Maryland Center for History and Culture

06/02/2026

Summer programs are live! In anticipation of America’s 250th anniversary, the Maryland Center for History and Culture has prepared a slate of programs that looks back at our state’s contributions to American history, from the Chesapeake Bay to the mountain peaks out west.

Join us for sailing adventures, musical performances, lectures, genealogical research, and more! Learn more about all summer programs and register today at mdhistory.org/events.

06/02/2026

Happy Pride Month, Maryland!

In "We Are Proud," part of the exhibition "Collecting Maryland: Art, Artifacts, Community," we highlight local stories through MCHC’s growing LGBTQ+ collections. Explore artifacts from Club Hippo (including its iconic Pink Hippo sign), as well as artwork by Tom Miller, photographs by Joseph Kohl, John Waters movie memorabilia, and more.

Plan your visit at mdhistory.org/visit!

06/01/2026

06/01/2026

On June 1, 1858 a motley group of artists, poets, journalists, businessmen, and photographers boarded a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad train at the Camden Street Station in South Baltimore bound for Wheeling, Virginia (today West Virginia). Their five day trip, across central and western Maryland and Virginia, was a unique event in the brief history of the steam locomotive in the United States—the “first known instance of a railroad using art to publicize itself.” This photograph depicts part of this group of men and women standing and sitting on the cowcatcher at the front of a train, flanked by two American flags.

Read more about this unique excursion at https://www.mdhistory.org/industrial-art-the-1858-artists-excursion-over-the-bo-railroad.

Group portrait from the Artists’ Excursion over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, unknown photographer, 1858. MCHC Library, Artists' Excursion Over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Photograph Collection, PP262.36

05/28/2026

Yesterday, WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore's Marty Bass returned to the Maryland Center for History and Culture for his final "Where's Marty?" visit before retiring. Out of over 700 segments that took him all around Maryland, Marty counts seeing Francis Scott Key's manuscript of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at MCHC as one of his favorites. For over 48 years, he has told stories to and about Baltimore—from the day's weather forecast to the places and people who make this city one-of-a-kind.

President and CEO Katie Caljean presented Marty with his own copy of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in appreciation for all of his support of MCHC over the years. Congratulations, Marty!

Check out the final "Where's Marty?" from MCHC's H. Furlong Baldwin Library at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xo__YMYSjM&t=1s.

05/27/2026

The Maryland Center for History and Culture is honored to present the four winners of this year’s Thomas V. “Mike” Miller Jr. History Fund, re-granting $200,000 in funding statewide to historical collections stewards in Maryland. In this Semiquincentennial year, the 2026 Miller History Fund honors the spirit of Maryland’s commemoration. While past awards ranged from $10,000 to $20,000, the 2026 Miller History Fund is awarding four awards of $50,000 each to support transformative projects.

Awarded recipients for fiscal year 2026 are:
The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture
Nanticoke Historic Preservation Alliance
Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Inc.
Maryland Museums Association

Read more about this year's winning projects at www.mdhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-Miller-History-Fund-Press-Release.pdf.

05/26/2026

The first Summer Sail of 2026 is coming up on Friday, June 5! Join MCHC and Living Classrooms Foundation for a two-hour evening sail around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Chesapeake Bay skipjack captain Andrew McCown comes aboard the Sigsbee to perform original folk songs inspired by the Chesapeake, weaving music with stories of life, labor, and culture on the Bay.

⛵ Sailing the Chesapeake: Stories Under Sail
📆 Friday, June 5
⏰ 6pm to 8pm
🎟 $15 for MCHC Members, $30 for Non-members
🥂 Refreshments included

Space is limited an registration is required. Passengers must be 8 years of age to sail. Purchase tickets today at www.mdhistory.org/calendar/summer-sail-series-sailing-the-chesapeake-stories-under-sail.

05/26/2026

Earlier this month, students from across the state competed in the Maryland History Day contest, hosted by Maryland Humanities. Each year, more than 31,000 middle and high school students in classrooms throughout Maryland immerse themselves in research and create original documentaries, exhibits, performances, research papers, or websites exploring a breadth of historical topics.

Special prizes are awarded at the state contest each year, including the Award for Excellence in Maryland History, sponsored by the Maryland Center for History and Culture. Recipients of this year's award were Delainey Rosas and Zea Chappell from West Middle School in Carroll County for their project "The People and Events Behind the Battle of Baltimore," and Joseph Hong from Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore City for his project "Shells, States, and Strife: A History of the Oyster Wars." Congrats to all the students and educators who participated in Maryland History Day 2026!

Learn more about Maryland History Day, and how you can get involved, at www.mdhumanities.org/programs/maryland-history-day.

05/24/2026

In 1843, Congress funded a 38-mile telegraph line along the B&O Railroad’s Washington Branch. On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse (1791–1872) used a telegraph key, like the one pictured here, to send the first long-distance telegraph message—“What Hath God Wrought?”—from the basement of the U.S. Capitol building to the B&O’s Mount Clare Shops in West Baltimore. His invention, and language known as “Morse code,” changed worldwide communication.

Telegraph key and sounder, ca. 1870. MCHC, Gift of William Calvert Steuart, 1962.52.10a