Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Maryland

MARYLAND, a State in the South Atlantic Division of the North American Union; bounded by Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and the Atlantic Ocean; one of the original 13 States; counties, 24; area, 9,860 square miles; pop. (1890) 1,042,390; (1900) 1,188,044; (1910) 1,295,346; (1920) 1,449,661. Capital, Annapolis.

Topography.—The surface of the State is varied, with three prominent divisions, the Coast Plain, including the Western Shore, between the ocean and Chesapeake Bay; the Piedmont plateau, extending from the bay W. to the Catoctin Mountains, and the Appalachian Mountain region. The Chesapeake Bay cuts the State in two parts, and with its principal affluent, the Potomac river, forms the principal water system of the State. The mountains in the W. are divided into three ranges, the Blue Ridge, Appalachian, and Allegheny, and reach an elevation of 3,000 feet. The Atlantic coast has no good harbors, but the bay with its numerous coves and estuaries gives excellent facilities for water transportation. The principal rivers are the Potomac on the S. boundary, the Susquehanna flowing in from Pennsylvania on the N. and emptying in the bay, and the Patuxent, Patapsco, Gunpowder on the Western Shore; and the Elk, Sassafras, Chester, Choptank, Nanticoke, Wicomico, and Pocomoke, on the Eastern Shore, all of which empty into Chesapeake Bay.

Geology.—Nearly every geological period is represented in Maryland, the Archæan deposits are found over nearly the whole State. Metamorphosed rocks, such as granites, gneisses, basalt, and marble, occur in the Piedmont Plateau, and in western Maryland the Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous series are found. The Eastern Shore presents sands, clays, and granites of more recent origin. The Upper Jurassic period is represented by dinosaurian remains in Prince George's county.

Soil.—The soil in the E. part of the State is a light sandy loam, and is especially adapted to truck farming and market gardening. The soil in the valleys of the N. and central portions is especially adapted to grass and wheat cultivation. The climate is equable, and not subject to sudden changes, the thermometer seldom falling below zero. The principal forest trees include cypress, gum, cedar, juniper, dogwood, holly, magnolia, elm, cherry, oak, locust, sycamore, sassafras, poplar, maple, walnut, ash, birch, chestnut, hickory, and pine.

Mineral Production.—Practically the only mineral production in the State is coal, and of this between three and four million tons are produced annually. About 6,000 men are employed in the coal mines of the State, and the product is valued at about $4,000,000. Other mineral products are sandstone, granite, slate, pottery, and mineral waters.

Agriculture.—In addition to the regular farm crops, the State is a large producer of truck garden products, including tomatoes and fruits. The production and value of the principal crops in 1919 were as follows: corn, 28.413,000 bushels, valued at $39,778,000; oats, 1,820,000 bushels, valued at $1,492,000; wheat, 10,655,000 bushels, valued at $22,930,000; tobacco, 19,575,000 pounds, valued at $5,872,000; hay, 630,000 tons, valued at $15,120,000; potatoes, 5,170,000 bushels, valued at $6,721,000. The figures for live stock were as follows: horses, about 170,000, valued at about $20,000,000; mules, about 25,000, valued at about $3,500,000; milch cows, about 175,000, valued at about $10,000,000; other cattle, about 120,000, valued at about $3,600,000; sheep, about 223,000, valued at about $1,660,000; swine, about 350,000. valued at about $3,400,000. The production of wool annually amounts to about 750,000 pounds.

Manufactures.—The State has great manufacturing importance, especially in and around Baltimore. The total number of establishments in 1914 was 4,797, the total number of wage earners, 111,585, the capital invested amounted to $293,211,000. the amount paid in wages, $53,792,000, the value of materials, $238,972,000, and the value of the completed products at $337,749,000.

Banking.—There were in 1919 95 National banks, with an outstanding circulation of $10,632,753 and a capital of $16,400,000 and United States bonds in deposit, $9,677,000. There were 112 State banks with a capital of $5,150,000, deposits of $75,876,000 and a surplus of $3,632,000. There were 26 trust companies with a capital of $10,570,000 and deposits of $113,846,000. The exchanges in the clearing house in Baltimore for the year ending September 30, 1919, amounted to $4,196,983,000.

Transportation.—The total railway mileage in the State is about 1,400 miles of single track. The Baltimore and Ohio has 336 miles, the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, 329 miles, the Western Maryland, 272 miles, and the Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic, 88 miles.

Education.—The school population of the State is about 420,000 and the enrollment in the county schools is about 150,000. There are about 2,400 schools in the counties and about 125 in Baltimore. The average daily attendance in the county schools is about 150,000. About 6,000 teachers are employed. The total expenditures for educational purposes exceeds $5,000,000 annually. The total value of the school property is more than $10,000,000. There are many private schools in the State and several important colleges and universities, including Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland, Western Maryland College, Goucher College for Women, and the Women's College.

Churches.—The strongest denominations in the State are Roman Catholic; Methodist Episcopal; Protestant Episcopal; Lutheran, General Synod; African Methodist; Methodist Protestant; Reformed; Methodist Episcopal, South; Presbyterian, North; and Regular Baptist, South.

Finances.—The total receipts for State expenses for the fiscal year 1919 amounted to $13,128,211, and the disbursements to $12,537,881. There was a balance on hand at the end of the year amounting to $3,018,617.

Charities and Corrections.—All the public charitable institutions of the State are under the supervision of the Board of State Aid and Charities. Among the most important of these institutions are the following: Home and Infirmary of Western Maryland, the Hospital for Consumptives, Industrial Training School for Girls, Industrial Home for Colored Girls, the Spring Grove State Hospital, the Springfield Hospital for the Insane, the Tuberculosis Sanitorium, and the Eastern Shore State Hospital.

State Government.—The governor is elected for a term of four years, and receives a salary of $4,500 per annum. Legislative sessions are held biennially in even years beginning on the first Wednesday in January, and are limited in length to 90 days. The Legislature has 27 members in the Senate, and 102 in the House, each of whom receives $5.00 per day. There are 6 representatives in Congress. The State government in 1920 was Democratic.

History.—The earliest settlement in Maryland occurred in 1631, in which year a party of English, from Virginia, under Capt. William Clayborne, established themselves on Kent Island, in Chesapeake Bay. The main colonization of this region, however, was made in 1634, by a body of English Roman Catholic cavaliers, under a charter granted to the 2d Lord Baltimore (q. v.) by Charles I., bearing date June 20, 1632. The expedition sailed from England in November, 1633, and landed on St. Clement's Island in March, 1634, founding the settlement of St. Mary's on the mainland, two days after their arrival. Leonard Calvert was elected first governor, and a House of Assembly established in 1639, which, 11 years later, was divided into two houses—the one consisting of members chosen by the Proprietary, and the other by the Freemen. In 1642, difficulties supervened from the introduction of the Puritan element into the province in the shape of a body of non-conformists, who had been exiled from Virginia. The latter, true to their natural instincts of bigotry and intolerance, soon manifested a spirit of insubordination toward the executive of their newly-adopted country; and made themselves masters of the province in 1644. Two years later, however, Governor Calvert, returning at the head of a considerable military force, succeeded in re-establishing his authority. On the overthrow of the royal authority in England, and the substitution of the Commonwealth and Puritan rule, the partisans of the latter, who had by this time obtained a considerable footing in the province of Maryland, demanded an instant recognition of the new form of government. The Proprietary and executive, however, proclaimed Charles II., but were compelled, in 1652, to abdicate their functions, which were usurped by commissioners dispatched from the puritanical home government. In 1654 Lord Baltimore made a resolute attempt to restore his authority, and a civil war ensued, in which the Puritans were eventually victorious, in 1655. At length, after the restoration of Charles II., the Proprietary was reinstated. In 1729 Baltimore was founded, and in 1745 the Maryland “Gazette,” the first journal printed in the province, was published at Annapolis, maintaining its existence for 94 years afterward. Frederick City was laid out in 1751, and the colony progressed rapidly in wealth and population. In 1774 the Stamp Act, and the act levying a duty on tea, met with resolute and active opposition from the Marylanders, who, assembled in convention, abolished the Proprietary government, and substituted therefor a Committee of Public Safety. In 1776 a convention of the people adopted a bill of rights, and a constitution; in the following year, the first elected Legislature was convened at Annapolis, and in March, Thomas Johnson took office as the first republican governor. During the Revolution the Marylanders bore a highly distinguished part, participating in nearly every battle of the war. During the campaign of 1812, Maryland suffered severely from the naval operations of the British; Havre de Grace, Fredericktown, and other places being plundered and burned. The militia of the State as vainly opposed the march of the English army to Washington in 1814. In the same year occurred the battles of Bladensburg and North Point; in the former of which the enemy was successful, while in the latter the British General Ross was killed, and the Americans gained a slight advantage. An attack (Sept. 14-16) on Baltimore by the enemy's fleet was successfully repelled. At the outbreak of the Civil War, in 1861, the Marylanders were divided in sentiment, many of the people being in sympathy with the Confederates, though the State remained loyal to the Federal cause. During a series of Confederate invasions from Virginia during the protraction of the war, the State became the theater of important military operations and sanguinary engagements. Maryland is one of the few States of the Union that rejected the ratification of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. In 1867, a new constitution was adopted, making several important changes in the organic law of the State. In the year 1880, Baltimore celebrated its 150th anniversary with a week of festivities, and in 1884 the 250th anniversary of the landing of the colonists was celebrated. In 1891, a monument was erected to Leonard Calvert, the first governor, on the site of the old city of St. Mary's, the first capital of the State, of which scarcely a trace remains.

Copyright, L. L. Poates Eng. Co., 1921