Maryland Trivia & Tidbits - Page 8

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

Baltimore’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, completed in 1821, was the first cathedral built in America after adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

first appeared: 6/13/2004

The 1828 Phoenix Shot Tower in Baltimore stands nearly 216 feet tall. Constructed using an estimated 1.1 million bricks, it was reported to be the nation’s tallest structure until 1846.

first appeared: 6/6/2004

Completed in 1977, the 1,200-foot-long Francis Scott Key Bridge, which crosses the Patapsco River, is the height of a 36-story building and took 14 years to construct.

first appeared: 5/30/2004

Construction on Fort Carroll, a hexagonal structure of brick and stone in Baltimore Harbor, began in 1847. Its 10-inch-thick, 40-foot-high walls proved too heavy for the sandy harbor bed and it was never completed.

first appeared: 5/23/2004

In 1959, University of Maryland graduate Deane Beman won the British Amateur Open golf tournament. He went on to serve for 20 years as commissioner of the PGA tour.

first appeared: 5/16/2004

A careless Confederate officer is credited with wrapping three cigars with Gen. Robert E. Lee’s written battle plans—the “Lost Orders”—and then losing them. Found by a Union soldier in a field near Frederick (pop. 52,767), the orders marked the turning point in the Civil War.

first appeared: 5/9/2004

The Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame in Baltimore celebrates America’s oldest sport. Lacrosse originated with American Indians as a means of resolving conflicts, healing the sick and preparing for war.

first appeared: 5/2/2004

The first of the “silver” diners—newly constructed eateries fashioned after the diners of the 1950s—opened for business in 1989 at the Mid-Pike Plaza in Rockville (pop. 47,388).

first appeared: 4/25/2004

Though it’s a small coastal state, Maryland has 63 mountains of 1,000 feet elevation or more, including some with unique names, such as Breakneck Hill, Contrary Knob, Roman Nose Mountain, and Snaggy Hill.

first appeared: 4/18/2004

When the Baltimore Zoo opened in 1867, it was home to 17 species of animals, including 215 deer, 15 white rats and a three-legged duck. Today, the Baltimore Zoo, located in Druid Hill Park, allows visitors to see more than 2,700 animals.

first appeared: 4/11/2004

The northernmost stand of bald cyprus trees in North America is in the 100-acre Battle Creek Cyprus Swamp sanctuary in Calvert County. The stand is thought to have established itself sometime in the last 10,000 years.

first appeared: 4/4/2004

The State House in Annapolis (pop. 35,838), built between 1772 and 1779, is the oldest one in America in continuing legislative use.

first appeared: 3/28/2004

Francis Scott Key wrote our national anthem while being held aboard a British ship during the bombardment of Fort McHenry on Sept. 13 and 14, 1814.

first appeared: 3/21/2004

Despite its relatively small size, the state has about 4,360 miles of tidal shoreline.

first appeared: 3/14/2004

America’s first railroad station was built in Baltimore in 1830 by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.

first appeared: 3/7/2004

Smith Island is the state’s only inhabited off-shore island in Chesapeake Bay.

first appeared: 2/29/2004

The Civil War’s most horrific battle—The Battle of Antietam Creek—was fought near Sharpsburg (pop. 691), where roughly 23,000 troops were killed or wounded in one day.

first appeared: 2/22/2004

More than 160 native or naturalized tree species can be found in the state. Oak and hickory are the dominant hardwoods, making up 60 percent of forested areas. Loblolly pine is the most prevalent softwood.

first appeared: 2/15/2004

The Mason-Dixon Line, named after the British surveyors who mapped it between 1763 and 1767, marks the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania.

first appeared: 2/8/2004

The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal has 74 locks that once lifted barges from sea level up 605 feet to Cumberland (pop. 21,518).

first appeared: 2/1/2004

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