Southern Maryland

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Southern Maryland counties. Those shaded in red are considered part of Southern Maryland, while those in pink may or may not be considered in Southern Maryland, depending on the source.

Southern Maryland in popular usage is composed of the state's southernmost counties on the "Western Shore" of the Chesapeake Bay. This region includes all of Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's counties and sometimes the southern portions of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties.

History

Southern Maryland was originally inhabited by Piscataway Indians. Captain John Smith explored the area in 1608 and 1609.^[1] In 1634 St. Mary's City, at southern Maryland's lower tip was the site of the first Roman Catholic English settlement in North America (the site is now a living history museum). Tobacco plantations flourished in southern Maryland during slavery.

With a slave economy during the American Civil War, regional white sympathies were very pro-Confederate (as evidenced in the official state song lyrics). From the war's beginning, however, large numbers of Union occupying troops and patrolling river gunboats prevented the state's secession, although nighttime smuggling across the Potomac River with Virginia took place. John Wilkes Booth was helped by local people in his escape through the area after killing President Abraham Lincoln.

Southern Maryland was traditionally a rural and agricultural region, linked by passenger and freight steamboat routes. These steamboat routes operated on the Chesapeake Bay and major rivers until the 1930s before the building of highways and the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge on U.S. Highway 301. Weekend excursion boats also carried Washingtonians to small amusement parks and amusement pavilions at numerous shore locations. From 1949 (1943 in some places) to 1968, the region was popular for its slot machine gambling.

Population and economics

During recent times, the region experienced suburban development as the Washington suburbs expanded southward. This expansion took place primarily in Prince George's County, and around Waldorf (a regional shopping hub) and St. Charles (a planned community in Charles County), Lexington Park (St. Mary's County) and Prince Frederick (Calvert County). This expansion of the Washington DC metropolitan area has caused much of southern Maryland's formerly predominant southern culture to fade giving way to a rapidly growing northeastern culture that is found throughout much of the Northeast Megalopolis.^[2] However, as noted, land-use maps show that the area is still primarily low-density.^[3]

Many southern Marylanders work at Andrews Air Force Base, the U.S. Census Bureau or at Patuxent River Naval Air Station and its related industries. Other smaller industries include a nuclear power plant^[4] and a liquified natural gas terminal^[5] (both in Lusby), a Naval ordnance test ground (at Indian Head),^[6] electric power plants (at Aquasco and Morgantown)^[7] and an oil terminal^[8] (at Piney Point). The beautiful towns of Solomons Island and Chesapeake Beach are favorite weekend tourist resorts. Maryland International Raceway and Budds Creek Raceway near Chaptico attract many auto and motocross racing enthusiasts.

While the steamboats are long gone, more than three-quarters of the land area is still rural, a mixture of forest and farmland.^[9] The growing of tobacco, once a dominant crop, has declined greatly because of state government farm buyouts during the 1990s.

St. Mary's County is home to Amish and Mennonite communities. In addition, two state recognized tribes exist Piscataway Native American tribe, tribes that live along the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay in southern Maryland (see We-Sorts). Fishing, boating and crabbing are popular activities in this region; large marinas are found in the Solomons Island and North Beach areas. However, the population of fish and other marine life is threatened by pollution and environmental factors. Ancient marine fossils are abundant at Calvert Cliffs.

Geography

The region's northern boundary passes through Prince George's County and Anne Arundel County, east of Washington. Its eastern boundary is the Chesapeake Bay and its southern and western boundary is the Potomac River, Maryland's boundary with Virginia.

Food and cuisine

Perhaps the most notable food dish originating from Southern Maryland is stuffed ham, which is cabbage, kale, onions, spices and seasonings that are chopped and mixed, then stuffed into deep slits slashed in a whole, corned ham.^{[citation needed]}

Seafood is popular amongst Southern Marylanders, given the region's location along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Both steamed crabs and crab cakes are considered Southern Maryland delicacies due to the large amount of harvesting of blue crabs from the bay. Also popular are oysters, which were once fished from the bay in great numbers, and served either fried, raw, or stuffed. Rockfish is considered one of the most prized fish dishes in Southern Maryland.^{[citation needed]}

Towns and communities

Towns and places in Southern Maryland include:

Anne Arundel County:

Calvert County:

Charles County:

Prince George's County:

St. Mary's County:

Sports

Club	League	Venue	Established	Championships
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs	ALPB, Baseball	Regency Furniture Stadium	2008	0

Colleges

Colleges in Southern Maryland include:

The College of Southern Maryland, a community college with campuses in Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary's counties
St. Mary's College of Maryland, in St. Mary's City

Notable Southern Marylanders

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D), Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, represents southern Maryland as the representative for Maryland's 5th congressional district. He lives in Mechanicsville.
Two former first ladies hail from southern Maryland: Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, and Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor, wife of Zachary Taylor.
Co-discover of the North Pole, Matthew Henson and Captain Raphael Semmes of the CSS Alabama were born near Nanjemoy, Charles County. Prominent revolutionary war statesmen John Hanson, Thomas Stone, and General Smallwood were from Charles County. Dr. Samuel Mudd, convicted of conspiracy to murder in the Abraham Lincoln assassination, was also a native of Charles County.
Television journalists Ted Koppel, Judy Woodruff, Al Hunt, newspapermen Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn, and weatherman Doug Hill all have houses in St. Mary's County.^{[citation needed]}
Theoretical ecologist Dr. Robert Ulanowicz lived in Calvert County prior to his retirement in 2008 with Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, where he was a member of the faculty.
Roger B. Taney, the Chief Justice of the United States who presided over the Dred Scott decision, was born in Calvert County near Prince Frederick.
Former Comptroller of Maryland Louis L. Goldstein lived in Calvert County. A portion of MD 2/MD 4 in Calvert County was renamed in his honor after his death.
Arthur Storer, first astronomer in the American colonies and the original namesake for Halley's Comet, lived the latter part of his life in Calvert County. A planetarium in Prince Frederick bears his name.
Thomas Johnson, the first elected governor of Maryland and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge connecting Calvert and St. Mary's counties was named in his honor.
Television and film screenwriter and producer Alfred Gough hails from Leonardtown in St. Mary's County.
Former Maryland State Senator and Patuxent River advocate Bernie Fowler lives in Calvert County. Every year, in Broomes Island Fowler will hold a "wade-in" with other public officials to help determine the clarity levels of the Patuxent.
Singer Christina Milian once lived in Waldorf.^[10]
Joel and Benji Madden from the band Good Charlotte grew up in Waldorf.^[11]
Turkey Tayac, Piscataway tribal leader and herbal medicine man
Robert Stethem, murder victim during hijacking of TWA Flight 847 was from Pinefield, the northern section of Waldorf
Senator and astronaut John Glenn trained at Patuxent River Naval Air Station many years ago, as did Alan Shepard and other future astronauts.

References

↑ Christine Wright (2002). "Capt. John Smith's 1608 Chesapeake Voyage". Calvert Marine Museum. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
He explored the lower Chesapeake Bay in 1607.
↑ David A. Fahrenthold (February 19, 2005). "Bay's Dialects Slowly Dying". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
↑ "Patuxent River – 2000 Land Use / Land Cover". Maryland Department of Planning. 2000. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
↑ Power generation: Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. (2006). Constellation Energy. Retrieved December 22, 2006.
↑ Dominion Cove Point LNG. (2005). Calvert Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved December 22, 2006.
↑ Indian Head division, Naval Surface Warfare Center. (n.d.). United States Department of Navy. Retrieved December 22, 2006.
↑ Chalk Point Generating Plant. (n.d.). Mirant Corporation. Retrieved December 22, 2006.
↑ Mirant Piney Point. (n.d.). Mirant Corporation. Retrieved December 22, 2006.
↑ "Summer 2007 — Draft Existing Conditions Summary" (PDF). Maryland Department of Transportation. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
↑ "Christina Milian Biography". ChristinaMilian.org - The Official Site of Christina Milian. Milian Corporation. Archived from the original on 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
↑ Hoard, Christian (April 9, 2003). "Young, Hopeless, Rich, and Famous". Rolling Stone (Rolling Stone Australia)

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Coordinates: 38°28′N 76°48′W / 38.467°N 76.800°W / 38.467; -76.800

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