Mosaic Pieces
Welcome to the complete Maryland Mosaic.
The Mosaic is not presented chronologically but presents a randomized selection of Mosaic Pieces to spark your interest in a particular event or person. If you would like to have a more ordered chronological overview, use the six fixed time period options on the right of the screen to get a more immediate picture of an historical period. You can also explore by county or by category. Our predefined categories, tags, counties and chronological brackets will help you see links between the Pieces.
The collection has over 140 firsts, including events, people, places, objects, documents or buildings that are unique to Maryland and to the nation. The Mosaic is part of Maryland’s contribution to the U.S. 250th anniversary in 2026. It covers the period from 1776 to the present. You will find at least one Piece for every county and Baltimore City, making this a statewide project.
Pratt Street Riots are first bloodshed of the Civil War
Baltimore secessionist rioters attack Massachusetts infantry passing through the city on the way to Washington in 1861, marking the first bloodshed of the Civil War.
Poole and Hunt Foundry becomes an industrial hub
The Poole and Hunt Foundry and Machine Works, opened in 1854, makes construction in the US Capitol possible, specifically the dome and the House and Senate wings. Poole and Hunt becomes an industrial hub with 700 employees on the Jones Falls after the Civil War.
Piscataway-Conoy leader Turkey Tayac is buried on his ancestral land in a national park
Turkey Tayac (Phillip Proctor), the prominent Piscataway-Conoy leader of the mid-20th century, is the first Native American buried by an Act of Congress in a national park in 1978.
Patuxent Naval Air Station opens in St. Mary’s in 1942 in response to WWII
The Naval Air Station Patuxent River in St. Mary’s county has an 80+ year history as the Center for Naval Aviation Training and Testing.
Patty Cannon, notorious slave catcher
Patty Cannon, female head of a notorious gang of slave catchers, is arrested in 1829 and indicted for the murder of four Black men. She dies in jail awaiting trial.
Oldest Unitarian Church
The oldest Unitarian Church in the country, designed by Maximilian Godefroy, is opened in 1818, and is dedicated to “Unitarians” who “cherish the liberal sentiments on the subject of religion”.
Oblate Sisters of Providence is founded as the first order of Black nuns.
Oblate Sisters of Providence is founded as first community of black Catholic sisters in US in 1829.
National Labor Union founded
National Labor Union is founded in 1866 in Baltimore, making it the first in the nation and calls for the 8 hour workday. In 1872 it creates a National Labor Party which is not successful in a national election
Nancy Pelosi serves as first female Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi is sworn in as the first woman and 52nd Speaker of the House in Congress in 2007. Born and raised in Baltimore she has deep political roots in the Italian American community.
Morgan State students stage first sit-in
Seven Morgan State College students stage the first sit-in at Read’s Drugstore in Baltimore in 1955. It ends peacefully and occurs 5 years prior to more famous Greensboro, NC sit-in.
Military Intelligence Center, Fort Detrick and Camp David are created by the emergency of WWII
The Ritchie Boys, trained in Maryland in 1942, are an important secret weapon for the allies in World War II. Exiled European Jews are trained in intelligence for the allies. They interrogate prisoners, interpret, translate and read code.
McCulloch vs. Maryland is the largest expansion of federal power to date
The 1819 US Supreme Court decision in the McCulloch vs Maryland Case expands federal power by ruling for the national bank over state banks. Chief US Justice John Marshall rules in favor of the federal government.
Mathew Henson reaches North Pole
Born in Charles County to a sharecropping family, Mathew Henson meets Robert Peary, joining him for the first party to reach the North Pole in 1909.
Marylanders dominate baseball’s third base
William “Judy” Johnson finishing his 17th baseball season with the Negro League in 1937, is named the League’s best 3rd baseman. Brooks Robinson, born in 1937, finishing 23 seasons with the Orioles, is named the best 3rd baseman in Major League history.
Marylander Roger B. Taney hands down the Dred Scott decision.
Roger Taney, Maryland native and Supreme Court Chief Justice, delivers 7-2 opinion in 1857, in the Dred Scott case, declaring that Blacks in the US are not considered citizens nor entitled to government protection, and that Congress cannot prohibit slavery. The decision becomes a major factor leading to the Civil War.
Maryland’s flag, the most popular, has a long history
The General Assembly makes new (old) flag official in 1904. Based on heraldic crests in the George Calvert family it is now the most popular and most recognized state flag. The flag was used by both sides during the Civil War conflict. A full description of the flag’s history is on Maryland Secretary of State’s website.
