Timeline of Southern Maryland

Southern Maryland
A map of the counties of Southern Maryland. According to the state of Maryland, the region includes all of Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's counties (red) and the southern portions of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties (light red)[1]

The following is a timeline of the history of the region of Southern Maryland.

14th century

  • 1330-1500 - Occupation of the Native American village named Moyaone.[2]

17th century

18th century

  • 1734 November 4 - Thomas Johnson is born near St. Leonard's Creek.[7]
  • 1722 - "Williams' Old Field" deemed the new county seat for Calvert County by an Act of Assembly.[6]
  • 1732 - Construction completed for the Calvert County Courthouse.[6]
  • 1780 - British troops invade Calvert County, destroying property and burning buildings.[8][9]

19th century

  • 1814 June - Several attacks involving the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla take place near and around St. Leonard's Creek.[10][11] During this time, many enslaved people living in Southern Maryland found freedom by fleeing to the British military.[12]
  • 1814 July - At least 14 enslaved persons escaped to freedom via a British Vessel in Lower Marlboro.[5]
  • 1837 - Charles Ball publishes his autobiography, “The Life and Adventures of Charles Ball."[13]
  • 1845 July - Two enslaved men named Mark Caesar and Bill Wheeler lead a slave rebellion Charles County.[5]
  • 1858 February 12 - The town on Leonardtown is incorporated.[14]
  • 1863 October - Camp Stanton, a site created for the recruiting and training of African American men, is established near Benedict.[5]
  • 1865 April 15 - John Wilkes Booth stops at St. Catharine, Samuel Mudd's house in Waldorf.[15][16]
  • 1866 August 8 - Explorer Matthew Henson is born in Nanjemoy.[17]
  • 1867 - Isaac Solomon started a commercial fishery on what was then referred to as "Somervell's Island"[18] or "Sandy Island,"[9] later to be known as Solomon's Island.[6]
  • 1869 - Wallville School opens in Calvert County serving as a one room schoolhouse for African American students.[19]
  • 1870 - Construction completed on a Solomon's Island Post Office and a causeway connecting the island to Calvert County's mainland.[18][9]
  • 1877 - Issac Davis completes construction of the first framed bugeye, "Clyde," on Solomons Island.[9]
  • 1882 - Calvert County courthouse destroyed, along with its records, in a fire.[13]
  • 1886 April 7 - The town of Chesapeake Beach is incorporated.[20]
  • 1888 March 6 - The town of Chesapeake Beach's incorporation is repealed.[21]
  • 1888 April 4 - The towns of La Plata[22] and Port Tobacco Village are incorporated.[23]
  • 1890 - Drayden African American Schoolhouse is built in St. Mary's county.[5]
  • 1894 April 3 - The town of Chesapeake Beach is reincorporated.[24]

20th century

  • 1910 - The town of North Beach is incorporated. [25]
  • 1920 - WWI Memorial Statue designed by Edward Berge is erected in font of the Calvert County Courthouse. The statue lists names of fallen White soldiers separate from fallen Black soldiers.[5]
  • 1920 April 16 - The town of Indian Head is incorporated.[26]
  • 1922 - Central Industrial School opened in Prince Frederick as a multi-room school for African Americans in Calvert County.[19]
  • 1930's - Owings Eagles begin to play on Gray's Field.[5]
  • 1933 - Pomonkey High School opens as the first high School for African Americans in Charles County.[5]
  • 1933 August 23 - A storm hits Solomon's Island, destroying oyster beds and packing houses.[9]
  • 1934 - Wallville School ceases operations as a school.[19]
  • 1937 December 27 - Calvert County agrees to equal pay for their African American school teachers following a suit from Harriet Elizabeth Brown and NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall.[27]
  • 1939 - W. Sampson Brooks High School opens as the first high School for African Americans in Calvert County.[19]
  • 1940 December - Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge opens.[28]
  • 1942 - The Naval Amphibious Training Base Solomons is established.[6]
  • 1943 April 1 - Naval Air Station Patuxent River is commissioned.[29]
  • 1952 July 30 - The first Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Annapolis completes construction.[30]
  • 1957 - John Hanson Highway completed.[31]
  • 1963 - Four Black students integrate Calvert High School.[32]
  • 1963 December - Due to high levels of traffic on the Bay Bridge, a second span of the Chesapeake is proposed, including one that would have connected Calvert County and Dorchester County as part of the larger 1964 Chesapeake Bay crossing study. The second span would eventually be built very close to the first span.[33]
  • 1964 April 15 - Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel opens.[34]
  • 1964 July 19 - Moyaone is added to the National Registry of Historic Places.[35]
  • 1966 October 15 - Moyanone is designated a National Historic Location.[36]
  • 1973 June 28 - The second span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Annapolis is completed.[37]
  • 1974 March 31 - The Piscataway people incorporate the non-profit "Piscataway Conoy Indians Inc."[3]
  • 1977 - Construction completed on the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge.[38]
  • 1982 - Appointed to fill a vacancy on the Commissioner Board, Jesse Reid becomes the first African American to hold the office of County Commissioner in Calvert County.[39]
  • 1990 March 30 - St. Charles Towne Center opens.[40]
  • 1992 - The Historic McConchie One-Room School that served African American students in Charles county, is moved to the Charles County Fairgrounds.[5]

21st century

  • 2000 - The Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission (SMADC) is formed as part of the Tobacco Buyout.[41]
  • 2000 July 29 - An African American Monument is dedicated in Freedom Park.[5]
  • 2005 June 23 - The 2005 Chesapeake Bay crossing study suggests two options for bridges connecting out of Calvert County, one connecting to Talbot County and one connecting to Dorchester county[42]
  • 2006 - Salvageable portions of the building that housed Wallville School were moved to Calvert Elementary School.[43]
  • 2008 May 2 - Southern Maryland Blue Crabs host their first game at Regency Furniture Stadium.[44]
  • 2011 September - St. Mary's College of Maryland becomes one of the first campuses to ban the sale of Chick-fil-A because of the organization's financial ties to anti-gay groups.[45][46]
  • 2020 - According to the US census, at some point between 2010 and 2020, Charles County's largest racial group changed from being White to Black.[47]
  • 2024 March 19 - Piscataway Conoy Indians Inc. purchase land in Charles County with the intent of rebuilding the Swann School.[48]

References

  1. ^ "Legislative Election Districts: Southern Maryland". Maryland Manual Online. Maryland State Archives, State of Maryland. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022. Southern Maryland: Calvert, Charles & St. Mary's Counties & parts of Anne Arundel & Prince George's Counties
  2. ^ William and Mary Center for Archaeological Research. "Return to Potomac Creek (44ST2): Archaeology at a Late Prehistoric Native American Village Archived August 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
  3. ^ a b c d "History". www.piscatawayconoytribe.com. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  4. ^ "The Peopling of Maryland Colony". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Uunila, Kirsti; Kent, Michael; Thompson, Cathy; Smith, Dorothea. "AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE GUIDE". Calvert County Government. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e "History of Calvert County | Calvert County, MD - Official Website". www.calvertcountymd.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  7. ^ Staff, Susan Guynn News-Post (2007-11-11). "Thomas Johnson: Patriot, politician lost in history". The Frederick News-Post. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  8. ^ Stein, Charles (1960). A history of Calvert County, Maryland. Baltimore : Pub. by the author in cooperation with the Calvert County Historical Society. p. 133.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  9. ^ a b c d e "Solomons Business Association » History". Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  10. ^ Shomette, Donald (1982). Shipwrecks on the Chesapeake. Centreville, Maryland: Tidewater Publishers. pp. 87–93. ISBN 978-0-87033-283-8.
  11. ^ Shomette, Donald (1982). Shipwrecks on the Chesapeake. Centreville, Maryland: Tidewater Publishers. pp. 87–93. ISBN 978-0-87033-283-8.
  12. ^ "Calvert County African Americans and the War of 1812 | Calvert County, MD - Official Website". www.calvertcountymd.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  13. ^ a b [email protected], TAMARA WARD (2019-03-28). "Kent gives oral histories of black Calvert". SoMdNews.com. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  14. ^ "Archives of Maryland, Volume 0624, Page 0074 - Session Laws, 1858". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  15. ^ "John Best". rogerjnorton.com. Lincoln. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  16. ^ "John Best, farmhand of Dr. Samuel Mudd". muddresearch.com. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  17. ^ "The Inside Story of the African American Explorer Who was the First Man to Stand on Top of the North Pole". Adventure. 2025-07-08. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  18. ^ a b "Solomon's Island Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  19. ^ a b c d "The Old Wallville School – Calvert County's Reconstructed African American One-Room School". 2010. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  20. ^ "Archives of Maryland, Volume 0425, Page 0344 - Session Laws, 1886 Session". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  21. ^ "Archives of Maryland, Volume 0481, Page 0056 - Session Laws, 1888 Session". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  22. ^ "Archives of Maryland, Volume 0481, Page 0554 - Session Laws, 1888 Session". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  23. ^ "Archives of Maryland, Volume 0481, Page 0498 - Session Laws, 1888 Session". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  24. ^ "Archives of Maryland, Volume 0480, Page 0311 - Session Laws, 1894 Session". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  25. ^ "Archives of Maryland, Volume 0487, Page 0656 - Session Laws, 1910 Session". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  26. ^ "Archives of Maryland, Volume 0539, Page 1191 - Session Laws, 1920". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  27. ^ "Maryland Women's Hall of Fame: Harriet Elizabeth Brown". Maryland State Archives. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  28. ^ Johnson, Santoria. "MdTA toll facilities: southern region: Nice Bridge". Archived from the original on 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  29. ^ "Patuxent River". Retrieved 2009-05-02.
  30. ^ "William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bay Bridge: Engineering Feats". Maryland Transit Administration. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
  31. ^ "Interstate 595 in Maryland (US-50 from I-95/I-495 to Annapolis)". www.roadstothefuture.com. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  32. ^ [email protected], TAMARA WARD (2017-02-14). "Chronicling Calvert's black history". SoMdNews.com. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  33. ^ Kozel, Scott M. (September 3, 2000). "Chesapeake Bay Bridge History". roadstothefuture.com.
  34. ^ "History – CBBT". www.cbbt.com. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  35. ^ "National Register Listings in Maryland." Maryland Historical Trust.
  36. ^ William and Mary Center for Archaeological Research. "Return to Potomac Creek (44ST2): Archaeology at a Late Prehistoric Native American Village Archived August 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
  37. ^ "William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bay Bridge: History". Maryland Transit Administration. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
  38. ^ Maryland Department of Transportation (2022). "Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge: Evaluation of Suicide Deterrent Systems" (PDF). Maryland Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-06-10. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
  39. ^ [email protected], SARAH FALLIN (2018-02-28). "Reid, Calvert's first African-American commissioner, dies at 84". SoMdNews.com. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  40. ^ Spinner, Jackie (1996-09-01). "In Charles County, All Roads Lead to the Mall; Waldorf's Bustling Towne Center Has Become Area's Social, Entertainment 'Mecca'". The Washington Post.
  41. ^ "SMADC History | Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission". Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  42. ^ "Home | MDTA". mdta.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  43. ^ OldWallvilleSchool.org (2020). "A History of the Old Wallville School: Perseverance & Progress" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2024.
  44. ^ Greenwell, Megan (May 2, 2008). "Charles scores one for the home team". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
  45. ^ Kelly, Evan (27 September 2011). "Resolution Encourages Grind to Stop Serving Chick-fil-A". The Point News. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012.
  46. ^ "North Carolina College Suspends Chick-fil-A". HuffPost. 2012-08-13. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  47. ^ Maryland Department of Planning (2020). "2010-2020 Charles County, Maryland Demographics and Housing Characteristics" (PDF). Maryland Department of Planning. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  48. ^ Piscataway Conoy Tribe (19 March 2024). "Piscataway Conoy Tribe of Maryland's post". Archived from the original on 7 July 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
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