Today is Maryland Day. What is it and how can I celebrate? Here's what to know.
Today is Maryland Day, a day marking the arrival of English settlers at an island they named St. Clement’s in 1634 in what is now St. Mary’s County. Here are several things you should know.
Who lived in Maryland first?
Less than 15 years after the Pilgrims arrived aboard the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock, a group of less than 200 people arrived aboard the ships, the Ark and the Dove, to settle in Maryland.
The land was inhabited by people who were native, including the Piscataway and Yaocomico. England’s Charles I proposed for the colony the name Terra Mariae (after his wife Henrietta Maria), which later became anglicized to Maryland. (Henrietta Maria never visited her namesake.)
The first General Assembly took place at St. Mary’s City, which served as the capital of Maryland from 1634 to 1694.
New Salisbury housing development: New housing complex in works for old Salisbury mall property. What council's considering.
What are people celebrating on Maryland Day?
Karen Stone, manager of the St. Mary’s County Museum Division, said the day is one to “honor the meeting of two cultures – the newly-arrived English and the native Piscataway.”
Though it is not temporally tied to the arrival at St. Clement’s Island, Stone said another legacy of those settlers at St. Mary’s should be celebrated on Maryland Day.
“It is also a day on which we celebrate Maryland’s religious history and its place in the development of the statutes of religious freedom that are so pivotal in this country’s history,” said Stone, in a press release.
In 1649, about 15 years after the settlers at St. Clement’s, the General Assembly passed a bill, later referred to as the Toleration Act, which granted freedom of conscience to all Christians.
That principle of religious liberty, the first of its kind put forth in English law, would eventually expand in Maryland. It would become foundational in law in what became the United States.
More: Maryland, Whose Maryland? The quest for a new state song continues with House bill
When did Maryland Day become a state holiday and how can I celebrate?
Maryland Day was not formally recognized until centuries after the Ark and Dove arrived. The General Assembly did not authorize Maryland Day as a legal holiday until 1916.
While events took place over the weekend in the current state capital of Annapolis and more are planned for this afternoon in St. Mary’s County, the day marks a new start for one tourist opportunity.
Starting on Maryland Day, the St. Clement’s Island Museum begins water taxi operation to St. Clement’s Island State Park, the site of the 17th century settlers. Boat rides occur most days through Oct. 31.
Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Maryland Day: What it is, how to celebrate
