1700 - 1799
1704. Construction completed on new state house and St. Anne's Church, Annapolis.
1704, Oct. State House burned.
1704-1709. John Seymour, governor.
1706. Queen Anne's County formed.
1706. Justus Engelhardt Kuhn, portrait painter, arrived in Maryland.
1708. The Sot-Weed Factor: Or, A Voyage to Maryland, by Ebenezer Cook, published (London).
1709-1714. Edward Lloyd (president of council), acting governor.
1710. Talbot Court House (later East Town or Easton).
1714-1720. John Hart, governor.
1715. Principio Iron Works, Cecil County, financed by English capital.
1715, Feb. Crown restored proprietary rights to Benedict Leonard Calvert, 4th Lord Baltimore.
1715, April. Charles Calvert succeeded as 5th Lord Baltimore.
1718. Catholics disenfranchised by Assembly.
1720-1727. Charles Calvert, governor.
1723. School and board of visitors in each county mandated by Assembly.
1727, Sept. Maryland Gazette, first newspaper in the Chesapeake, published by William Parks at Annapolis (until 1734).
1727-1731. Benedict Leonard Calvert, governor.
![[photo, Robert Long House, Fells Point,
Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/images/i002537a.jpg)
Robert Long House, Fells Point,
Baltimore, Maryland, 1999.
Oldest residence in Baltimore.
Photo by Diane P. Frese.
1729. Baltimore Town established by charter.
1730. Sotweed Redivivus, by Ebenezer Cook, published (Annapolis).
1731. Baltimore Company began ironmaking on Patapsco River.
1731-1732. Samuel Ogle, governor.
1732. Salisbury Town laid out by commissioners.
1732. Establishment of boundary line with three lower counties of Pennsylvania, which later became Delaware.
1732-1733. Charles Calvert, governor.
1733-1742. Samuel Ogle, governor.
1741. Oldtown on upper Potomac founded by Thomas Cresap.
1742. First Baptist church in Maryland established at Chestnut Ridge, Baltimore County.
1742. Worcester County erected from Somerset County.
1742-1747. Thomas Bladen, governor.
1743. First Lutheran church in Maryland built under David Candler's leadership, Monocacy River.
1744, June 30. Native-American chiefs of the Six Nations relinquished by treaty all claims to land in colony. Assembly purchased last Indian land claims in Maryland.
1745. Tuesday Club formed in Annapolis. Maryland Jockey Club organized first races. Jonas Green revived Maryland Gazette.
1745. Daniel Dulany the Elder laid out Frederick Town and invited German settlement.
1745. Assembly combined Jones Town and Baltimore Town.
1747 Tobacco inspection law enabled Maryland to control quality of exports; established multiple inspection points to ensure export of only quality leaf, and set clerical and proprietary officers' fees.
1747, May. Reformed Lutheran congregation organized by Michael Schlatter in Frederick.
1747-1752. Samuel Ogle, governor.
1748. Frederick County erected from Baltimore and Prince George's counties.
1750. Ohio Company established trading post at Will's Creek on Potomac River. About same time, John Stevenson shipped cargo of flour to Ireland, first in an export trade that spurred development of Baltimore.
1752. John Moale sketched Baltimore Town.
1752-1753. Benjamin Tasker (president of council), acting governor.
1753-1769. Horatio Sharpe, governor.
1754. Fort Cumberland constructed by militiamen.
1755. Gen. Edward Braddock led expedition through Maryland to the west. French and Indians defeated Braddock's forces near Fort Duquesne. Indians attacked western settlers.
1755. French-speaking Catholics arrived in Baltimore from Nova Scotia.
1756. Assembly supplied funds for Fort Frederick, near North Mountain.
1762. Elizabeth Town (later Hagerstown) laid out by Jonathan Hager.
1763. First volunteer fire company, later Mechanical Company, formed in Baltimore.
1763-1767. Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed boundary line with Pennsylvania.
1765. Daniel Dulany, Jr., denounced Stamp Act in Considerations on the Propriety of Imposing Taxes in the British Colonies (Annapolis).
1765, Nov. 23. Stamp Act resistance at Frederick.
1766. Sons of Liberty organized in Baltimore County.
1767. Annapolis merchants sent Charles Willson Peale to London to study painting with Benjamin West.
1768. Baltimore County seat moved from Joppa to Baltimore Town.
1769. Maryland merchants adopted policy of nonimportation of British goods.
1769. First smallpox hospital in colonies established by Henry Stevenson, Baltimore.
1769-1776. Robert Eden, governor.
1771. First brick theater in America opened in Annapolis.
1772. Ellicott brothers erected largest flour mill in Maryland on Patapsco River.
1772. First Methodist house of worship in colonies, the John Evans House, built under leadership of Robert Strawbridge in Frederick (later Carroll) County.
1772, March 28. Cornerstone laid for new State House in Annapolis.
1773. Assembly united Fells Point and Baltimore Town.
1773. Maryland Gazette carried "Antilon" and "First Citizen" debate on officers' fees. William Goddard began printing Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser.
1773. Caroline County erected from Dorchester and Queen Anne's counties.
1773. Harford County formed from Baltimore County.
1774. Catoctin Iron Furnace, Frederick County.
1774, April 19. Last colonial General Assembly prorogued.
1774, June 22. First Provincial Convention (an extralegal body) met at Annapolis, and sent delegates to First Continental Congress.
1774, Aug. Baltimoreans shipped cargo of corn, rye, and bread to people of Boston.
1774, Oct. 19. Mob burned Peggy Stewart in Annapolis harbor.
1774, Dec. Mordecai Gist formed Baltimore Independent Cadets.
1775, March 22. "Bush Declaration" signed, Bush River, Harford County, patriots call for independence.
1775, July 18. Rifle companies under Michael Cresap and Thomas Price depart Frederick Town to join Washington's army at Boston.
1775, July 26. Association of Freemen formed by Maryland Convention.
1775, Aug. 29. Council of Safety organized.
1775, Dec. Association of Freemen began recruiting troops.
1776. Colonel William Smallwood organized First Battalion of Maryland (forerunner of Maryland Line), Captain James Nicholson commanded Maryland sloop Defence.
1776. Montgomery County created from Frederick County.
1776. Washington County created from Frederick County.
1776, March. Whig Club formed in Baltimore.
1776, June 26. Departure of Robert Eden, Maryland's last colonial governor.
![[portrait, Samuel Chase, by John Beale Bordley, 1836]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/images/chase.jpg)
1776, July 4. Declaration of Independence adopted in Philadelphia. Engrossed copy signed by Marylanders William Paca, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Thomas Stone, and Samuel Chase.
Samuel Chase, by John Beale Bordley, 1836. (MSA SC 1545-1115). Courtesy of Commission on Artistic Property, Maryland State Archives.
Samuel Chase (1741-1811) was one of four Maryland signers of the Declaration of Independence.
1776, July 6. Maryland Convention declared independence from Great Britain.
1776, Aug. 14-Nov. 11. Constitutional Convention of 1776 (meeting of Ninth Provincial Convention).
1776, Aug. 27. Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Long Island (under Mordecai Gist fought crucial delaying action at Gowanus Creek); continued to engage the British at later battles, including White Plains, and Harlem Heights.
1776, Nov. 3. Declaration of Rights (Maryland's Bill of Rights) adopted by Ninth Provincial Convention. Church of England disestablished.
1776, Nov. 8. First State Constitution adopted by Ninth Provincial Convention.
1776, Dec. 20-1777, March 4. Continental Congress met at Baltimore.
1777, Feb. 5. First General Assembly elected under State Constitution of 1776 met at Annapolis.
![[photo, Bust of Thomas Johnson, City Hall, Frederick, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/fr/images/i006201b.jpg)
1777, March 21. Inauguration of Thomas Johnson, first governor elected by General Assembly. Council of Safety disbanded.
1777, Sept. 11. Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania.
1777-1779. Thomas Johnson, governor.
Bust of Thomas Johnson in front of City Hall, Frederick, Maryland, October 2001. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
1778. Count Casimir Pulaski raised independent troops, Baltimore.
1779. Maryland Anglicans referred to themselves as Protestant Episcopal Church.
1779-1782. Thomas Sim Lee, governor.
1780. Baltimore became port of entry.
![[photo, Baron DeKalb statue, by Ephraim Keyser, State House grounds, Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/images/i005005a.jpg)
Statue of Baron Johann DeKalb, by Ephraim Keyser, State House grounds, Annapolis, Maryland, June 2000. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
Baron DeKalb (1721-1780) led the Maryland Line at the
Battle of Camden, South Carolina, August 16, 1780. He died at Camden on August 19, 1780, from wounds received in that battle.
1780, Aug. 16. In South Carolina, Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Camden..
1781, Jan. 17. Maryland soldiers fought and, under John Eager Howard, played decisive role at Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina.
1781, Feb. 2. Property of Loyalists and British subjects confiscated.
1781, March 1. Maryland ratified, and thereby made effective, the Articles of Confederation.
1781, March 15. In North Carolina, Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Guilford Courthouse.
1781, Sept. 8. Maryland soldiers fought at Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina.
1781, Nov. 5. John Hanson elected President of the United States in Congress Assembled.
1782. Washington College (formerly Kent Academy) established at Chestertown.
1782-1785. William Paca, governor.
1783. Freemasons, meeting at Talbot Court House, formed Maryland Grand Lodge.
1783, Nov. 26-1784, June 3. Annapolis served as capital to newly forming American nation when Continental Congress met at Annapolis.
1783, Dec. 23. George Washington resigned commission as commander in chief of Continental Army at State House in Annapolis.
1784. Potomac Company chartered by Maryland and Virginia.
1784. John Frederick Amelung and party established New Bremen glassworks, Frederick County.
1784, Jan. 14. Treaty of Paris, ending Revolutionary War, ratified by Congress at Annapolis.
1784, June. Edward Warren, Baltimore, made first balloon ascension in United States aboard balloon designed by Peter Carnes, Bladensburg.
1784, Dec. Methodist Christmas Conference, Baltimore, established Methodist Episcopal Church in America.
1784, Dec. 30. St. John's College established at Annapolis. General Assembly designated it, with Washington College, as University of Maryland.
1785. German Evangelical Reformed congregation under Philip William Otterbein built United Brethren Church, Baltimore.
1785, March 28. Mt. Vernon Compact, an agreement on navigation and fishing in the tidewaters of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay, negotiated and signed by Maryland Commissioners Thomas Stone, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, and Samuel Chase, and Virginia Commissioners.
1785, Aug. China trade began with John O'Donnell's arrival at Baltimore with cargo from Canton, China.
1785-1788. William Smallwood, governor.
1786. Matthias Bartgis began newspaper publishing in Frederick.
1786, March 12. Mt. Vernon Compact ratified by Maryland.
1786, Sept. 11-14. Annapolis Convention of delegates from several states met at Mann's Tavern, Annapolis, to discuss revisions to Articles of Confederation. Maryland sent no representatives.
1787. Toll roads connecting Baltimore with Frederick, Westminster, Hanover, and York authorized by General Assembly.
1787. Friends' Yearly Meeting, Baltimore, condemned slavery.
1787, Sept. 17. U.S. Constitution signed by Marylanders Daniel Carroll, James McHenry, and Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, at Philadelphia.
1787, Nov. 29. Luther Martin's report, The Genuine Information, criticized proposed U.S. Constitution, including its omission of a bill of rights.
1787, Dec. Cokesbury College, Abingdon, opened by Methodists.
1787, Dec. Steamboat launched by James Rumsey on Potomac River near Shepherdstown, Virginia.
1788, April 28. Maryland Convention ratified U.S. Constitution, making Maryland the seventh state to do so. Convention adjourned without recommending amendments.
1788, May 1. Parade and festival (following ratification of federal constitution) gave name to Federal Hill, Baltimore.
1788-1791. John Eager Howard, governor.
1789. Allegany County created from Washington County.
1789. Georgetown College chartered.
1789. Maryland Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Relief of Poor Negroes and Others Unlawfully Held in Bondage formed at Baltimore.
1789. General meeting of Roman Catholic clergy recommended John Carroll to be pastor of American church.
1789, Dec. 19. Maryland ratified federal Bill of Rights, first ten amendments to U.S. Constitution.
1790. Easton incorporated. Easton Maryland Herald published by James Cowan.
1790. Stewart Herbert began printing Elizabeth Town Washington Spy, first newspaper west of Blue Ridge Mountains.
1790, Aug. By papal direction, Bishop Charles Walmsley consecrated John Carroll as bishop of Baltimore, at Ludworth Castle, England.
1791. Benjamin Banneker published almanac.
1791, Dec. 19. Maryland ceded land for federal District of Columbia.
1791-1792. George Plater, governor.
1792. Courthouse opened at Queen Anne's County seat, Centreville.
1792. African Americans formed Sharp Street Methodist Church, Baltimore.
1792-1794. Thomas Sim Lee (Federalist), governor.
1793. Refugees from Haitian slave uprising arrived in Baltimore.
1794. First of many yellow fever epidemics struck Baltimore.
1794. Baltimore Equitable Society, first fire insurance company in Maryland, formed.
1794-1797. John H. Stone (Federalist), governor.
1795. Bank of Baltimore established. Federal government sited post office at Cumberland.
1796. Maryland law forbade import of slaves for sale, permitted voluntary slave emancipation.
1796. Baltimore City incorporated.
1797, Sept. David Stodder's shipyard, Harris Creek, launched U.S. Frigate Constellation.
1797-1798. John Henry (Federalist), governor.
1798-1801. Benjamin Ogle (Federalist), governor.
1799. Construction began on Fort McHenry, Baltimore. Alexander Martin established Baltimore American and Daily Advertiser.
? Copyright Maryland State Archives
