Well, there was no St. Mary Anne … but there’s a good story involved in the unique name of our church. In 1706, the colonial legislature and governor of Maryland established a new parish on the north shore of the Elk River. As was the custom in England, the Lord of the Manor on which the parish was to be located set aside the land for the church buildings. Sometime between the years 1709 and 1715, a wooden church was built on the site of the present church. The Reverend Jonas Auren, who was a Swedish Lutheran clergyman, established the first congregation of English, Swedes, and Finns. This congregation became the congregation of St. Mary’s Parish.
In 1714, Queen Anne died. Part of her bequest was a sum to be used to establish the Anglican Church in the colonies. St. Mary’s received a large Bible, a Book of Common Prayer, and a silver chalice and paten from this source. In gratitude for these gifts, the congregation renamed itself St. Mary Anne’s.
For more details about the history of St. Mary Anne’s Church, click here.