On June 20, 1632, Charles I, King of England, granted the Charter of Maryland to Caecilius Calvert, second Baron of Baltimore, in place of his father, George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore. George Calvert had petitioned the King for a grant of land north of the Potomac River in 1625, but George died before King Charles agreed.
Due to land disputes with neighboring states the original boundaries of Maryland set forth in the charter are a bit different from her present day boundaries, particularly as pertains to the Eastern Shore area. Like so many cells dividing, Maryland's seven original counties (St. Mary's, Kent, Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Talbot, and Somerset), over the state's 370-year history, have evolved into 23 counties and the City of Baltimore. The selection of maps in this collection provides snapshots of the growth and development of Maryland's counties and the City of Baltimore.
Digital Maryland is a collaborative, statewide digital preservation program of the Enoch Pratt Free Library / Maryland State Library Resource Center. The goal of the project is to facilitate the digitization, digital preservation, and access for historical and cultural documents, images, audio, and video that record Maryland’s history.
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Harry Sythe Cummigs (1866-1917) was a lawyer, fraternal leader, and politician who was arguably the most influential African American in Baltimore City during the late nineteenth/early 20th century. Born in 1866 in Baltimore City, with a lack of educational opportunities, Cummings would eventually travel to Lincoln University where he received his college degree. Upon graduation he was admitted to Maryland School of Law where he would be both the first African American to be admitted and later graduate in 1889. He became the first African American City Councilman of Baltimore when he was elected to represent the 17th ward in 1890 and served numerous terms until his death. Cummings championed the rights of African Americans in Baltimore at a time when they faced significant political, social, and economic disenfranchisement. He entered the national stage when he delivered the seconding speech for Theodore Roosevelt’s nomination at the 1904 Republican National Convention.
This collection consists of one box of correspondence which documents civil rights and segregation in Baltimore, Baltimore schools, his nomination speech for Theodore Roosvelt, and a testimonial dinner held in his honor in 1916. Please reach out to the Special Collections Department (spc@prattlibrary.org) to access the entire collection.
This collection from the McDonogh School Archives & Special Collections is a collection of letters, postcards and photographs drawn from the Manuscript and Vertical File Manuscript (VFM) Collections of McDonogh School alumni who served during World War I and the Mexican Border Campaign. Additions to the collection are ongoing.
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Currently the collection consists of 17 "Beachmaster '' newsletters written by men stationed at the United States Navy Amphibious Training Base at Solomons, Maryland during the second World War. Additions are ongoing.
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