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History · St. Mary

St. Mary’s post office opened in 1858, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 12 buildings. Below: maps from 1953 on.

1858first post office
1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How St. Mary began

When was St. Mary founded?

1858

The St. Mary post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 138168 years
Founding year: the first St. Mary post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about St. Mary’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of St. Mary are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Mary’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Mary’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How St. Mary came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. Mary.

Read it all →

The town was first known as Hardin's Creek when it was settled by the Hardin family c. 1785. Catholic settlers from "Saint" Charles Co., Maryland, arrived in 1790. Their community was originally known as Saint Charles after their former home and new church.

The first Catholic settlers of the Hardin's Creek settlement were the brothers Edward Beaven and Charles Beaven from Maryland in 1786, followed by the brothers Mathew, Zachariah, Sylvester, and Jeremiah Cissell.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

St. Mary on the map, 1953 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Mary. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

St. Mary on the 1953 USGS mapSt. Mary on the 1981 USGS map1953Lebanon West sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of St. Mary.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 12 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
St. Mary's College Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
All 1 listings
St. Mary's College Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to St. Mary

Nobody well known was born in St. Mary itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Kelly RutherfordAmerican actress · b. 1968
Hal MooreUnited States Army lieutenant general · b. 1922
Scott Pruitt14th Administrator of the EPA; former Attorney … · b. 1968
S
Stith ThompsonAmerican folklorist · b. 1885
Charles MiddletonAmerican actor · b. 1874
J. C. W. BeckhamGovernor of Kentucky · b. 1869
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Mary

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about St. Mary’s history

What year was St. Mary founded?

The St. Mary post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in St. Mary?

One place: the St. Mary's College Historic District (listed 1980).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.