St. Mary is a home rule-class city in Marion County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

.Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office.
St. Mary, Kentucky
. Accessed October 4, 2013. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 138.

History

The town was first known as Hardin's Creek when it was settled by the Hardin family .

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

settlers from "Saint" Charles Co.,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, arrived in 1790. Their community was originally known as Saint Charles after their former home and new church.Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names''
p. 261
University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed October 4, 2013. 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. The community was the birthplace and hometown of George Elder, who along with William Byrne later returned from seminary in Maryland to found Saint Mary's College in 1821. The post office was established in 1858 as Saint Mary's for the school. The city was incorporated as St. Mary on May 26, 1865. The college closed its doors in 1976. The city includes historical markers honoring the

Sisters of Loretto The Sisters of Loretto or the Loretto Community is a Catholic religious institute that strives "to bring the healing Spirit of God into our world." Founded in the United States in 1812 and based in the rural community of Nerinx, Kentucky, the o ...

and St. Mary's College.

Geography

St. Mary is located on Kentucky Route 84 at (37.580711, -85.346291), west of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the city of St. Mary has an area of , of which , or 0.89%, are water.

Demographics

Economy

Since 1980, St. Mary has been home to the 826-bed Marion Adjustment Center, a CCA-owned minimum- and

medium-security A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various crim ...

facility.Kentucky Department of Corrections.
About MAC
. Accessed October 4, 2013.Corrections Corporation of America. Press Release:

. Op. cit. in ''Wall Street Journal'', June 26, 2013. Accessed October 4, 2013. In June 2013, the

Kentucky Department of Corrections The Kentucky Department of Corrections is a state agency of the Kentucky Justice & Public Safety Cabinet that operates state-owned adult correctional facilities and provides oversight for and sets standards for county jails. They also provide tra ...

elected not to renew the contract. At the time, the MAC employed 166 people.Lega, Stephen. ''Kentucky Standard'', July 3, 2013.
Marion Adjustment Center's closing will impact community in many ways
. Accessed October 4, 2013.

Notes

References

{{authority control Cities in Marion County, Kentucky Census county divisions Cities in Kentucky