"b1bob's cumulative Maryland adve ..." a Maryland Travel Page by b1bob

Maryland was founded as a proprietary colony by Lord Baltimore in March, 1634. The principle of religious tolerance was enacted into law by the assembly in 1649. The Mason-Dixon Line, which is the official boundary between the North and South, was surveyed in the 1760s. Maryland had a lesser known "tea party" to protest high tax in 1773 and it became a state in 1788. Maryland has always been a more tolerant state than many of the 13 colonies. Early on in its history, religious tolerance was the rule of the day. Where Catholics and Jews were persecuted in other states, they were welcomed into Maryland with open arms. The Free State or the Old Line State is tolerant on other things as well. Certain forms of gambling, especially on horseracing have been legal for many years. Before gambling was approved for Atlantic City, Virginians made day trips into Maryland to gamble. Maryland is more liberal politically and culturally than any state south of the Mason-Dixon line.

There are 4 distinctive regions in Maryland: western, central, southern, and the eastern shore.

The most populous region is central Maryland which covers Baltimore County, the city of Baltimore, Howard County, Anne Arundel County (including Annapolis), Prince George's County, and Montgomery County. The latter two counties make up the Maryland Suburbs of Washington, DC. This is also the most culturally liberated part of the state with the inner city of Baltimore the DC Suburbs. Although Baltimore and the DC suburbs of Maryland are ideologically alike, they are culturally very different.

Western Maryland extends from Frederick County on west. The two largest cities in Western Maryland are Fredeick and Hagerstown. Culturally, western Maryland has more in common with western Pennsylvania and West Virginia's eastern panhandle than it does with Baltimore. For folks who follow the war for Southern Independence, the Battle of Antietam, one of the bloodiest battles in U.S. history up to that time, is in this part of Maryland. Because the DC suburbs are constantly expanding (due to high real estate tax in the counties closest in), Frederick and points west may become part of the DC metro area over time.

The Eastern Shore and southern Maryland have more in common culturally with Virginia's northern neck and Eastern Shore than the cluster of cities and suburbs that make up central Maryland. The Chesapeake Bay provides a major source of income for the locals who catch fish, crab, and oysters. Tourism is also key here with Ocean City being the state's major beach resort. Salisbury the largest city on the eastern shore, but most towns are small fishing villages. Residents of the Washington, DC suburbs have weekend getaway homes in eastern and southern Maryland, which, over time, could change the culture of the area to resemble the urban areas.

At one time, southern Maryland was a key tobacco growing region. It is the one region of Maryland that still has a semblance of Southern flavour. Due to a combination of urban expansion from Washington, DC and less tolerance and demand for tobacco, few tobacco farms remain here. Like the eastern shore, Southern Maryland relies heavily on fish, crab, and oyster catches. Different from the eastern shore, it is more off the beaten path from tourists. Route 301 is a major north-south thoroughfare and a good alternative to I-95 for those who don't want to get caught up in DC area traffic.

I have been to or through all regions of Maryland over the years. Nearly all of my forays into the Old Line State have been for business. At one of those business trips in June, 1994, my boss and the whole staff had supper and toured Baltimore's Inner Harbour. This page is, by no means, complete, however, I'll carry on adding new things with each trip and we'll see what happens. For information that mine doesn't cover, see Maryland by Hobings and frankcanfly.