Maryland Trivia & Tidbits - Page 2

Looking for Maryland trivia? Try our list Maryland little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

—Hagerstown’s nickname of the “Hub City” originated from the large number of railroads that served the city. Hagerstown (pop. 36,687) was the center of the Western Maryland Railway as well as being an important stop on the Pennsylvania, Norfolk and Western, Baltimore and Ohio, and Hagerstown and Frederick railroads.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

—Cylburn Mansion in Baltimore was completed in the late 19th century for businessman Jesse Tyson, and today is part of the 207-acre Cylburn Arboretum.

first appeared: 12/29/2008

—The 18th-century William Brown House, an elegant Georgian brick building by the South River in Anne Arundel County in what used to be London Town, served as a tavern for sailors traveling between England and the area’s plantations. The house now is a museum, located near the present-day city of Edgewater.

first appeared: 11/30/2008

—More than 2,000 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century silver objects, such as boats used for pap (a soft food for infants) and tea sets, are on permanent display at the Maryland Historical Society Museum in Baltimore.

first appeared: 11/16/2008

—Area 405, a 66,000-square-foot building in Baltimore, is owned and operated by the artists who work there. The 19th-century factory was converted into several lofts as well as a cavernous space for art exhibitions and large-scale sculpture.

first appeared: 11/2/2008

—Nipper’s Toyland, a gallery opened last year by the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, showcases children’s favorite toys over a 200-year period. Hundreds of items, such as dolls, toy soldiers and rocking horses, are part of the exhibit.

first appeared: 10/19/2008

—Settler Michael Jesserong began selling lots in what he called Middletown in 1767, which is the official date of the town’s founding. No one knows exactly why he chose the name, but some theorize it’s because Middletown (pop. 2,668) lies in a valley midway between two mountains.

first appeared: 10/5/2008

—Historic London Town and Gardens is a 23-acre park located in Edgewater. Within the park’s boundaries are the archeological remains of the late 17th- and early 18th-century lost town of London. The excavation is being managed by the Lost Towns Project.

first appeared: 9/21/2008

—The Brumbaugh House in Elkridge (pop. 22,042) contains exhibits of a small town doctor’s waiting room, historic displays and a library. Built in the late 1800s, the house has been the home of many physicians. The most notable of these was Dr. Bruce Brumbaugh, who purchased the house in the 1920s. The Elkridge Heritage Society now owns the house.

first appeared: 9/7/2008

—In 1892, Wilbert Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles became the first baseball player to make seven hits in seven times at bat in a nine-inning major league game. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.

first appeared: 8/24/2008

—Kent County (pop. 19,197) was awarded top honors in the 2008 edition of the “Best Places to Live in Rural America” rankings by The Progressive Farmer magazine. The magazine recognized the county’s commitment to preserving its rural roots, despite its proximity to Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia. Many local farmers have sold development rights of their land to the state to keep urban sprawl at bay.

first appeared: 8/10/2008

—The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, which makes use of historic steam and diesel engines, navigates the hills and valleys from Cumberland (pop. 21,518) to Frostburg (pop. 7,873), where the engine uses a turntable to return.

first appeared: 7/27/2008

—In 1902, Dr. Florence Rena Sabin (1871-1953) was hired as the first woman faculty member at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. In the 1920s, she was elected the first woman president of the American Association of Anatomists and was selected the first woman member of the National Academy of Sciences.

first appeared: 7/13/2008

—The J.S. Young Co. in the Canton section of Baltimore reportedly was the nation’s first company to produce licorice, which it began making in 1869. A few structures and a portion of the company wharf still survive.

first appeared: 6/29/2008

—Located at Patapsco Valley State Park, Bloede’s Dam is one of the first hydroelectric dams with submerged power generators located beneath the spillway. The dam was fully operational in 1907 and remains in place today but no longer generates power.

first appeared: 6/15/2008

—Eugene William “Gene” Shue of Baltimore was a five-time National Basketball Association All-Star during his playing career from 1954 to 1964. As a coach, he was named NBA Coach of the Year twice.

first appeared: 6/1/2008

—Charles Willson Peale, who was born in 1741 in Queen Anne’s County (pop. 40,563), was widely known as a painter, naturalist, inventor and pioneer museum curator. He painted portraits of many of the state’s upper-class residents as well as U.S. presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

first appeared: 5/18/2008

—Claire McCardell, born in Frederick in 1905, was a leading fashion designer in the 1940s and ’50s, and the originator of the “American Look.” Her signature styles included wrap-around sashes, monastic dresses and large pockets with topstitching.

first appeared: 5/4/2008

—American novelist Leon Uris, born in Baltimore in 1924, is perhaps best known for the runaway bestseller Exodus (1958), a fictional account of the early history of Israel. Much of Uris’ fiction is set in various periods of the 20th century.

first appeared: 3/9/2008

—Although the first Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in the United States was formed in Boston in 1851 and housed in the Old South Church, the first actual YMCA building was constructed in 1859 in Baltimore. The cost of the structure was pegged at $7,000.

first appeared: 2/24/2008

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