Maryland History: 8 Events That Shaped the State

Maryland history has been shaped by various events. The state was one of the original 13 English colonies and was founded in 1633 by Lord Baltimore as a haven for English Catholics.

Here are eight events that have shaped Maryland:

1. John Smith explores: English explorer John Smith mapped 3,000 miles of shoreline, rivers in Chesapeake Bay between 1607 and 1609. His journals of his travels include notes of Native American settlements in the area played a big role in the English settlement.

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2. The formation of Annapolis: Annapolis has played an important role in Maryland history since it became the capital of the state in 1695. Annapolis was briefly the nation's capital in 1783. It has been home of the U.S. Naval Academy since 1845.

3. Newspapers hit the press: The Maryland Gazette was founded in 1727. It is the oldest continually published paper in the United States.

4. The Mason-Dixon Line: The north boundary of Maryland was defined by the Mason-Dixon line in the 1760s. The debate over boundaries between Maryland to the south and Pennsylvania and Delaware to the north called for the measuring of the line. The Mason-Dixon line later came to symbolize the division between the north and south in the United States.

5. The Star Spangled Banner: The Star Spangled Banner was written about Maryland. It was a battle over Fort McHenry in the Chesapeake Bay that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that would become the words to the national anthem of the United States of America.

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6. The Civil War: The first bloodshed of the American Civil War happened in Baltimore in 1861. Maryland was also the site of the Battle of Antietam in 1862 which has been called the bloodiest single day of the Civil War. Over 22,000 people were killed, wounded or missing.

7. The Great Hurricane of 1933: Mother Nature changed Maryland history in 1933 by cutting an inlet at Ocean City. The state had proposed spending $500,000 on such an inlet to help the fishing industry. The four-day storm in Ocean City left behind an inlet 250 feet wide and 4 feet deep. The Corps of Engineers secured the link and dredged it deeper.

8. The bay bridge opens: A 4.3 mile long bridge opened over the Chesapeake Bay in
1952. The bridge connected two parts of Maryland. Dubbed the William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge, it is also known as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It is one of the largest over-water structures in the world.

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