Time Out from the March of Time
This weekend, you can loop 380 years back in time without breaking stride in history’s forward march.
March 24 is the birthday of Maryland’s modern history. That European encounter opened the door to all of us, native inhabitants excepted.
On that early spring day in 1634, voyagers from the ships the Ark and the Dove prayed on a Potomac River island, thanking God for surviving their long voyage, coming to land safely and negotiating a peace accord with the Piscataway Indians.
That was just the beginning.
In our times, Maryland Day Weekend is celebrated as a three-day party.
Both of Maryland’s capital counties — Anne Arundel and St. Mary’s — join in the fun. Historic sites, businesses and neighborhoods invite you in to experience their part of the long story.
“Many of our sites are reopening for the season this weekend and have planned for months to be ready to welcome you. There are brand-new exhibits, special performances and lectures, walking tours, hands-on experiences and more, all offered for a dollar or free. It’s a great opportunity to get out and learn something new, and have fun too,” says Carol Benson. In Anne Arundel County, the celebration is coordinated by Four Rivers: The Heritage Area of Annapolis, which Benson directs.
You can even ride the bus for free in Annapolis Saturday and to South County and back Sunday: http://marylandday.org/free-transportation-schedules/.
Read on for Bay Weekly’s guide to what to see and do — including the official Maryland Day Celebration on the day, Tuesday, March 25, at the spot, St. Clement’s Island.
–Sandra Olivetti Martin, Bay Weekly Editor
Annapolis City Dock
Raise the Flag on Maryland Day with the Annapolis Drum and Bugle Corps and United States Navy League Cadets of Training Ship Mercedes.
Saturday, March 22: 10am, Susan Campbell Park
Annapolis Watermark Tour
Francis Scott Key treats you to interesting facts and local War of 1812 knowledge in this walking tour through downtown Annapolis and the U.S. Naval Academy. Photo ID required.
Saturday, March 22: 10:30am-12:30pm from Susan Campbell Park, Annapolis City Dock
Annapolis Legacy Tours
Commemorate the sesquicentennial anniversary of Maryland’s Emancipation in 1864, walking from the docks of the city, where the first enslaved inhabitants of Maryland stepped on soil in the new world. Pass the Kunta Kinte Memorial, the Chase Lloyd House and the State Capitol, where Article 24 of the Maryland constitution was signed into law, making Maryland the first state to voluntarily end slavery, on November 1, 1864. Meet Pvt. Joshua Savoy, USCT, Company D, from Annapolis, and Frederick Douglass, en route to his summer home at Highland Beach.
Saturday, March 22: 11:30am-1pm from the Flag Pole, Susan Campbell Park, Annapolis City Dock
Annapolis and Anne Arundel Visitors Center
Pick up your Maryland Day Passport and get expert help planning Maryland Day adventures to fill it with stamps.
March 21-23: 9am-5pm; 26 West Street and City Dock Information Booth, Annapolis
Annapolis Maritime Museum
One of the Bay’s great resources, oysters supported a thriving economy as well as the health of the Bay. From 1919 until the 1970s, McNasby Oyster House supplied appetites across the nation by buying oysters from watermen then shucking and packing them for transport. Now McNasby’s is a museum with an interactive water-focused exhibit including an historic workboat where you can try your hand at oystering, tonging from the washboards of Miss Lonesome and culling the catch.
Friday, March 21: noon-4pm; 723 Second Street, Eastport
Anne Arundel County Courthouse Museum
Anne Arundel County’s working courthouse has seen 190 years of history. If you like the shows CSI or Law and Order, you’ll enjoy the Crossroads of the Community exhibit.
Friday, March 21: 9:30am-4pm
at 7 Church Circle, Annapolis
Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation with the Lost Towns Project
Freed from slavery, Henry Wilson became one of the wealthiest African American landowners in South
County. Visit his 1870 farmstead to learn how archaeologists are reconstructing its history.
Sunday, March 23: 11am-4pm; 922 West Benning Rd., Galesville
Banneker-Douglass Museum
Formed in the 1790s, Mt. Moriah African Methodist Episcopal Church was a house of worship from 1875 until the 1970s. Tour it today as Maryland’s black history museum.
Saturday, March 22: 1-3pm; 84 Franklin Street, Annapolis
Captain Avery Museum
Captain Salem Avery, a Chesapeake waterman descended from Long Island sea captains, built this Bay-front home for his family in 1865. In the exhibit Seasons of the West River Waterman, learn about their crafts, from oystering, boat building and repair, to crabbing, fishing and their family and community roles.
Sunday, March 22: noon-4pm;
1418 East West Shady Side Rd., Shady Side
Charles Carroll House
Charles Carroll’s home in town, built in the early 18th century, housed three generations of the Carroll family, including his son, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. For Maryland Day, explore the Carroll family tree to see if you are perhaps a descendant. Learn a bit about your own family history with a genealogist; children draw their family trees. You’ll also see Denny Lynch’s photos of ancestral Carroll homes on both sides of the Atlantic; Saturday at noon, Lynch interprets his photos.
March 22-23: noon-4pm; 107 Duke of Gloucester St., Annapolis
Chase Lloyd House
Commissioned in 1769 by Declaration of Independence signer Samuel Chase and completed by plantation owner Edward Lloyd, this three-story Georgian mansion — now a private home for retired women — invites you to waltz as the Lloyds might have to the music of The Weems Creek Jammers. Visit the garden to learn about early spring organic gardening and composting.
Saturday, March 22: 2-4:30pm on the half-hour,
22 Maryland Ave., Annapolis
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Help restore the native oyster population by constructing concrete reef balls as habitat for oysters, fish, blue crabs and other critters. Dress to work outside; wear gloves and boots and warm clothes that can get wet and dirty. When the job’s done, you’ll tour the Oyster Restoration Center to learn how the Foundation is helping restore the Bay’s native oyster population. Children and teens welcome with adult. rsvp: [email protected]; 410-268-8816.
Friday, March 21: 9am-2pm; Discovery Village’s Oyster Restoration Center, 4800 Atwell Rd., Shady Side
Hear about the current state of the Chesapeake, the forecast for its future and how you can make a difference in the waterway’s health. Tour CBF’s environmentally sustainable headquarters and find out why it is one of the world’s most energy-efficient buildings. Walk the grounds on your own after the formal tour. rsvp: www.cbf.org/calendar. Questions? [email protected]; 410-268-8816.
Saturday, March 22: 10am-noon; Philip Merrill Environmental Center, 6 Herndon Ave, Annapolis
Chesapeake Children’s Museum
Explore what it was like to live here before the English came. Acorns were for flour, clay was for pots and sticks were for children’s games. Walk through the timeless woodlands along the creek. Join in games, crafts and storytelling to learn how nature was part of the daily lives of Native Americans. $1 ages 2+.
March 22-23: 10:30am-1:30pm; 25 Silopanna Rd., Annapolis
Deale Area Historic Village and Museum
Visit this reassembled 19th century historic village to join in the chores of daily life. Churn butter and ice cream, spin yarn, weave fabric, make candles and tong for oysters. Attend a Beneficial Society meeting, and learn about local War of 1812 skirmishes. Children learn ciphering in the one-room school.
Sunday, March 23: 1-5pm; Herrington Harbour North Marina, 389 Deale Rd. (Rt. 256), Tracys Landing
Galesville Heritage Museum
Carrie Weedon lived in one of the oldest villages in the United States, Galesville, 362 years old. Her home now houses the Galesville Heritage Museum. Learn about the people who laid the framework for the village and the foundation for the area. Search through oral histories, photos, artifacts and videos, including the Stories of Stores.
Sunday, March 23: 1-5pm; 988 Main Street, Galesville
Hammond-Harwood House
In 1906, Hester Harwood placed an advertisement in the local newspaper to help her rent out rooms in her 18th-century home. Follow in the footsteps of the people who responded to her ad, touring the home (now a museum) and viewing the Harwood family heirlooms. 30-minute tours $1 through 5:30pm.
Friday, March 21: 3-6pm; 19 Maryland Ave., Annapolis
Historic Annapolis Museum & Store
See and hear the interactive exhibit Freedom Bound: Runaways of the Chesapeake, a story of resistance to servitude and slavery in the Chesapeake from the Colonial Period through the Civil War.
Saturday, March 22: 10am-5pm; entry ends at 3:45pm; 99 Main St., Annapolis
Historic London Town and Gardens
Explore the 23-acre museum and park of London Town, which includes the circa 1760 William Brown House, a National Historic Landmark; reconstructed colonial buildings; and an ongoing archaeological investigation in search of the lost Town of London. Wander the eight-acre Woodland Garden of native plants and exotic species arranged along a one-mile trail overlooking the South River. $1.
Saturday, March 22: 10am-5pm
300 years of history come to life at the 18th century Seaport of London Town with more than 30 costumed interpreters cooking on the hearth, leading colonial children’s games and drilling the Anne Arundel County Militia.
Sunday, March 23: noon-4:30pm; 839 Londontown Rd., Edgewater
Historic St. Mary’s City
Celebrate our state’s 380th anniversary in Maryland’s recreated 17th-century capital. The annual program takes place at 1pm. Employ March winds to enjoy a colonial pastime — kite flying — with colonists in Mackall Field from 10am to noon. Enjoy kids’ crafts, a scavenger hunt and try your hand at jousting.
Saturday, March 22: 10am-4pm,
St. Mary’s City Visitor Center
Hogshead Historic Annapolis Living History
Visit this 18th century working-class tavern to explore the life of ordinary Annapolitans as illuminated by historic interpreters.
Saturday, March 22: noon-4pm; entry ends at 3:45pm; 43 Pinkney St., Annapolis
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
The old Annapolis High School is now a center where all ages explore and experience art, drama, dance and music. Expose yourself to art in demos, performances, shows and hands-on projects.
Sunday, March 23: 1-4pm; 801 Chase Street, Annapolis
Maryland State Archives
That hereafter, in this State, there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude.
President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation applied only to slaves held in states in rebellion. Article 24 of Maryland’s Constitution expanded that freedom to all enslaved people in the state. Today, go behind the scenes in State Archives to see original documents related to Maryland’s 1864 emancipation. Photo ID required.
Friday, March 21: 1-3pm; Saturday, March 22: 10am-12:30pm; 350 Rowe Blvd, Annapolis
Maryland State House
All persons held to service or labor as slaves, are hereby declared free.
With these words, 150 years ago this year, Maryland freed its enslaved population under its new state constitution. Its passage was neither easy nor comprehensive. In the restored Old House of Delegates Chamber in the nation’s oldest working state house, you’ll see the room where the Constitution of 1864 was debated and hear historians from the Maryland State Archives discuss its importance. Formal remarks on the half hour. Photo ID required.
Friday, March 21: 1-3pm; 100 State Circle, Annapolis
Mitchell Gallery at St. John’s College
The exhibit Dialogues: Words and Images and Art, 1500-1924, explores the relationship of words to images in art from the Renaissance to the aftermath of the First World War. You’ll survey titles, words within images, literary descriptions of objects, illustrations and embedded texts.
March 21-23: noon-5pm; 60 College Ave., Annapolis
St. Clement’s Island Museum
Maryland’s first colonists from England celebrated their safe landing in the new world at St. Clement’s Island. The St. Clement’s Island Museum tells their story. You’ll see them as depicted by local artist George McWilliams, who used contemporary locals as models for his 1999 mural. At Piney Point Lighthouse, Museum and Historic Park you can visit a historic Maryland lighthouse and learn about local boats, from skipjacks to submarines. Commemorate the founding of Maryland on the day at the spot with speakers and a wreath-laying ceremony.
Tuesday, March 25: 10am-5pm: 301-769-2222;
Colton’s Point, St. Mary’s County
St. John’s College
Founded in 1696, St. John’s is one of the nation’s oldest colleges. On Maryland Day, return to school to learn about the music of the War of 1812 with Dr. David Hildebrand, a specialist in early American music. From Jefferson’s Embargo in 1807 through the triumphs at Fort McHenry and North Point, Americans sang against political opponents and of great sea battles and naval heroes. This program dispels lingering myths of the birth of the Star Spangled Banner in September, 1814. Francis Scott Key, author of our national anthem, was an alumnus of St. John’s College, Class of 1796.
Saturday, March 22: 11am; Francis Scott Key Auditorium, 60 College Ave., Annapolis
U.S. Naval Academy
Established in 1845, the United States Naval Academy is the undergraduate college for the Navy. For Maryland Day, tour the historic campus in an hour-and-a-half guided walking tour that passes the crypt of John Paul Jones, Revolutionary War hero and the father of America’s navy. Visit the USNA Museum to immerse yourself in naval history and to see the original dont give up the ship flag from the War of 1812. $1 with printed or smartphone coupon from the Visitor Center webpage at www.usnabsd.com/for-visitors.
March 21-23: Visitor Center open 9am-5pm; tours Fri. 10am-3pm; Sat. 9:30am-3pm; Su noon-3pm; Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center, (inside Gate 1), Annapolis
Village of West Annapolis
Get to know an Annapolis neighborhood where homes combine with shopping, business and a sense of community and history. Discover the creativity and can-do spirit of the shops along Annapolis Street.
Sunday, March 23: noon-4pm along Annapolis Street
West Annapolis Heritage Partnership
The Baltimore-Annapolis Short Line Railroad, opened in 1887, setting the path of history for West Annapolis, which incorporated as a town in 1890 with two railroad stations.
In an illustrated talk, Ken Rucker of the National Capital Trolley Museum takes you riding the rails.
Friday, March 21: 7:30 at West Annapolis Elementary School, 210 Annapolis St., Annapolis
West Annapolis Heritage Partnership & MainStreets Annapolis Partnership
Relive a day on the WB&A Railroad guided by Walk the Village of West Annapolis: A Scavenger Hunt for History. Activities for adults and kids include decking yourself out for an imaginary train trip. Sam Shepherd, president of the Severna Park Railroad Club, the Friends of the B&A Trail, shows train dioramas highlighting the WB&A.
Saturday, March 22: 1pm; Wimsey Cove Maps & Art, 103 Annapolis St., Annapolis
William Paca House and Garden
The signers of our Declaration of Independence were men of wealth and influence, with Annapolis home to three of the 56. William Paca built his home from 1763 to ’65 with expansive working and formal gardens. In another life, Paca House became the famous Carvel Hall Hotel. Saved from demolition and restored by Historic Annapolis Foundation, the Paca House and Garden has gone back to its roots. Visit today to glimpse the lives of a wealthy Annapolis family during the years leading up to the American Revolution. $1.
Saturday, March 22: 10am-5pm garden; noon-4pm tour; entry ends at 3:45pm; 186 Prince George St., Annapolis