Header Image from National Park Service Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland.
Maryland was admitted April 28, 1788 as the seventh state.
Bird: Baltimore Oriole – It received its name from the resemblance of the male’s colors (black and bright orange ) to those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore. A group of orioles is called a “split” or “pitch. Many fruit growers think of orioles as pests, because, with their love of sweet treats, they can wipe out crops. Five fruits you’ll often see them munching are raspberries, crabapples, grapes, mulberries, and cherries.
The Baltimore oriole is the state bird of Maryland. It is also the inspiration for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.
Flower: Black-eyed Susan is a North American flowering plant in the sunflower family, Parts of the plant have nutritional value. Other parts are not edible. The roots have been used to boost immunity and fight colds, flu and infections. The species is also known to be toxic to cats when ingested.
Black-eyed Susan symbolizes encouragement and justice in the language of flowers.
Tree: White Oak – White oak has tyloses that give the wood a closed cellular structure, making it water- and rot-resistant. Because of this characteristic, white oak is used by coopers to make wine and whiskey barrels as the wood resists leaking. Also, by federal regulation, bourbon whiskey must be aged in charred new oak (generally understood to mean specifically American white oak)
It has also been used in construction, shipbuilding, agricultural implements, and in the interior finishing of houses. USS Constitution is made of white oak and southern live oak, conferring additional resistance to cannon fire.
State Quarter
From theus50.com
The Maryland quarter highlights the striking dome of the Maryland Statehouse.
Through its new quarter, our 7th state shares its pride for the honored Maryland Statehouse. A distinctive building dating back to 1772, it features the country’s largest wooden dome built without nails. Besides housing Maryland’s colonial legislature, it was also crucial to our national history. From 1783-1784, the Maryland Statehouse served as the nation’s first peacetime capital. The Treaty of Paris was ratified here, officially ending the Revolutionary War. A treasure preserved, the Statehouse continues as the country’s oldest state capital building still in legislative use.
Leaf clusters from the official state tree, the White Oak, and the nickname The Old Line State complete the selected design. Maryland is nicknamed the Old Line State in honor of its “troops of the line.” These troops won praise from George Washington, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
Capital: Annapolis, Maryland
Nickname: Old Line State, Free State – In 1776, Maryland joined with the other American colonies in declaring their independence from Britain. Few battles were fought in Maryland, but many men joined the Continental Army and fought. Maryland soldiers were known for being brave fighters and were given the nickname the “Maryland Line” and were referred to by George Washington as his “Old Line.” This is how Maryland got the nickname “The Old Line State.”
Motto: Manly deeds; womanly words
Maryland Facts and Trivia
A breed of horse that developed and lives in a feral condition on Assateague Island in the United States states of Virginia and Maryland. It’s unclear exactly how Assateague Island’s ponies, the Chincoteague Ponies originally came to the island. But the legend that they escaped from a shipwrecked Spanish Galion is most likely untrue. It is believed that they are descendants of domestic animals transported to the island in the 1600s.
Early European explorers such as Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 and John Smith in 1608 sailed along Maryland’s coastline. They mapped the area and reported back to Europe of their findings. In 1631, the first European settlement was established by English fur trader, William Claiborne.
In 1632, English King Charles I gave George Calvert a royal charter for the colony of Maryland. George died shortly after, but his son Cecil Calvert inherited the land. Cecil Calvert’s brother, Leonard, led a number of settlers to Maryland in 1634. They sailed on two ships called the Ark and the Dove. Leonard wanted Maryland to be a place where people could worship religion freely. They established the town of St. Mary’s, which would be the capital of the colony for many years.
As the colony grew, the Native American tribes were pushed out or died from diseases such as smallpox. There were also clashes between the different religious groups that settled the area, primarily between the Catholics and the Puritans.
Oxford (founded 1683), gained its prominence in colonial days by being mandated in 1694 by Maryland legislation as the first and only port of entry on the eastern shore.
1729 – The city of Baltimore was founded.
In 1767, the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania was settled by two surveyors named Mason and Dixon. This border became known as the Mason-Dixon Line.
During revolutionary times Rockville was known as Hungerford’s Tavern the name of its most familiar landmark. One of the first calls to freedom from British rule was heard at the tavern in 1774.
On June 24,1784, in Baltimore, 13-year old Edward Warren went airborne in the first successful manned balloon launch in the United States.
The Methodist Church of America was formally organized in 1784 at Perry Hall.
As one of the most distinctive state flags in the union, the Maryland State flag is the only state flag to be based on English heraldry. The black and gold design on the quartered flag is based on the coat of arms of the Calvert family.
The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, Washington, D.C., which was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia.
On the morning of August 10, 1813 residents of Saint Michaels having been forewarned of a British attack hoisted lanterns to the masts of ships and in the tops of the trees. The height of light caused cannons to overshoot the town. This first known blackout was effective and only one house was struck and is now known as the “Cannonball House.” The town has been known as the town that fooled the British since this historic event.
America’s national anthem was written by Francis Scott Key, a Maryland lawyer. It is believed Key wrote the anthem on September 14, 1814 while watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor. Since May 30th, 1949 the United States flag has flown continuously over the monument marking the site of Francis Scott Key’s birthplace. The flag flies at Terra Rubra Farm, Carroll County, Keymar, Maryland as mandated by a Joint Resolution of Congress.
The Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is considered a masterpiece and one of the finest 19th century buildings in the world. The basilica is the first cathedral in the United States. Baltimore represents the first Roman Catholic diocese. It was opened for use in 1821.
In 1830 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company built the first railroad station in Baltimore.
The United States Naval Academy was founded on October 10, 1845 at Annapolis.
During the Civil War, despite being a slave state, Maryland remained on the side of the Union. The people of Maryland were split, however, on which side to support and men from Maryland fought on both sides of the war. One of the major battles of the Civil War, the Battle of Antietam, was fought in Maryland. It was the bloodiest single day battle in American history with over 22, 000 casualties.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology gave Gaithersburg the designation Science Capital of the United States when the Bureau moved to the area in 1961.
Maryland is a prominent producer and processor of seafood and a national leader in the production of blue crabs and soft clams.
Maryland forests cover approximately 2.7 million acres, or 43% of the states land surface. Oak and hickory are the dominant hardwood or deciduous forest type, making up 60% of forested areas. Loblolly pine is the most prevalent softwood and is the predominant forest wood on the Eastern Shore.
Strange Laws:
In Baltimore, it’s illegal to take a lion to the movies.
A woman may not go through her husband’s pockets while he is sleeping.
In 2010 Governor O’Malley signed into law Maryland’s Right-to-Dry act. This allows renters to have clotheslines.
Alcohol beverage critics in Maryland must be certified as drinking experts by a state agency.
It’s against the law in Maryland for a man to buy a drink for a female bartender.
People:
Spiro T. Agnew, vice president- John Bolton, attorney, diplomat, National Security advisor
- John Wilkes Booth, actor, Lincoln assassin
- Francis X. Bushman, actor
- Tom Clancy, author
- Frederick Douglass, abolitionist
- David Hasselhoff, actor
- Johns Hopkins, financier
- Brett Kavanaugh. Supreme Court judge
- Francis Scott Key, laywer, author
- Thurgood Marshall, jurist
- H. L. Mencken, writer
- Edgar Allen Poe, poet, author
Mike Rowe, TV personality, narrator
Babe Ruth, baseball player- Upton Sinclair, author
- Harriet Tubman, abolitionist
- Leon Uris, author
- Frank Zappa, musician, filmaker
Other Major League Ball player besides “The Babe” born in Maryland include Cal Ripken, Jr., Billy Ripken, Lefty Grove, Frank (Home Run) Baker, Harold Baines, Al Kaline, Denny Neagle, and Jimmie Foxx.
Credits:
See 50 states.com
See State Symbols USA.org
See Only In Your State.com
See Wikipedia
See Movoto.com
See Ducksters.com
***Nelson, Ken. “Maryland State History for Kids.” Ducksters, Technological Solutions, Inc. (TSI), www.ducksters.com/geography/us_states/maryland_history.php. Accessed 17 February 2019.
See Tidbits of history.com/states for facts and trivia about each of the states