History

Long Before our founding fathers decided to establish St. Mary's, this was the site of a large Indian Village. Timucuan Indians are said to have located here. In 1562 French Huguenot Jean Ribault was said to have sailed into the St. Mary's River and named it "River May" for the date of the entrance. Later the name was changed to 'Mary". The Santa Maria Mission was located in this area. Spanish occupation began in 1566 and ended in 1686 when the Spanish withdrew in face of the British intrusion from Carolina. In 1777, the Royal Government divided the area into two parishes. Camden County was one of the original eight counties, named for Charles Pratt, Earl of Camden. In 1787 the town of St. Mary's was formed when Jacob Weed sold 1,620 acres to twenty founding fathers for $48 a four-acre tract. This was the beginning of St. Patrick's Day, later to be known as the town of St. Marys, said to be the second oldest town in the United States behind St. Augustine.

Some of the Notable Guests of the Riverview Hotel

• John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
• Marjorie Kinnin Rawlings
• Commander Chester Nimitz
• Andrew Carnegie
• Sidney Lanier, poet
• Richard B. Russel, Sr.
• Gov. Eugene Talmadge
• Cartoonist Roy Crane