Collections by Geographical Location: Southern Maryland (Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary's Counties)
A Selected List of Holdings in Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries
For more information about how to access materials in this guide, please visit the Maryland Room web page or fill out an information request.
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Maryland Agricultural
Experiment Station records, 1852-1983. 34.50 linear
feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The Agricultural Experiment Station was founded in 1888 in order to use the resources of science to improve practice and profitability of agriculture, to conduct investigations into agricultural problems, and to publish and disseminate widely the results of its research. The collection consists of the operating records of the Agricultural Experiment Station and includes project and academic files, contracts and agreements, documentation of professional association activities of the station's directors, annual reports, and correspondence to and from other Maryland agricultural facilities, dating from 1853 through the twentieth century. See also the preliminary inventories for the following unprocessed collections: Acc# 87-67, 92-18, 92-48, and 99-28.
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College of Agriculture records, 1916-1973. 20.75 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The College Park campus of the University of Maryland, created by the Maryland General Assembly in 1920, was originally divided into thirteen educational units, including the College of Agriculture. The college underwent many name changes (it is currently known as the College of Agricultural and Natural Resources). The records of the college primarily document the tenure of Gordon M. Cairns as dean and consist of correspondence, reports, committee information, appointment books, budget files, financial ledger books, and photographs. Ledgers in Series II document the Southern Maryland Immigration Commission, which was created by the Maryland General Assembly in 1922 to advertise Southern Maryland and its resources and entice people to immigrate there.
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Thomas Bray papers, 1697-1705. 4.00 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
Dr. Thomas Bray (1656-1730) was the Commissary of the Bishop of London for the Anglican Church in Maryland. His papers consist of minutes, petitions, proposals, legislation, correspondence, and catalogs. Subjects include conditions of life and the state of the Anglican Church in colonial Maryland, Quakers, libraries, and the clergy. Included are catalogs of books for sent to establish libraries in Nanjemoy, Charles County, Maryland, and St. Mary's City, Maryland.
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Paul Dennis Brown Family papers, 1879-1973. 6.50 linear feet and 4 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
Known as "Mr. Charles County," P. D. Brown was a tobacco specialist in the University of Maryland Extension Service and was active in the civic affairs of Charles County, specifically its history, its public library, and county fairs. Papers also relate to Southern Maryland's historic homes, such as Smallwood's Retreat.
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Archives of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, 1946-1970. 22.25 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The Bureau of Business and Economic Research was founded in 1946 to conduct academic research into regional economic concerns. The administrative records of the Bureau include reports, computer printouts, book manuscripts, and publications, concerning such subjects as state and local government, conservation, industrial planning and development, and demographic processes. The Maryland Tax Study, completed in 1965, provided data and analysis while avoiding specific policy recommendations on projects of Maryland State and local taxes, revenues and expenditures. Unprocessed materials exist (Acc #91-194, 91-3) that may pertain to Calvert County; a preliminary inventory is available.
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Central Atlantic Environment Center archives, 1966-1974. 2.50 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Central Atlantic Environment Center was established in 1967 as the Potomac Basin Center. Until it ceased operations in 1974, the Center collected, analyzed, and disseminated information on issues relating to natural resources. Its archives include correspondence, newsletters and news releases, annual reports, and court cases concerned primarily with protecting Maryland's resources from developers. Subjects addressed relating to Calvert County are the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Calvert Cliffs, and Cove Point.
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Office of the Chancellor records, 1967-1978. 97.00 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Created in 1970, the Office of the Chancellor was the highest-ranking administrator for the University of Maryland College Park campus until the expansion of the University of Maryland in 1988, at which time the office was renamed Office of the President. The records consist of the administrative files of the Chancellor and include reports, financial and budget records, committee and task force files, publications, and working papers, some of which may relate to Southern Maryland. There are a number of unprocessed collections (Acc# 72-250, 86-175 87-86 88-201, 89-142, 90-317, 90-431) that have material relating to the Agricultural Experiment Station; preliminary inventories are available.
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Chapman Family papers, 1816-1895. 2.00 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
John Grant Chapman, an affluent citizen and plantation owner in Charles County, was active in state and national politics for over twenty-five years. A member of the Whig party, he served in the Maryland House of Delegates and then advanced to the Maryland Senate. From 1845 to 1848, Chapman served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Financial papers dating from 1816 to 1889 in Series I in particular relate to Chapman Plantation in Chapmantown (now La Plata), but later correspondence and miscellaneous files pertain to Charles County as well.
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Chesapeake Bay Foundation archives, 1963-1989. 5.00 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
This non-profit organization was established in 1967 to promote the preservation of the ecological well-being of the Chesapeake Bay through conserving its natural resources, combating pollution, and educating the public. Important issues documented in the foundation's records, which span the years 1966 to 1972, include the environment of the Bay, as well as actions proposed and undertaken to eliminate threats to this environment. There is substantial material relating to the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant throughout the collection.
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Office of the Comptroller records, 1856-1975. 157.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The Office of the Comptroller is the central accounting office of the University of Maryland system. This record group consists of the central financial ledgers maintained by the comptroller, as well as records of general operating funds, special purpose accounts, payroll, audits, research and restricted funds, and construction funds for various campuses of the University of Maryland System. Series I contains the financial records for the university, including records for the Agricultural Experiment Station. There is also unprocessed material relating to this collection, namely Acc#72-248, #85-27, and #89-147 (microfiche); preliminary inventories are available.
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Demorest's New-York Illustrated News Woodcut Collection, 1861-1865. 4 woodcuts with prints and 1 broadside.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
This collection contains a Civil War-era woodcut of Mattawoman Creek.
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Fergusson/Hamilton papers, 1761-1827. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
Robert Fergusson and Alexander Hamilton were buying agents for Scottish trading firms during the latter half of the eighteenth century. Fergusson owned Nanjemoy, an estate in Charles County, though he lived in Georgetown and later at "Mulberry Grove," also in Charles County, near Port Tobacco. Series I, Fergusson's correspondence dating from 1772 to 1801, includes correspondence relating not only to the administration of Nanjemoy including debts and agreements but also larger issues such as trade conditions and shipping arrangements for goods
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Henry Chandlee Forman papers, 1919-1989. 5.50 linear feet and 85 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
Henry Chandlee Forman was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, archaeologist, historian, preservationist, and teacher. His papers, dating from 1930 through 1990, consist of architectural drawings, historical notes, field notes, photographs, and negatives of historic buildings, including some in Calvert County, such as Charles Gift (Preston), and the Old House near Lower Marlborough. The collection is unprocessed but a preliminary inventory is available.
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Hamilton Family papers, 1803-1923 and undated. 1.25 linear feet (109 items).
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The papers of the Hamilton family of Charles County, Maryland, pertain to family members as well as other contemporary leading figures of Charles County, such as Charles A. Pye and John Adams. The collection consists primarily of correspondence and addresses such topics as tobacco and agriculture, family matters, slavery, and Catholic schooling, as well as national events such as the Civil War and the development of the West. Materials in this collection range from 1803 to 1923, however the bulk of the collection spans the period 1827-1883.
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Harwood Family papers, 1652-1842. 53 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
Legal documents, land plats, and receipts primarily relating to Richard and Thomas Harwood and their lands on Buzzard's Island and other places in Calvert County, Maryland. Included are materials from Aquila Beall, Thomas Holliday, and a property named "Glengary" in Frederick County, Maryland.
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Celia Holland papers, 1861-1993. 12.50 linear feet, 3012 slides, 338 photographs.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
Celia M. Holland (1911-1993), a Baltimore, Maryland, native, was a local history writer who became, through her research, the unofficial historian of Howard County, Maryland. She also produced numerous newspaper and magazine articles on Maryland history topics and conducted an extensive correspondence with many individuals sharing similar local history interests. Celia Holland's papers consist of correspondence and biographical information, writings and publicity, property documentation, county subject files (Series V), and research materials concerning historic personages and other historical topics. Also included are over 3,000 35 mm color slides of historic buildings and locations throughout the state of Maryland, including Calvert County.
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W. Joseph Moyer papers, 1857-1986. 82.75 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The papers of state climatologist and University of Maryland faculty member W. Joseph Moyer consist primarily of climatological data from various weather stations in Maryland from the second half of the twentieth century. The collection also includes historic data on weather conditions at selected sites around the state, including Calvert County and St. Mary's County. The collection is unprocessed but a preliminary inventory is available.
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Phi Mu Fraternity, 1923-1945. 5.00 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The records of the Phi Mu Fraternity, an engineering honor society later known as the Beta Chapter of Tau Beta Pi, consist of research papers on various engineering topics prepared as part of initiation requirements for Phi Mu. Many of these papers deal with topics relating to the history of the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia; a few relate directly to Southern Maryland.
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Office of the President, University of Maryland records, 1868-1988. 67.5 linear feet (processed); approx. 900 linear feet (unprocessed).
Location: University of Maryland
The Office of the President was established in 1859. The records document the tenure of eleven presidents of the Maryland Agricultural College, Maryland State College of Agriculture, and the University of Maryland system. They are comprised of correspondence; publications; reports; minutes; invitations; legislation; legal and financial records; photographs; newspaper clippings; conference materials; class schedules; and committee files. See in particular Series III (Henry E. Alvord), Series V (Harry J. Patterson) and Series IX (Thomas B. Symons) since they were all at one time directors of the Agricultural Experiment Station. Series VII (Raymond A. Pearson) contains material relating to the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Calvert County. Harry Clifton Byrd's papers, currently unprocessed, also pertain to these two enterprises. There are also unprocessed portions of this collection that could pertain to Southern Maryland such as land documents pertaining to University-owned property throughout the state. The finding aid for the processed materials can be found at http://www.lib.umd.edu/ARCV/univarch/Pres/processed.html. A preliminary inventory for the presidential papers of Harry Clifton Byrd is available at http://www.lib.umd.edu/ARCV/univarch/Pres/byrdun.html. For further information on the Office of the President's files in general, please go to http://www.lib.umd.edu/ARCV/univarch/Pres/index.html.
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Mary Carter Roberts papers, 1940-1977. 11.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Mary-Carter Roberts (1899-1979), was a novelist, journalist, book review editor for the Washington Star, travel writer in the Maryland Department of Economic Development, and member of the Maryland Department of Information. She published two novels: The Abbot Sisters and Little Brother Fate. Her papers consist of correspondence; drafts of novels, stories, and articles; book and theatrical reviews; and reports, clippings, diaries, photographs, and memorabilia documenting her life and career. Series III includes correspondence and information about her tenure as a member of the St. Mary's City Commission from 1966 to 1970. Further information may be found in an unprocessed addendum to the collection (Acc# 97-51), which consists of work papers relating to radio talks and surveys of county historic sites in the mid 1950s and 1960s; a preliminary inventory is available.
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Stoddert Family papers, 1797-1939. 38 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Stoddert family of Virginia and Maryland traces its history to Richard Parker, the Viriginia judge at the trial of abolitionist John Brown, and General William Smallwood, a Revoluntionary War soldier from Charles County, Maryland. The collection contains family correspondence, legal documents, and genealogies of various families connected to the Stodderts. It also includes material related to West Hatton, the Stoddert family home in Charles County; the trial of abolitionist John Brown; and a 1906 "colored" wedding in Winchester, Virginia.
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William Stone papers, 1762-1876. 0.25 linear feet (75 items).
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
William B. Stone was an eighteenth-century Charles County lawyer and landowner and counted among his ancestors a number of influential Maryland politicians, including a proprietary governor from the early seventeenth century. Stone himself was at one time considered by the U.S. Senate for a federal judge's seat. National politics, slavery, individual slaves, legal and financial settlements are among the topics covered in Stone's papers, which consist of correspondence between Stone and relatives or Charles County business associates.
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William W. W. Wood papers, 1879-1881. 26 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
This collection consists of letters written by William W. W. Wood, pioneer of the steam navy, thirty-five year naval veteran, and resident of Washington, DC, to A. L. Taveau, the overseer of Wood's farm "Jutland", located in St. Mary's County, Maryland, from 1879 to 1881. In these letters, Wood discusses purchases he has made for the farm, fertilizing, marketing, transportation problems, crops, machinery, agricultural pests, and Taveau's impending resignation. Wood also describes his dealings with dishonest businessmen, his plans to travel to "Jutland" and various family matters.