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appointed commissioners to build a new courthouse immediately. These gentlemen borrowed
$8,510 for the purpose from Robert Gilmor of Baltimore. The architect was William F. Small
of that city and the builder, Ignatius Mudd of Washington, D. C. On August 6, 1831, the
cornerstone was laid by Captain George Dent, a veteran of the Revolution, and the oration
was delivered by Henry G. S. Key. Among the items deposited in the cornerstone was the
motto "May the arrow of death quiver in the hearts of those who attempt to stifle the pure
ermine of Justice within these walls." 13
Such was the impressive beginning of the handsome Italian Renaissance structure created
by William Small.14 Legislative authorization for the project was forthcoming at the next
session of the General Assembly15 and the county seems to have taken possession shortly
thereafter.
Additions to the Courthouse at Leonardtown
This building continued in use until 1899 when it was razed to make room for the Vic-
torian courthouse, which was completed by 1901 at a cost of about $22,000.16 This building
was not so imposing as its predecessor, but it provided adequate space for fifty years. It
was designed and built by the B. I. Smith Company, Contractors. The chronology of the
building is quite full because the minutes of the building committee on which his grand-
father, Enoch Booth Abell, served have been preserved by Thomas E. Stokel of Leonardtown.
We know from this source that the removal of the old building was completed on May 4, 1901,
and the foundation of the new begun May 6. We are also told that Joseph H. Key was selected
as orator at the cornerstone ceremonies and that George B. Dent was chosen to lay the stone.
It has undergone extensive remodeling in recent years, and in 1957 it was entirely rebuilt
according to the plans of Frederick Tilp, Architect of Washington, D. C. The contractor was
Mervell M. Dean, Hollywood, St. Mary's County. The approximate cost of the work was
$450,000, part of which was derived from a bond issue authorized by Chapter 108 of the
Acts of 1955.17
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13 This information is from Chronicles of St. Mary's, I, No, 1.
Leonardtown, St. Mary's County Historical Society, J une 1953.
14 For other examples of his work see Richard H. Howland
and Eleanor P. Spencer, The Architecture of Baltimore, Balti-
more, 1953, pp. 59-60.
15 Ch. 51, Acts of 1881.
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16 The bond issue to pay for the building was authorized by
Chapter 4, Acts of 1902.
17 This information was courteously furnished by Mrs. Sara
M, King;, Clerk to the County Commissioners, and the Honorable
C. Benedict Greenwell, Clerk of the Circuit Court, for St. Mary's
County.
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