 Maryland
Information
Capital
City: Annapolis
Economy: Agriculture, manufacturing, government
and fishing.
Population: 5,171,634
Time Zone: 5 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (-5
GMT). Daylight Saving Time is observed from early April-late October.
Maryland's Flag:
The Maryland flag contains the family crest of the Calvert and Crossland
families. Maryland was founded as an English colony in 1634 by Cecil
Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore. The black and Gold designs belong
to the Calvert family. The red and white design belongs to the Crossland
family.
History of Maryland:
Maryland was inhabited by Indians as early as circa 10,000 B.C.E.
Permanent Indian villages were established by circa C.E. 1000. In
1608, Capt. John Smith explored Chesapeake Bay. Charles I granted
a royal charter for Maryland to Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, in
1632, and English settlers, many of whom were Roman Catholic, landed
on St. Clement's (now Blakistone) Island in 1634. Religious freedom,
granted all Christians in the Toleration Act passed by the Maryland
assembly in 1649, was ended by a Puritan revolt, 1654–58.
From 1763 to 1767, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed Maryland's
northern boundary line with Pennsylvania. In 1791, Maryland ceded
land to form the District of Columbia. In 1814, when the British
unsuccessfully tried to capture Baltimore, the bombardment of Fort
McHenry inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words to “The
Star-Spangled Banner.” The Baltimore clipper-ship trade developed
during the 19th century. During the Civil War, Maryland remained
a Union state even while the battles of South Mountain (1862), Antietam
(1862), and Monocacy (1864) were fought on her soil. In 1904, the
Great Fire of Baltimore occurred. In 1937, the City of Greenbelt,
a New Deal model community, was chartered. Maryland's Eastern Shore
and Western Shore embrace the Chesapeake Bay, and the many estuaries
and rivers create one of the longest waterfronts of any state. The
Bay produces more seafood—oysters, crabs, clams, fin fish—than
any comparable body of water. Important agricultural products, in
order of cash value, are greenhouse and nursery products, chickens,
dairy products, soybeans, corn, eggs, vegetables, melons, and wheat.
Maryland is a leader in vegetable canning. Stone, coal, sand, gravel,
cement, and clay are the chief mineral products. Manufacturing industries
produce food and kindred products, instruments, chemicals, printing
and publishing, transportation equipment, and primary metals. Baltimore,
home of the Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, ranks as the
nation's second port in foreign tonnage. Annapolis, site of the
U.S. Naval Academy, has one of the earliest state houses (1772–79)
still in regular use by a state government. Among the popular attractions
in Maryland are the Fort McHenry National Monument; Harpers Ferry
and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Parks; Antietam
National Battlefield; National Aquarium, USS Constellation, and
Maryland Science Center at Baltimore's Inner Harbor; Historic St.
Mary's City; Jefferson Patterson Historical Park and Museum at St.
Leonard; U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis; Goddard Space Flight Center
at Greenbelt; Assateague Island National Park Seashore; Ocean City
beach resort; and Catoctin Mountain, Fort Frederick, and Piscataway
parks.
Other Maryland Links:
Maryland Chamber of Commerce
Maryland Department of Education
Maryland Municipal League
Maryland Office of Tourism Development |
