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...

An introductory high school textbook surveying the history of Maryland, with emphasis on the blacks, women, immigrants, and other special groups contributing to the variety of its population.

The first book to explore the historical role and residual impact of the Green Book, a travel guide for black motorists. Published from 1936 to 1966, the Green Book was hailed as the "black travel guide to America." At that time, it was very dangerous and difficult for African-Americans to travel because black travelers couldn't eat, sleep, or buy gas at most white-owned businesses. The Green Book listed hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and other...

The story of Chesapeake pirates and patriots begins with a land dispute and ends with the untimely death of an oyster dredger at the hands of the Maryland Oyster Navy. From the golden age of piracy to Confederate privateers and oyster pirates, the maritime communities of the Chesapeake Bay are intimately tied to a fascinating history of intrigue, plunder and illicit commerce raiding. Author Jamie L.H. Goodall introduces infamous men like Edward "Blackbeard"...