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To the Editor:

If the State of New York approved the construction of a boatshed in New York Harbor that obstructed the best public view of the Statue of Liberty, the people of New York, indeed the people of the entire nation, would be justifiably enraged. The people would not only be right to seek any legal means to tear the boatshed down, they would be morally obligated to protect their national heritage from the diminution represented by the offending boatshed.

St. Mary’s City and the view of the St. Mary’s River from the City’s vicinity is Maryland’s equivalent to New York’s Statue of Liberty. This is no exaggeration. Although I am only recently a resident of St. Mary’s County, as a trained historian, I knew long before coming here the great historical importance of St. Mary’s City. St. Mary’s City ranks alongside Jamestown, Wlliamsburg, Plymouth Rock, and the Statue of Liberty in the story of Freedom. St. Mary’s City, and the view of the river that brought the Ark and the Dove to these shores, like the Statue of Liberty, are among the most important symbols of our national heritage, and should be treated as sacred ground.

One need not be a historian to understand, if only intuitively, the great significance of the view of the river from St. Mary’s City. Driving through St. Mary’s City, approaching the once spectacular river view from the south, is like traveling in a time machine. Driving past the reconstructed ancient chapel, past the ghostly frame outlines of long vanished colonial houses, and through the college itself with its colonial inspired architecture, anyone would be transported back in their imagination to the first settlers who came ashore here in search of freedom and the opportunity to build a new world. For me, and I think for everyone, the climax of this journey through history was the view of the St. Mary’s River. After driving through St. Mary’s City, the beauty of this stunning natural vista was always enhanced by the knowledge that here sailed the Ark and the Dove; here generations of pioneers and watermen, many descendants of the settlers at St. Mary’s City, made their living from the sea and from the land, and built America in the process; and here the students of St. Mary’s College learn to sail as their ancestors did, and will continue through their lives to build America, many of them no doubt as leaders in their communities and of this nation.

The view of the river from St. Mary’s City was so beautiful both because of its natural splendor and because it was a panoramic vista of our past and future. The view was as much a part of St. Mary’s City as any of its land or buildings. The view was a crown jewel of our national heritage.

The view has been lost because the trustees of St. Mary’s College preferred to build a boatshed blocking that view rather than honor their obligation to protect nature and history. The boatshed at St. Mary’s College is an object lesson in how we are losing our national heritage here, and elsewhere in the nation. Our national treasures are being lost to development by slow degrees, one boatshed at a time, one bad decision at a time.

I only hope that the trustees at St. Mary’s College come to their senses soon. If the boatshed continues to stand, it will stand as a monument to their incompetence and untrustworthiness as stewards of our national heritage.

Dr. Peter Vincent Pry
Scotland, Maryland