![[photo, State House (view from Maryland Ave.), Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/images/i001833a.jpg)
ANNAPOLISLocated on the Severn River in Anne Arundel County, Annapolis is not only the center of Maryland government but also home to the U.S. Naval Academy, and St. John's College whose curriculum is based upon the study of the classics.
State House (view from Maryland Ave.), Annapolis, Maryland, 1998. Photo by James Hefelfinger (Hefelfinger Collection, MSA SC 1885-763-2, Maryland State Archives).
![[photo, Naval Academy grounds, Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/images/i004554a.jpg)
From the founding of Maryland in 1634, however, St. Mary's City became the first seat of Maryland's colonial government. (In southern Maryland, Historic St. Mary's City can be visited today in St. Mary's County.) Nonetheless, in 1694, the General Assembly designated Anne Arundel Town as the new capital and, in February 1694/5, the government moved there.
Naval Academy grounds, Annapolis, Maryland, May 2000. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, State Circle, Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/images/i003015a.jpg)
After Queen Mary's death in December 1694, Anne Arundel Town was renamed Annapolis for her sister, the heiress apparent, Princess Anne. As Queen Anne (1665-1714) of Great Britain and Ireland, Anne ascended the throne in 1702 and ruled until her death in 1714.
State Circle, Annapolis, Maryland, May 1999. Photo by Diane P. Frese.
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