Capital:
Annapolis
Governor: Parris N. Glendening, D (to Jan. 2003)
Lieut.
Gov.: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, D (to Jan. 2003)
Senators: Barbara A. Mikulski, D (to Jan. 2005); Paul S.
Sarbanes, D (to Jan. 2007)
Secy.
of State: John T. Willis, D (to Jan. 2003)
Comptroller of the Treasury: William Donald Schaefer, D (to
Jan. 2003)
Treasurer: Richard N. Dixon, D (to Jan. 2003)
Atty.
General: J. Joseph Curran, Jr., D (to Jan. 2003)
Entered
Union (rank): April 28, 1788 (7)
Present
constitution adopted: 1867
Motto:
Fatti maschii, parole femine (Manly deeds, womanly words)
State Symbols:
|
bird
|
Baltimore oriole (1947) |
|
boat
|
skipjack (1985) |
|
crustacean
|
Maryland blue crab (1989) |
|
dinosaur
|
Astrodon johnstoni (1998) |
|
dog
|
Chesapeake Bay retriever (1964) |
|
beverage
|
milk (1998) |
|
flower
|
black-eyed susan (1918) |
|
fish
|
rockfish (1965) |
|
folk dance
|
square dance (1994) |
|
fossil shell
|
ecphora gardnerae gardnerae (Wilson) (1994) |
|
insect
|
Baltimore checkerspot butterfly (1973) |
|
reptile
|
Diamondback terrapin (1994) |
|
song
|
"Maryland! My Maryland!" (1939) |
|
sport |
jousting (1962) |
|
tree
|
white oak (1941) |
|
|
Maryland was
inhabited by Indians as early as circa 10,000 B.C. Permanent
Indian villages were established by circa A.D. 1000.
In 1608,
Capt. John Smith explored Chesapeake Bay. Charles I granted a
royal charter for Maryland to Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, in
1632, and English settlers, many of whom were Roman Catholic,
landed on St. Clement's (now Blakistone) Island in 1634.
Religious freedom, granted all Christians in the Toleration Act
passed by the Maryland assembly in 1649, was ended by a Puritan
revolt, 1654-58.
From 1763
to 1767, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed Maryland's
northern boundary line with Pennsylvania. In 1791, Maryland
ceded land to form the District of Columbia.
In 1814,
when the British attempted to capture Baltimore, the bombardment
of Fort McHenry inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words to
"The Star-Spangled Banner." During the Civil War, Maryland was a
slave state but remained in the Union. Consequently, Marylanders
fought on both sides and many families were split.
Maryland's
Eastern Shore and Western Shore embrace the Chesapeake Bay, and
the many estuaries and rivers create one of the longest
waterfronts of any state. The Bay produces more seafood-oysters,
crabs, clams, fin fish-than any comparable body of water.
Important agricultural products are greenhouse and nursery
products, chickens, dairy products, soybeans, corn, eggs,
vegetables, melons, and wheat. Maryland is a leader in vegetable
canning. Stone, coal, sand, gravel, cement, and clay are the
chief mineral products.
Manufacturing industries produce food and kindred products,
instruments, chemicals, printing and publishing, transportation
equipment, and primary metals. Baltimore, home of the Johns
Hopkins University and Hospital, ranks as the nation's second
port in foreign tonnage. Annapolis, site of the U.S. Naval
Academy, has one of the earliest state houses (1772-79) still in
regular use by a state government.
Among the
popular attractions in Maryland are the Fort McHenry National
Monument; Harpers Ferry and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National
Historic Parks; Antietam National Battlefield; National
Aquarium, USS Constellation, and Maryland Science Center at
Baltimore's Inner Harbor; Historic St. Mary's City; Jefferson
Patterson Historical Park and Museum at St. Leonard; U.S. Naval
Academy in Annapolis; Goddard Space Flight Center at Greenbelt;
Assateague Island National Park Seashore; Ocean City beach
resort; and Catoctin Mountain, Fort Frederick, and Piscataway
parks.
Nickname: Free State; Old Line
State
Origin of name:
In honor of Henrietta Maria (queen of
Charles I of England)
10 largest cities (1999 est.):
Baltimore, 632,681; Frederick, 48,710; Gaithersburg, 48,395;
Rockville, 48,160; Bowie, 41,091; Hagerstown, 34,611; Annapolis,
33,125; College Park, 27,467; Cumberland, 22,615; Greenbelt,
22,154
Land area:
9,775 sq mi. (25,316 sq km)
Geographic center: In Prince
Georges Co., 41/2 mi. NW of Davidsonville
Number of counties: 23, and 1
independent city
Largest county by population and area:
Montgomery, 852,174 (1999 est.); Frederick, 663 sq mi.
State forests: 13 (132,944 ac.)
State parks:
47 (87,670 ac.)
Residents: Marylander
1999 resident population est.:
5,171,634
1990 resident census population (rank):
4,781,468 (19). Male:
2,318,671; Female:
2,462,797. White: 3,393,964
(71.0%); Black: 1,189,899 (24.9%);
American Indian: 12,972
(0.3%); Asian: 139,719
(2.9%); Other race: 44,914
(0.9%); Hispanic: 125,102
(2.6%). 1990 percent population under
18: 24.3; 65 and over:
10.8; median age:
32.9. |
