On this day in history - March 23, 1977 - the Francis Scott Key Bridge that spans the Patapsco River in Baltimore opened to traffic. Besides the famous name, the bridge was a major milestone in Maryland's transportation planning and remains the second longest...
Waxter Intern
Maryland Eats: Baltimore Coddies
A Maryland favorite with unknown origins, the Baltimore coddie, essentially a codfish cake, was ubiquitous in the city in the 50s and 60s. Made with a mixture of salt cod, potatoes, milk, and crackers, and served with mustard between two saltines, this tasty snack...
Maryland Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence, four white men, Charles Carroll, Samuel Chase, William Paca, and Thomas Stone, represented Maryland's interests in breaking away from Great Britain's colonial rule and to embark on the creation of a new...
Celebrating National Trail Day in Maryland
Each year the American Hiking Society leads and organizing special events for National Trail Day! It's a great day to explore Maryland's natural and historic landmarks - often connected through trails and byways. Read on for great trails through the Old Line State:...
The Green Book in Maryland: The Blue Star Motel and The Blue Jay Hotel in Southern Maryland
The Green Book was a guide created by and for African Americans in the 1930s through 1960s to safely find everyday amenities like restaurants and hotels during a period of intense institutionalized racism across America. Over 100 sites were listed in the Green Book in...
Exploring Green Book Sites in Maryland: Interview with Anne Bruder
The Green Book was created as a guide by and for African Americans to safely find everyday amenities like restaurants, stores, pharmacies, and motels in a time of intense segregation across America. Researching Green Book sites documents the physical legacy of Jim...
The Green Book in Maryland: The Watson Tourist Hotel in Baltimore City
The Green Book was created as a guide by and for African Americans to safely find everyday amenities like restaurants, stores, pharmacies, and motels in a time of intense segregation across America. Researching Green Book sites documents the physical legacy of Jim...
The Green Book in Maryland: The Harmon Hotel on Jonathan Street in Hagerstown
The Green Book was created as a guide by and for African Americans to safely find everyday amenities like restaurants, stores, pharmacies, and motels in a time of intense segregation across America. Researching Green Book sites documents the physical legacy of Jim...
The Green Book in Maryland: The YMCA and the YWCA in Baltimore City
In this installment of Preservation Maryland's series on the history of Green Book site in Maryland, we're looking at the impact of the Colored YMCA and Colored YWCA in serving Baltimore's African African local populations and travelers. In 1936, New York City mail...
The Green Book in Maryland: The Makel, Grinage, and Roberts Tourist Homes in Western Maryland
The Green Book is a document of a racialized America that required segregated locations for African American travelers to find safe accommodations, including rooms in private homes, often called tourist homes. In this dispatch of The Green Book in Maryland blog...
Celebrating Frank Lloyd Wright in Maryland
Happy Birthday to Frank Lloyd Wright! Did you know the architect of Falling Water, Taliesin, and the Guggenheim Museum, designed two homes in Maryland? And both houses display the diversity and range in Wright’s design style and architectural creativity. JOSEPH...
This Day in Maryland History: The First Issue of the Baltimore Sun is Published in 1837
On this day in 1837, Arunah Shepherdson Abell published the first issue of The Sun from Baltimore, Maryland. A printer from Providence Rhode Island, Abell started The Sun with the hope that it would be a newspaper for all people, hence its slogan “Light for All."...
Es Mi Parque: History of Patapsco Valley State Park in English and Spanish
Maryland State Parks has created their Es Mi Parque program to better connect a large and growing number of Latino visitors to the cultural, recreational and historic resources of Maryland. In partnership, Preservation Maryland will produce a series of brief park...
Es Mi Parque: Brief History of Catoctin Furnace at Cunningham Falls State Park in English and Spanish
Maryland State Parks has created their Es Mi Parque program to better connect a large and growing number of Latino visitors to the cultural, recreational and historic resources of Maryland. In partnership, Preservation Maryland will produce a series of brief park...
Made in Maryland: Noxzema
Did you know? That iconic blue jar of Noxzema was invented and nurtured into an international company by Marylander George A. Bunting in the early 20th century. And now one of the company's historic factory buildings is being transformed into new apartments and...
Made in Maryland: Head Ski Company, Inc.
Did you know!? HEAD was founded in Baltimore in 1950 by Howard Head who was an aeronautical engineer for the Glenn L. Martin Company and brought new those materials used in aviation to innovate the production and quality of skis and tennis rackets. Howard Head's big...
Es Mi Parque at Maryland State Parks
Visitors of Hispanic descent are one of the fastest growing and biggest user groups to Maryland's state parks. There is now a staffed agency wide program called Es Mi Parque – This is My Park – to better connect the Maryland State Parks to the growing user group. Los...
Boundary Expansion considered for Montgomery County Heritage Area
Maryland's thirteen heritage areas showcase that historic communities and cultural resources are the anchors of places where Marylanders want to live and where visitors want to experience the Old Line State. The boundary of the Montgomery County Heritage Area is up...
Four Maryland Projects awarded National Maritime Heritage Grants
In partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration, the National Park Service recently awarded $2.6 million in maritime heritage grants to assist funding 34 preservation and education projects — four of those projects are in Maryland...
Celebrating the Founding of our State on Maryland Day
Get your Maryland flag hoodies, socks, scarves, and sunglasses on! Maryland Day is celebrated this weekend! Read the brief history of the Old Line State here to impress your friends: Brief History of Maryland Day Maryland Day commemorates the March 25, 1634 founding...
Online Exploration of Maryland’s Historic Bridges
In the 1930s, Maryland's State Road Commission hired a photography company to document bridge construction projects. Those photos survive and were converted into an interactive map by the Maryland Department of Transportation - and we've curated a great tour of some...
Harriet Tubman’s Heroic Legacy in Maryland
Last year, Marylanders celebrated the grand opening of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center. We at Preservation Maryland wanted to take a broad look at the legacy of Tubman's heroism. Read on to follow the Underground Railroad through many parts of...
Only in Maryland: How Fort Meade Got its Name
Did you know!? Fort Meade in Maryland was previously known as "Camp Annapolis Junction" and "Camp Admiral." On March 5, 1929, War Department General Order no. 6 was issued, officially designating 5,400 acres of land, located 18 miles southwest of Baltimore, as Fort...
Only in Maryland: B&O Railroad Chartered by the State of Maryland
On February 28, 1827, Chapter 123 of the 1826 Session Laws of Maryland passed a law enabling the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to be chartered as the first U.S. railway for commercial transport of passengers and freight. In addition, it was the first intercity railroad...
The Maryland House that Inspired Disney’s Haunted Mansion
When Disneyland opened for the season in 1969, a new spookier attraction was included on the park map – Disney's Haunted Mansion – inspired by the Shipley-Lydecker House in Baltimore City. While developing the concept for the attraction, Disney’s imagineers searched...
Only in Maryland: Surrender Dorothy Graffiti
If you lived in the Maryland area in the 1970s you may remember the infamous Surrender Dorothy graffiti on the CSX railroad bridge over I-495. The prank (and later tags) referenced the architecture of the nearby Mormon Temple - that with six golden spires may think...
Vintage Maryland: Trimper’s Rides and Amusements in Ocean City
Maryland's Eastern Shore is home to the oldest family-owned amusement park in the United States! Trimper's Rides and Amusements was founded in 1893 and is still spinning today. Daniel and Margaret Trimper opened two hotels, the Sea Bright and the Eastern Shore, just...
Six Historic Places to Watch the Solar Eclipse in Maryland
Marylanders join the world in gearing up for Monday, August 21, 2017 to experience the biggest celestial event of the year - the coast-to-cost solar eclipse! In Maryland, there are several historic places that are offering viewing parties, including Historic London...
Maryland Food History: The Fish Pepper
Historically grown by enslaved Africans in the Baltimore and Chesapeake regions, the fish pepper was forgotten for nearly a century; absent from Maryland recipe books and impossible to find growing in the ground. Here's the story of its rediscovery: What is a fish...
Maryland Eats: The Origins of the Baltimore Snowball
We’re in the midst of another sweltering Maryland summer, and in Baltimore, there’s one classic way to cool down: a sweet Baltimore snowball. ANATOMY OF A SNOWBALL For those unfamiliar with the summer treat, they are distinctly different from snow cones and Hawaiian...
Preservation Basics with Talbot Historical Society
January 8, 2025 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pmHeritage Fund FY25 Information Session
January 22, 2025 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pmHeritage Fund FY25 Office Hours – February
February 21, 2025 @ 12:30 pm - 1:30 pmLandmarking Basics in Talbot County
February 26, 2025 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pmHeritage Fund FY25 Office Hours – March
March 14, 2025 @ 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Events
Preservation Maryland participates in and hosts many events in and around Maryland. Take a look at our upcoming events to see where we’ll be next.