Maryland’s history isn’t just preserved in buildings. Sometimes, it’s poured, brewed, distilled, and shared.
Over the past two years, Preservation Maryland has been exploring that side of the state’s history through Spirited History: Distilling, Brewing & Winemaking in Maryland, a project that looks at the people, places, businesses, and traditions behind one of Maryland’s oldest industries.
Supported by the Maryland Department of Commerce’s Maryland Alcohol Manufacturing Promotion Fund, the project began with a big question: What can the history of alcohol production tell us about Maryland? The answer took us from colonial-era breweries and taverns to farms, vineyards, distilleries, and the craft beverage producers shaping Maryland today. The result is a collection of resources that makes this history accessible in more than one way.
At the heart of Spirited History is a comprehensive research report examining the production, manufacture, and distribution of alcoholic beverages in Maryland from 1632 through 2024.
The report provides a historic context for an industry that has been part of Maryland life since the colonial era, while identifying the buildings and places connected to that history. It also helps put today’s breweries, wineries, and distilleries into a much longer story shaped by agriculture, technology, legislation, transportation, immigration, economics, and changing tastes.
Putting Maryland’s spirited history on the map
We didn’t want the research to live only in a report. We created two digital, interactive maps to help people explore the story for themselves.
The first highlights historic sites identified through the Spirited History research—from places where beverages were produced to locations where they were sold, distributed, and enjoyed. Together, these sites show just how widespread the industry has been and how closely it has been tied to Maryland’s communities and landscapes.
The second map brings the story into the present, highlighting breweries, wineries, and distilleries operating across Maryland today. It’s an invitation to explore the state’s craft beverage industry while seeing the connections between its modern producers and the generations of makers who came before them.
VISIT THE PROJECT WEBSITE TO INTERACT WITH THE MAPS
History, with a drink in hand
We also brought Spirited History to life through public programs and events.
Throughout the project, we partnered with Maryland breweries, wineries, and distilleries to bring people together around history…and, appropriately, a drink. Gatherings at Guilford Hall Brewery, Antietam Creek Vineyards, Linganore Winecellars, McClintock Distilling, and Pink Flamingo, these programs gave attendees a chance to learn about Maryland’s past while experiencing its beverage culture firsthand.
Taking the story to PreserveCast
The story also made its way onto PreserveCast, Preservation Maryland’s weekly podcast.
Special Spirited History episodes explored topics connected to Maryland’s production and tourism history, giving listeners another way to dig into the research and the people behind it.
Pull up a seat
We also created a series of custom coasters featuring imagery and stories drawn from the Spirited History research. Designed for Maryland’s breweries, wineries, distilleries, and other local drinking establishments, they’re a small (and hopefully unexpected) way to bring history into the places where Marylanders are gathering today. Keep an eye out for them at local establishments featured in the project.
The places connected to Maryland’s beverage history are part of the state’s broader story of agriculture, industry, and community. By documenting these places and sharing their stories, Spirited History helps connect Maryland’s past with the people and places carrying that history forward.