Founded in 1857, the Maryland Club is one of the oldest private clubs in the United States that was founded as an exclusive men's club. Its large Romanesque clubhouse, dating to 1891, is located in Baltimore’s historic Mount Vernon neighborhood, where it has always had its home. The Club’s members have traditionally numbered among the region’s most prominent business, professional, civic and nonprofit leaders. Though membership is by invitation only, the Club says it wants a diverse membership of outstanding individuals regardless of race, gender, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. In 1861, the club supported the secession of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. The club was closed by Union troops during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and General

Lew Wallace Lewis Wallace (April 10, 1827February 15, 1905) was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of the New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, and author from Indiana. Among his novels and biographies, Wallace is ...

outraged local residents by turning the club building into a shelter for homeless former slaves. The club re-opened after the war. The club opposed

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

and flouted the law through the use of private lockers. After a 1995 fire nearly destroyed its building, the club restored its architectural and aesthetic elements. In 2019, a major renovation added squash facilities, improved the exercise area, added a bistro-style restaurant, and made other system upgrades. In 1988, the club began accepting Jews as members.

Notable members

Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte Jérôme Napoléon "Bo" Bonaparte (5 July 1805 – 17 June 1870) was a France, French-United States, American farmer, chairman of the Maryland Agricultural Society, first president of the Maryland Club, and the son of Elizabeth Patterson Bonap ...

, the first president of the club *

William Cabell Bruce William Cabell Bruce (March 12, 1860May 9, 1946) was an American politician and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who represented the State of Maryland in the United States Senate from 1923 to 1929. Background Bruce was born in Charlotte County, V ...

Charles W. Field Charles William Field (April 6, 1828 – April 9, 1892) was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army and then, during the American Civil War, in the Confederate States Army. His division was considered one of the finest in ...

* Charles F. Mayer *

Charles F. Mayer (railroad president) Charles Frederick Mayer (November 30, 1826 - February 24, 1904) was an American rail executive and businessman from Baltimore, Maryland, who served as the 10th president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) from 1889 to 1896. Early life Bo ...

, nephew of the above * 45th Governor of the State of Maryland,

Edwin Warfield Edwin Warfield (May 7, 1848March 31, 1920) was an American politician and a member of the United States Democratic Party, and the 45th Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1904 to 1908. Early life Edwin Warfield was born to Alber ...

* James T. Woodward * Glenn L. MartinThe Maryland Club, A History of Food and Friendship in Baltimore, 1857-1997; Pg 90, Robert J. Brugger

References

{{reflist Gentlemen's clubs in the United States 1857 establishments in Maryland

Notable members

See also

References