The Maryland State House is located in
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
. It is the oldest
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
capitol
A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity.
Specific capitols include:
* United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
* Numerous ...
in continuous legislative use, dating to 1772 and houses the
Maryland General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamb ...
, plus the offices of the
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and
Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
. In 1783 and 1784 it served as the capitol building of the United States
Congress of the Confederation
The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...
, and is where
Ratification Day, the formal end of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, occurred.
The capitol has the distinction of being topped by the largest wooden
dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
in the United States constructed without nails. The current building, which was designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1960,
is the third statehouse on its site.
The building is administered by the State House Trust, established in 1969.
Construction and history
Construction began in 1772, but was not completed until 1797
due to the ongoing
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. The two-story brick
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
style structure, located inside State Circle, was designed by architect
Joseph Horatio Anderson. A small
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
juts out from the center of the building, topped by a
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
, with two high arched windows framing the entrance. On both floors, large rectangular windows line the facade. A cornice is topped by another pediment and the sloping roof gives way for a central octagonal drum atop which rests a dome. The large dome is topped by a balustraded balcony, another octagonal drum and a lantern capped by a
lightning rod
A lightning rod or lightning conductor (British English) is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducte ...
. The rod was constructed and grounded according to the direct specifications of its inventor,
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
.
The building was surrounded by a low brick wall in 1818 to prevent cattle incursions. This was replaced by an iron fence with a granite base in 1836. The dome of the statehouse is depicted on the Maryland
state quarter.
[Aaron C. Davis]
Historic Maryland dome gets facelift
''Washington Post'' (July 3, 2011).
An annex to the State House was constructed between 1902 and 1906 under the supervision of Baltimore architects
Baldwin & Pennington
Baldwin & Pennington was the architectural partnership with Ephraim Francis Baldwin (1837-1916) and Josias Pennington (1854-1929) based in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm designed an incredibly large number of prominent structures throughout the Midd ...
; the new annex replaced earlier 19th-century annexes. The current state House of Delegates and Senate chambers are part of the annex, which is clad in black and gold Italian marble. The annex includes the Grand Staircase from the first to the second floors; above the staircase is the painting ''Washington Resigning His Commission'' by
Edwin White
Edwin White (May 21, 1817 in South Hadley, Massachusetts – June 7, 1877 in Saratoga Springs, New York) was an American Painting, painter.
Life and career
Edwin White studied in Paris, Düsseldorf, Rome, and Florence and later taught at the N ...
, executed in 1858. In 2017, two additional paintings, both from the collection of the
Enoch Pratt Free Library
The Enoch Pratt Free Library is the free public library system of Baltimore, Maryland. Its Central Library and office headquarters are located on 400 Cathedral Street (southbound) and occupy the northeastern three quarters of a city block bound ...
, were hung above the staircase. These additions were a portrait of
Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, (29 September 1699 – 24 April 1751) was a British nobleman and Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. He inherited the title to Maryland aged just fifteen, on the death of his father and gran ...
by
Allan Ramsay (c. 1740) and a portrait of
Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore
Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore (6 February 1731 – 4 September 1771), styled The Hon. Frederick Calvert until 1751, was an English nobleman and last in line of the Barons Baltimore. Although he exercised almost feudal power in the Pr ...
by Johann Ludwig Tietz (c. 1750).
In the mid-1990s, the
cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...
dome underwent a structural renovation and repainting. However, the
latex paint
Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Dep ...
that was used failed to bond due to preceding layers, causing it to flake. In 2011, the old paint was removed and replaced with white
oil-based paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnis ...
.
Grounds
![Annapolis Women's March 12](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Annapolis_Women%27s_March_12.jpg)
Adjacent to the State House is Lawyers Mall, an open space which was designated in 1973 after the demolition of the Court of Appeals building, which had sat at the location since 1906. Statues of Baltimore native
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...
, the first black U.S. Supreme Court justice, as well as
Donald Gaines Murray
Donald Gaines Murray (May 24, 1914 – April 7, 1986 in Baltimore, Maryland) was an American attorney, the first African-American to enter the University of Maryland School of Law since 1890 as a result of winning the landmark civil rights case ' ...
, the first African-American to enter the University of Maryland School of Law since 1890, and a bench with statues of two anonymous children symbolizing the victory of Marshall's litigation in ''
Brown v. Board of Education
''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...
'', all sit on Lawyers Mall. The space is the focal point of
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
activities on capitol grounds.
Until 2017, there was a statue of
Roger B. Taney
Roger Brooke Taney (; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Although an opponent of slavery, believing it to be an evil practice, Taney belie ...
,
Chief Justice of the United States, on the lawn of the State House. The statue was erected in 1872. The statue of Taney, a Marylander, was controversial because of Taney's support for
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and his authorship of the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
decision in ''
Dred Scott v. Sandford
''Dred Scott v. Sandford'', 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, enslaved or free; t ...
'' (1857), which upheld the denial of citizenship to
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
. As a result, a movement in support of removing the statue emerged.
[Josh Hicks & Ovetta Wiggins,]
Md. state leaders pressed to remove controversial statue in Annapolis
''Washington Post'' (August 14, 2017). At first, the State House Trust—made up of the governor, the speaker of the state house, the president of the state senate, and the chair of the Maryland Historical Trust Board of Trustees—responded by adding interpretive plaques "explaining the controversy over his divisive opinion and its place in the evolution of the nation's stance toward slavery."
The Trust also added a statue of Marshall on Lawyers Mall, and agreed in 2016 to place statues of abolitionists
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, us ...
and
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
in the State House.
In the wake of the
Charlottesville car attack
The Charlottesville car attack was a white supremacist terrorist attack perpetrated on August 12, 2017, when James Alex Fields, Jr. deliberately Vehicle-ramming attack, drove his car into a crowd of people peacefully protesting the Unite the R ...
in 2017, House Speaker
Michael E. Busch
Michael Erin “Coach” Busch (January 4, 1947 – April 7, 2019) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 106th Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2003 until his death in 2019. Busch was a mem ...
called for the removal of the Taney statue, as did Governor
Larry Hogan
Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 62nd governor of Maryland since 2015. A moderate member of the Republican Party, he was secretary of appointments under Maryland governor Bo ...
a day later. It was removed just after midnight on August 18, 2017.
Rotunda
The rotunda is the primary home of the ''
Maryland Federalist
''Maryland Federalist'' is a replica ship built in 1987 and now located at BWI Airport near Concourse D. The ship is a replica of the miniature ship ''Federalist'' which was built in 1788.
Original ''Federalist''
The merchants of Baltimore celeb ...
'', a 1987 replica of the original ''Federalist'', a tiny ship built by Baltimore merchants in 1788 to celebrate Maryland's ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Large
Corinthian column
The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...
s support the arches bracing the large dome above. A
balustrade
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
lines the second floor balcony.
In the summer of 2012, the original handwritten text of George Washington's resignation letter was on display in the rotunda. It was again put on display in March 2020 alongside the original
Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...
by
Francis Scott Key
Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who wrote the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". Key observed the British bombardment ...
on loan from the
Maryland Center for History and Culture
The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), . founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and inte ...
.
Chambers
Old Senate Chamber
![Washington, Lafayette & Tilghman at Yorktown](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Washington%2C_Lafayette_%26_Tilghman_at_Yorktown.jpg)
To the right of the entrance is the old Senate Chamber. Chairs and desks were added to the room in the exact number (16) as originally furbished. The desk for the president is an original piece made by
John Shaw in 1797. Above the fireplace is the painting ''Washington, Lafayette & Tilghman at Yorktown'' by
Charles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American Painting, painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolu ...
; the work was commissioned by the Maryland Legislature in 1783 and added to the State House collection the following year. The painting depicts General
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
,
Lafayette
Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to:
People
* Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette
* House of La Fayette, a French noble family
** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757 ...
and
Washington's aide-de-camp Tench Tilghman
Tench Tilghman (, December 25, 1744April 18, 1786) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He served as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Tilghman rose ...
.
[Larry Fox]
The Town that Time Forgot
''Washington Post'' (July 5, 1991).
It was in the Old Senate Chamber that
Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783. A bronze statue of Washington stands in the room.
On February 2, 1781, Governor
Thomas Sim Lee
Thomas Sim Lee (October 29, 1745 – November 9, 1819) was an American planter and statesman of Frederick County, Maryland. Although not a signatory to the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation or the U.S. Constitution, h ...
signed and sealed the "act to empower the delegates of
this state in
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
to subscribe and ratify the
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...
."
The decision established the requisite unanimous consent of all thirteen states for the formation of a
Perpetual Union
The Perpetual Union is a feature of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, which established the United States of America as a political entity. Under modern American constitutional law this means that U.S. states are not permitted to ...
.
On September 11, 1786, the
Annapolis Convention, an interstate convention to discuss ways to facilitate commerce between the states and the establishment standard rules and regulations, convened here. The convention laid the groundwork for the
1787 Constitutional Convention.
The chamber had extensive investigation beginning in 2007 to solve water leakage problems. As a result of this study, restorers have determined that previous restoration attempts in 1905 and 1940 did not accurately recreate many elements of the room. A report of their findings was issued in January 2010. The restoration work was completed in 2015 and the chamber reopened to the public.
Working Senate Chamber
![MDSenate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/MDSenate.jpg)
The Senate chamber is located in a wing added to the original structure between 1902 and 1905. The room is illuminated by a Tiffany-style skylight above. Red carpet emblazoned with the state seal covers the entire floor. Large Ionic columns line the walls and support the viewing gallery. The marble along the walls and the columns are flecked with rust and black, Maryland's official colors.
Two famous Marylanders are featured in statues flanking the podium:
John Hanson
John Hanson ( – November 15, 1783) was an American Founding Father, merchant, and politician from Maryland during the Revolutionary Era. In 1779, Hanson was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress after serving in a variety o ...
, the first president by the Articles of Confederation, and
Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
. Four portraits of Declaration of Independence signatories for Maryland hang on the walls:
William Paca
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
,
Thomas Stone
Thomas Stone (1743 – October 5, 1787) was an American Founding Father, planter, politician, and lawyer who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a delegate for Maryland. He later worked on the committee that formed the Artic ...
,
Samuel Chase
Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) was a Founding Father of the United States, a signatory to the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and an Associate Justice of th ...
, and Charles Carroll.
There are also portraits of
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 ...
and
John Walter Smith
John Walter Smith (February 5, 1845April 19, 1925), was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party in the United States, held several public offices representing the state of Maryland. From 1899 to 1900, he was a U.S. congres ...
.
Working House Chamber
The House of Delegates chamber is also in the new wing to the building. The carpet is navy blue and designed with a diamond and olive
sheaths. The same rust and black marble lines the chamber and forms the
Ionic column
The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...
s along the walls. A spectators' gallery is above the rostrum. The speaker sits in front of a broken marble pediment supporting a clock. Portraits of former Speakers of the House hang on the walls.
Governor's Reception Room
The Governor's Reception Room is on the second floor. The room is mainly ceremonial and used for
bill signings. Portraits of former governors hang on the walls. Portraits of
Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...
and
Queen Anne hang nearby. The room was originally used as the Council Chamber for Maryland's executive council, which was abolished in state constitutional reforms in 1838; it became known as the Governor's Reception Room in the 1860s.
State House Caucus Room
What is now known as the State House Caucus Room was originally divided into two rooms housing the records of the Land Office and the General Court (which later became
Court of Appeals of Maryland
The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The court, which is composed ...
). After the Old House of Delegates Chamber was expanded in 1858, the room was divided between the private office of the speaker of the House of Delegates (rear half) and a cloakroom (front half). In 1905–06, the room was likely renovated, and became known as the Flag Room, which housed various
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
battle flags
A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for it ...
and ceremonial weapons. The room was later used by the Department of Legislative Reference and became known as the "Bill Room" by the 1940s. From the early 1980s until 2008, the room was used as the Maryland State House Visitor Center. In 2011, the bill became the State House Caucus Room, and is now used for meetings.
[State House Caucus Room](_blank)
Maryland State House (last accessed January 27, 2018).
The Caucus Room houses most of the 48-piece
silver service
Silver service (in British English) is a method of foodservice at the table, with waiter transferring food from a serving dish to the guest's plate, always from the left. It is performed by a waiter by using service forks and spoons from the dine ...
from the
armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
USS ''Maryland'' (decommissioned in 1947).
[USS Maryland Silver Service](_blank)
Maryland State House (last accessed January 27, 2018). The pieces in the set show 167 scenes from
Maryland history, with each piece focusing on one of
Maryland's 23 counties and
Baltimore City
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
. The silver was transferred from the
Maryland Historical Society
The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), . founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and inte ...
to the State House in 1962. In 1992, four pieces from the service were given to the submarine
USS ''Maryland''.
In addition to the silver, the Caucus Room contains a 19th-century bust of
Reverdy Johnson
Reverdy Johnson (May 21, 1796February 10, 1876) was a statesman and jurist from Maryland. He gained fame as a defense attorney, defending notables such as Sandford of the Dred Scott case, Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter at his court-martial, and Mary S ...
.
Paintings in the Caucus Room include both portraits and landscapes. Portraits in the room are originals depicting
Oden Bowie
Oden Bowie (November 10, 1826December 4, 1894), a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 34th Governor of the State of Maryland in the United States from 1869 to 1872.
Childhood
He was born in 1826 at Fairview Plantation in Colli ...
(by Katherine Walton),
Frank Brown (by Louis P. Dieterich),
Leonard Calvert
The Hon. Leonard Calvert (1606 – June 9, 1647) was the first proprietary governor of the Province of Maryland. He was the second son of The 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), the first proprietor of Maryland. His elder brother Cecil (1605– ...
(attributed to
Jacob van Oost
Jacob van Oost or Jacob van Oost the Elder (1603–1671) was a Flemish painter of history paintings and portraits. He was the most important painter of Bruges in the 17th century through his portraits of members of the local bourgeois and hi ...
or
Jacob van Oost the Younger
Jacob van Oost the Younger (1639–1713 in Bruges), was a Flemish Baroque painter.
According to the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, he was a pupil of his father Jacob sr. and brother to the painter .[Elihu Emory Jackson
Elihu Emory Jackson (November 3, 1837 – December 27, 1907), a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the List of Governors of Maryland, 41st Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1888 to 1892. He was born in 1837 in Delmar, ...]
(by Ida Foster),
Robert M. McLane (by
George Peter Alexander Healy
George Peter Alexander Healy (July 15, 1813 – June 24, 1894) was an American portrait painter. He was one of the most prolific and popular painters of his day, and his sitters included many of the eminent personages of his time. Born in Boston ...
),
Thomas Swann
Thomas Swann (February 3, 1809 – July 24, 1883) was an American lawyer and Politics of the United States, politician who also was President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as it completed track to Wheeling, West Virginia, Wheeling and gaine ...
(by
Florence Mackubin
Florence MacKubin (or Mackubin) (May 19, 1857 in Florence – February 2, 1918 in Baltimore) was an American portrait painter in miniature, pastel, and oil colors. She painted portraits of prominent people in the United States and the United King ...
),
Francis Thomas
Francis Thomas (February 3, 1799 – January 22, 1876) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of Maryland, 26th Governor of Maryland from 1842 to 1845. He also served as a United States House of Representatives, United S ...
(by Franklin Barber Clark),
William Pinkney Whyte
William Pinkney Whyte (August 9, 1824March 17, 1908), a member of the United States Democratic Party, was a politician who served the State of Maryland as a State Delegate, the State Comptroller, a United States Senator, the 35th Governor, the ...
(by David Bendann), and
Levin Winder
Levin Winder (September 4, 1757 – July 1, 1819) in Baltimore, Maryland. During the Revolutionary War, he was appointed major of the 4th Maryland Regiment, finally attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel at war's end. After the war, he serv ...
(by Florence Mackubin). The room also contains reproductions of portraits of
Clarence W. Blount
Clarence W. Blount (April 20, 1921 – April 12, 2003) was an American politician who was the first African American to be the majority leader of the Maryland State Senate. He represented the Maryland Legislative District 41, 41st district in Balt ...
(by
Simmie Knox
Simmie Lee Knox (born August 18, 1935) is an American painter who painted the official White House portrait of former United States President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton. He was the first black American artist to receive a presiden ...
) and
Mary Eliza Watters Risteau (by Talmadge of New York).
State House Caucus Room: Mary Eliza Watters Risteau (1890–1978)
Maryland State House (last accessed January 27, 2018).
National capital
From November 26, 1783, to August 13, 1784, Annapolis was the capital of the United States
This is a list of capital cities of the United States, including places that serve or have served as federal, state, insular area, territorial, colonial and Native American capitals.
Washington has been the federal capital of the United States ...
. The Congress of the Confederation
The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...
met in the Maryland State House. Subsequently, Annapolis was a candidate to become the new permanent national capital before Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, was built.
It was in the Old Senate Chamber that Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
on January 14, 1784, formally ending the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
United States district court
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland (in case citations, D. Md.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland. Appeals from the District of Maryland are taken to the United States Court of ...
met there for the first decade of its existence. In 1800, judge Samuel Chase
Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) was a Founding Father of the United States, a signatory to the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and an Associate Justice of th ...
tried a local postmaster for embezzlement and sentenced him to thirty-nine lashes. To execute the sentence, the defendant was tied to one of the statehouse columns.
Photo gallery
File:MDHouse.jpg, Chamber of the Maryland House of Delegates
The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...
File:Maryland quarter, reverse side, 2000.jpg, The dome of the statehouse is depicted on the Maryland state quarter.
File:MarylandStateHouse (back).jpg, Maryland State House (front)
File:MarylandStateHouse (side).jpg, Maryland State House (side)
File:Maryland State House3.jpg, Maryland State House (rear from below)
See also
*List of state and territorial capitols in the United States
This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...
*History of early modern period domes
Domes built in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries relied primarily on empirical techniques and oral traditions rather than the architectural treatises of the time, but the study of dome structures changed radically due to developments in mathemati ...
References
Further reading
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External links
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Maryland State House
in the Society of Architectural Historians
The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide. Based in Chicago in the United States, the Society's 3,500 members include ...
's ''SAH Archipedia''
*, including photo in 1988, at Maryland Historical Trust
The Maryland Historical Trust is an agency of Maryland Department of Planning and serves as the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office. The agency serves to assist in research, conservation, and education, of Maryland's historical and cultural ...
*
{{authority control
Government of Maryland
State capitols in the United States
National Historic Landmarks in Maryland
Buildings and structures in Annapolis, Maryland
Government buildings in Maryland
Government buildings completed in 1772
Brick buildings and structures
Tourist attractions in Annapolis, Maryland
Former national capitol buildings in the United States
Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland
Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland
National Register of Historic Places in Annapolis, Maryland