As a border state between the North and South during the Civil War, Maryland's loyalties were strong for both sides. The first casualties of the war occurred during the Baltimore Riot of April 19, 1861, when members of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment were attacked by Confederate supporters while traversing through the city on their way to protect Washington, DC, from attack. Ten days later, Maryland chose not to secede from the Union by a vote of 53-13....
On Weems Creek in Annapolis, a grandmother operates one of Maryland's last swing bridges from her office tucked under the span. In his Baltimore workshop, a member of the Boulmetis family keeps the tradition of hat making alive in a city that once was among the hat-making capitals of America. Corny and Wilbur Messick of Bivalve will likely be the last of their family to make the graceful wooden tongs that watermen use to harvest oysters.
The Day...
Compelling photographs of people and places throughout Maryland during one of the nation's most anxious decades.
Between 1935 and 1943, the United States government commissioned forty-four photographers to capture American faces, along with living and working conditions, across the country. Nearly 180,000 photographs were taken—4,000 in Maryland—and they are now preserved in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of
"Southern Maryland is one of the most haunted spots in America. From pre-colonial settlements to modern times, the tales of every era of its history are often dark and sometimes bloody. Brave readers will meet the many otherworldly specters that loved the area too much to leave, like the spirit of the witch Moll Dyer or the nun reclaiming her ancestral home. Learn the haunted history of Sotterley Plantation and the stories of the ghosts that remained...
"The 200-year-old National Road (also known as The National Pike, Cumberland Road, US 40, and Baltimore-Cumberland Turnpike) is often referred to as "The Main Street of America." It was the nation's first federally funded highway and eventually passed through more than 25 cities and towns in Maryland. The 33-mile Maryland portion of the original road was linked with privately constructed turnpikes to extend it to 170 miles in the state. In its early...
"North America's largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay, is fed by more than 150 major rivers and streams from parts of six states and the District of Columbia. Two hundred miles long, with a shoreline that includes more than 11,500 miles of tributaries, the bay has been a major economic lifeline since pre-Columbian times. As such, it is not surprising that the bay has seen its share of shipwrecks over the centuries-from small and large vessels foundering...
Chesapeake Bay: Photographs is a captivating book that features black and white photographs of the Chesapeake Bay. It was published in 1990 by Robert Grieser, a talented photographer, with an introduction by James A. Michener. The book contains 208 pages of stunning imagery, capturing the essence of this iconic region.
During the 1880s, Chesapeake Bay boatbuilders began constructing small wooden open boats, referred to as deadrise boats, out of planks with V-shaped bows. As boatbuilders created larger deadrise boats, decks were installed to provide more work and payload space; these deck boats also had a house/pilothouse near the stern and a mast closer to the bow of the boat. Deck boats were powered by gasoline engines but also utilized sails and wind. From the...
"At the start of the great Civil War, the Chesapeake Bay was a crucially important piece of watery real estate, with North and South struggling for its control. Up the Potomac, the Chesapeake's second-largest tributary, lay the capital of the United States; up the James, the Chesapeake's third-largest tributary, lay the Confederate capital. Whoever controlled the Bay would determine the course of the war." "On the Rappahannock and other rivers of...
For centuries, the hard-packed shoal at Thomas Point menaced Chesapeake Bay Mariners. Even after two separate stone towers were built on the shoreline, sailors continued to request a light at the end of the mile-long shoal. When a new lighthouse was finally approved in 1873, experts deemed its novel design too fragile for the location--it was built anyway. Long overdue and of an inappropriate design, the iconic Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse was lit...
"The only comprehensive field guide to the Chesapeake's fishes, this book is an indispensable resource for both anglers and students of the Bay. Vivid illustrations by Val Kells complement the expertise of researchers Edward O. Murdy and John A. Musick. They describe fishes that inhabit waters ranging from low-salinity estuaries to the point where the Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Key features of this field guide include: full-color illustrations...
Want to hunt shipwrecks for treasure? Explore sites from the War of 1812? How about enjoying great seafood in a waterfront village? Or birding in a bird-watching mecca? Backroads & Byways of Chesapeake Bay devotes itineraries to all of these excursions and many more, all accompanied by color photographs and maps.