collection. In this case
it is an educational collection. It is a collection of a ship and a couple of boats, and a few
other various furnishing, artifacts if you will. What that means in plain talks is I
get to be the captain of a 17th century ship, and I'm responsible to take care of it.
I learned sailing at a sailing camp at a museum and then worked at that museum for several
years. So I picked it all up over a period of time.
My life's mission to again, perserve this skills so that others can enjoy them.
Our modern vessel the Maryland Dove is a re-creation of a 17th century merchant ship. This sort
of ship that was used to trade with the colony, small enough to get in and out of the bays
and sounds, the creeks and rivers, but big enough to carry in this case 42 tons of cargo.
St. Mary's City was the founding capital of Maryland. It was the place where Leonard Calvert
and the colonists first came to Maryland, the first town in Maryland. This was a British
colony. The fact that the Calverts were a Catholic family and that Maryland was a propiortship,
it was their colony.
We have a treasure trove of information about the past here at St. Mary's City. An area
of the town center right at the exact crossroads, the actual crossroads of the town center where
several of the buildings that were here have been recreated as closesly as we're able to
make. Smith's Ordinary, a store house, a couple of other buildings, those have been recreated
showing the town center. As well as the visitors center where we can get introduced, see an
interactive video, see some archeological exhibits.
Historic. Important. Tollerant. Fun. Interesting for certain.
Come and kickbackin the wind the sun the water. Slow down and enjoy a little bit of resting.
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