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Maryland History 1800's
1806
The Historic National Road, which will stretch from Maryland to the Ohio River, is commissioned as America’s first federally funded highway. Construction begins in Cumberland five years later
1813
British raid Havre de Grace during the War of 1812
1814
British burn Washington and bomb Fort McHenry; Francis Scott Key writes the "Star- Spangled Banner"
1826
Public schools established by law; Jews given right to vote and to hold public office
1828
Building begun on the C&O Canal and the B&O Railroad
1829
C&O Canal opened
1830
B&O Railroad establishes first passenger rail. The B & O Railroad's first 13 miles of track connect Baltimore to Ellicott City, where America’s first railroad terminal opens in 1831
1833
The seven-arch Monocacy Aqueduct is completed, becoming the largest structure on the C&O Canal. Measuring more than 500 feet in length, it has survived both hurricanes and Confederate attacks
1837
Baltimore Sun begins publication
1838
Disguised as a sailor, Frederick Douglass boards a train to Havre de Grace an finds freedom from slavery. The Eastern Shore native later gains international fame as an orator and statesman
1844
World's first telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington established
1845
The school that would become the U.S. Naval Academy is established at Fort Severn, Annapolis, with seven professors and 40 midshipmen
1849
Destined to write nevermore, Edgar Allan Poe dies while traveling in Baltimore. He is laid to rest at a memorial grave in the Westminster Burying Ground in Baltimore
1850
One year after escaping slavery in the Cambridge area, Harriett Tubman becomes a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad and rescues numerous family members and friends
1850
C&O Canal completed from Georgetown to Cumberland
1861
First bloodshed of Civil War occurs in Baltimore
1862
Confederate forces defeated at Antietam. Remembered as the “Single Bloodiest Day of the Civil War,” the Battle of Antietam takes place in Sharpsburg, with casualties numbering more than 23,000
1864
Maryland abolishes slavery
1865
Dr. Samuel Mudd, a Waldorf-based physician, treats John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg after Booth assassinates President Abraham Lincoln and flees into Southern Maryland
1867
Present Maryland Constitution adopted
1875
The present-day Thomas Point Shoal Light, one of the most recognizable symbols of Maryland, is completed. It is the Chesapeake Bay’s only screwpile light still in its original location
1876
Johns Hopkins University founded
1886
Enoch Pratt Free Library opens in Baltimore
1895
Baseball slugger George Herman “Babe” Ruth is born in Baltimore, near the present site of Oriole Park at Camden Yards
