Geography and Landforms:

The Chesapeake Bay divides Maryland into two sections –the Eastern Shore and the Western Shore. The state is made up of 5 distinct land regions.

The Atlantic Coastal Plain covers all of the Western Shore and part of the Eastern Shore. It is a flat area that rises gradually to a height of 400 feet to the west. Along the Chesapeake, the Plain has many indented shorelines, small bays, and estuaries.

A region of rolling hills and fertile valleys, known as the Piedmont, lies to the north and west. It is a 50-mile wide area that rises to meet the narrow, mountainous Blue Ridge region.

Within Maryland, The Appalachian Mountain and Valley region separates Pennsylvania from West Virginia. At its narrowest point, this strip of land measures less than 2 miles from north to south.

To the extreme west, the Appalachian Plateau contains Maryland’s highest point, Backbone Mountain, which is 3,360 feet above sea level. The Allegheny Mountains make up a large part of this heavily forested area.

History:

In 1608, Captain John Smith of the Virginia Colony sailed north into the Chesapeake Bay and wrote the first description of the land that became Maryland. The first permanent settlement was made in 1631 when William Claiborne of the Virginia colony established a trading post on Kent Island.

One year later, King Charles II of England granted a charter to George Calvert – the first Lord Baltimore – giving him rights to this region. It was named “Maryland” in honor of Queen Henrietta Maria, Charles’ wife. Calvert died before the charter could be signed, so his son Cecilius – the Second Lord Baltimore - received the land instead. Cecilius began to develop Maryland as a settlement for his fellow persecuted Catholics. In 1634, two ships filled with settlers arrived and established the town of St. Mary’s near the southern tip of the western shore of Maryland.

Lord Baltimore hoped that people of all faiths would find religious freedom in his Maryland Colony. To ensure this, he drafted a law guaranteeing religious tolerance that was passed by the colonial assembly. Gradually, groups of Puritans began fleeing from other colonies to Maryland. The colony became known for its policy of religious tolerance.

As the numbers of Puritans grew within the colony, so did religious conflict. In 1654, Lord Baltimore’s government was overthrown by a group of Protestants led by William Claiborne. Claiborne controlled the colony for four years. By order of the British Crown, Maryland was returned to Lord Baltimore in 1648, but many Protestants within the colony resented his Roman Catholic influence. In 1689, another group of Protestants seized control, demanding that England take over the governing of the colony. English rule of the colony began in 1691.

In 1715, control of the Maryland colony fell into the hands of the Calvert family and the fourth Lord Baltimore – a Protestant. The colony remained under control of the Calverts until the Revolutionary War.

A dispute over Maryland’s northern boundary with Pennsylvania was put to rest in 1767 when both colonies agreed to accept the survey results of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. The boundary between the two states became known as the Mason-Dixon Line.

Most Marylanders supported the colonial resistance to the high taxation and severe trade restrictions imposed by Great Britain. To show their displeasure, a group of Maryland patriots even burned a ship filled with British tea in the Annapolis harbor.

The Revolutionary War began in April of 1775. Although very little fighting occurred within the state, Maryland supplied the continental army with ships and cannons. The colony voted in favor of Independence from Great Britain on July 2, 1776. Maryland became the seventh state in on April 28, 1788 and offered to give a portion of its land for the new national capital – the District of Columbia – in 1791.

Several battles in the War of 1812 occurred on Maryland soil. The most famous battle took place when the British attacked Baltimore and Fort McHenry. This battle was immortalized in The Star-Spangled Banner - written by Francis Scott Key.

Maryland was one of the original 13 colonies, but its loyalties were divided during the Civil War. Maryland was a slave state, and many of its wealthy plantation owners aligned themselves with Southern sympathies. The industrialists and businessmen supported the Union view. Despite the internal conflicts, the state remained a member of the Union even though many of its citizens fought on both sides of the conflict.

The Civil War began in 1861. General Lee’s forces invaded Maryland in 1862 and clashed with Union forces at Antietam, leading to the bloodiest one-day battle of the Civil War. In 1864, Maryland adopted a constitution that abolished slavery and instituted severe penalties for Marylanders who supported the Confederate cause.

First Inhabitants:

Several tribes of Algonkian Indians once inhabited the region now known as the state of Maryland. They included the Choptank, Nanticoke, Patuxent, Portobago, and Wicomico tribes.

These Native Americans lived in permanent communities where corn, beans, and squash were raised. They also hunted, fished, and harvested native plants to supplement their farming. Their homes, called longhouses, were usually located along the region’s rivers and streams.

Most of the tribal communities left the area as European settlers arrived in the 17th century. But these early inhabitants gave their names to many of Maryland’s rivers, towns, and counties.