Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis is the capital of Maryland, which is a state of the United States of America, and the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It is a city with a population of 36,217 according to the 2004 census. The city is a part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, It is situated on the Severn River about 2 miles from its entrance into Chesapeake Bay, 26 miles South by East from Baltimore and about the same distance East by North from Washington D.C. It is also home to the United States Naval Academy and St. John's College.

History

Pre-Colonial

Colonial & early United States (1649-1808)

A settlement named Providence was founded on the north shore of the Severn River in 1649 by Puritan exiles from Virginia, led by William Stone. The settlers moved to a better-protected harbor on the south shore and the town bore in succession the names of Town at Proctor's, Town at the Severn, Anne Arundel's Towne after the wife of Lord Baltimore who died soon afterwards.The city became very wealthy through the slave-trade. It was only in 1694 when Sir Francis Nicholson moved the capital of the royal colony there, soon after the overthrow of the Catholic government of the lord proprietor, that the town received the name which is holds today, Annapolis, named for Princess Anne, soon to be the monarch of Great Britain; but it was not until 1708 that it was incorporated as a city. From the middle of the 18th century until the War of Independence, Annapolis was noted for its wealthy and cultivated society. The Maryland Gazette, which became an important weekly journal, was founded by Jonas Green in 1745; in 1769 a theatre was opened; during this period also the commerce was considerable, but declined rapidly after Baltimore, in 1780, was made a port of entry, and oyster-packing became the city's only important industry. Currently Annapolis is home to a large number of recreational boats that have largely replaced the seafood industry in the city.

Annapolis became the temporary capital of the United States after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Congress was in session in the state house here from November 26, 1783 to June 3, 1784, and it was here on December 23, 1783 that General Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. In 1786 a convention, to which delegates from all the states of the Union were invited, was called to meet in Annapolis to consider measures for the better regulation of commerce; but delegates came from only five states (New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware), and the convention -- known afterward as the "Annapolis Convention" -- without proceeding to the business for which it had met, passed a resolution calling for another convention to meet at Philadelphia in the following year to amend the Articles of Confederation. By this Philadelphia convention, the present Constitution of the United States was framed.In 1808 the importation of slaves was prohibited by the Congress.(The ancestors of Alex Haley were deported from Gambia to Annapolis.)

Civil War era (1849-late 1800s)

During this period, a Parole Camp was set up in Annapolis. As the war continued, the camp expanded to a larger location just outside of the city. The area is still referred to as Parole.

The city was also the location of a major hospital where wounded Union (and captured Confederate) soldiers could be brought by ship to be treated.

Contemporary (1900s to present)

To the north of the state house is a monument to Thurgood Marshall, the first black justice of the US Supreme Court and formerly a Maryland lawyer who won many important civil rights cases.

Close by are the state treasury building, erected late in the 17th century for the House of Delegates; Saint Anne's Protestant Episcopal church, in later colonial days a state church, a statue of Roger B. Taney (by W.H. Rinehart), and a statue of Baron Johann de Kalb.

There are a number of residences of 18th century architecture, and the names of several of the streets--such as King George's, Prince George's, Hanover, and Duke of Gloucester--recall the colonial days. The United States Naval Academy was founded here in 1845. Annapolis is the seat of St. John's College, a non-sectarian institution supported in part by the state; it was opened in 1789 as the successor of King William's School, which was founded by an act of the Maryland legislature in 1696 and was opened in 1701. Its principal building, McDowell Hall, was originally intended for a governor's mansion; although £4000 current money was appropriated for its erection in 1742, it was not completed until after the War of Independence.

On September 26th to 27th, 2003, Hurricane Isabel created the largest storm surge in Annapolis history, cresting at 7.58 feet, which easily surpassed the prior record from the 1933 hurricane of 6.35 and the 5.5 feet recorded during Hurricane Hazel in 1954. As a result, much of downtown Annapolis was flooded and many businesses and homes in outlying areas were damaged.^*

Facilities and Attractions

The State House

The Maryland State House is the oldest in continuous legislative use in the United States. Construction started in 1772, and the Maryland legislature first met there in 1779. It is topped by the largest wooden dome built without nails in the nation. The Maryland state house housed the workings of the government from November 26 1783 to August 13 1784, and the Treaty of Paris was ratified there on January 14, 1784, so Annapolis became the first peacetime capital of the US.

It was in the Maryland state house that George Washington famously resigned his commission before the Continental Congress on December 23 1783. George Washington, who had argued vigorously for Annapolis to become the permanent home to the United States Capitol, had a strong attachment to the Maryland state house and instructed Pierre L'Enfant to model the dome of the Capitol building in Washington DC after it.

United States Naval Academy

bfc_annapolis_md_usna_bancroft_hall_01w.jpg|thumb|right|US Naval Academy. Bancroft Hall. Photo early 1900's. Boris Feldblyum Collection]]

The United States Naval Academy was founded in 1845 on the site of Fort Severn, and now occupies an area of land reclaimed from the Severn River next to the Chesapeake Bay.

Theatre

Annapolis has a thriving community theatre scene which includes two venues in the historic district. On East St. is Colonial Players, a company that produces approximately six shows a year on its small theatre-in-the-round stage. During the warmer months, Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre presents three shows on its stage, which is visible from the City Dock. All shows put on by King Williams Players, the student theatre group at St. John's College, are free and open to the public.

Other

The Annapolis area was the home of a VLF-transmitter called NSS Annapolis, used by the United States Navy to communiate with its Atlantic submarine fleet.

Geography

Annapolis is located at (38.972945, -76.501157), 28 miles east of Washington DC, and is the closest state capital to the national capital, Washington, DC.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.7 km² (7.6 mi²). 17.4 km² (6.7 mi²) of it is land and 2.3 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (11.70%) is water.

Climate

The city is a part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and is relatively flat. The climate is a warm temperate climate, with hot summers and chilly winters.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 35,838 people, 15,303 households, and 8,676 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,056.0/km² (5,326.0/mi²). There were 16,165 housing units at an average density of 927.4/km² (2,402.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.66% White, 31.44% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 1.81% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.22% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. 6.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 15,303 households out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.3% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,243, and the median income for a family was $56,984. Males had a median income of $39,548 versus $30,741 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,180. About 9.5% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.8% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Facts

The center of Annapolis is the city dock, developed as a port for the tobacco trade in the 17th and 18th century. The city claims to have more 18th century buildings than any other city in the US.
The city's African-American heritage is celebrated by the Banneker-Douglass Museum, dedicated to Benjamin Banneker and Frederick Douglass, and memorials to Alex Haley, author of The Saga of an American Family, and his ancestor, Kunta Kinte, who arrived in Annapolis on the slave ship Lord Ligonier in 1767. (The Kunta Kinte plaque was stolen within 48 hours after its installation in 1981, allegedly by the Ku Klux Klan. The plaque was never recovered, but it was replaced within two months.)
There are 5 Monuments in the city: Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court Roger Taney, Revolutionary War General Johann deKalb, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, longtime civil servant Louis Goldstein, and Author Alex Haley.

Noted natives and residents

James M. Cain, journalist and crime writer
Ronald Damien Malfi, novelist
Robert Duvall, actor, lived in downtown Annapolis
Bruce Farr, yacht designer
Gavin Floyd, baseball pitcher
Barbara Kingsolver, fiction writer (born in Annapolis, but raised in Kentucky)
Debbie Meyer, Olympic swimmer
Travis Pastrana, motorcycle racing champion

Neighborhoods and suburbs

Admiral Heights
Arnold
Bay Head
Cape St. Claire
Crownsville
Downtown

Sister Cities

Annapolis is a sister city of these municipalities^*:

Tallinn, Estonia
Newport, South Wales, UK

References

See D. Ridgely, Annals of Annapolis from 1649 until the War of 1812 (Baltimore, 1841); S. A. Shafer, "Annapolis, Ye Ancient City," in L. P. Powell's Historic Towns of the Southern States (New York, 1900); and W. Eddis, Letters from America (London, 1792).

External links

Annapolis, Maryland | 1649 establishments

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