Senior Steven Gentry, student intern, surrounded by the Hammett collection when it arrived at the archive. Gentry is holding a Leonardtown public schools scrapbook that was included in the donation. The collection will be processed and re-housed in acid-free folders and acid-free boxes. It will be housed in a climate-controlled space, equipped with fire suppression.
The family of Marion Regina Combs Hammett has donated her papers to the St. Mary’s College of Maryland archive. The papers include 12 feet of archival material, including notes and subject files that were used during the writing of her book, “History of St. Mary’s County, Maryland, 1634-1990,” as well as additional material from an unpublished work about the history of St. Mary’s County schools.
Hammett was a life member of the St. Mary’s County Historical Society, served as the official St. Mary’s County historian from 1988 until her death in 2010, and was also the editor of St. Mary’s Chronicles from 1984 to 1995. She was born January 10, 1930 in Callaway and graduated from St. Mary’s College in 1964 with an associate of arts degree and then again in 1972 with a bachelor of arts degree in history. Hammett received the college’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2006 for her contributions to the history of St. Mary’s County. During the 2006 award ceremony, then President Maggie O’Brien stated, “Nothing can now be written on any aspect of St. Mary’s County without first checking into Regina Hammett’s book.” O’Brien was referring to Hammett’s carefully researched and comprehensively-sourced book.
Some of the material will be processed by students and used during supervised archives instruction at St. Mary’s College. Over 100 titles (books, articles, and chapters) have been added to the collection of the college’s library and archive, with half of the titles being new additions to the collection. Duplicate titles will help the library make rare titles available for checkout while keeping a back-up copy for preservation.
The Regina Hammett papers may be used by students and the public during the archive’s open hours, Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., or by appointment. New copies of Hammett’s book can be purchased at the St. Mary’s College Campus Bookstore or Fenwick Street Used Books and Music in Leonardtown, Md.