[3] Originally a fishing village along the Patuxent River in the southern Province of Maryland in the late 17th century, it was named Benedict-Leonardtown for Benedict Leonard Calvert, (1700-1732), 15th Proprietary Governor of Maryland, serving under his older brother, Charles Calvert, 5th Baron and Lord Baltimore, (1699-1751).

From Benedict, the British began their march to Washington, D.C., routing a larger American force at the Battle of Bladensburg before ultimately burning the capital.

[8] Camp Stanton was also the location where the Maryland 19th Regiment of the United States Colored Troops was formed on December 19, 1863, with freed slaves who were purchased for their freedom by the United States Government to serve as soldiers.

William Saunders Crowdy and his brother Daniel, of a plantation in St. Mary's County.

The town also has one or two seafood restaurants, and a Catholic church, St. Francis de Sales, that celebrates mass in Latin.