Maryland Day is the anniversary of when the first European settlers landed in Maryland. They disembarked from ships called the Ark and the Dove and landed on St. Clement’s Island in St. Mary’s County on March 25th, 1634.

Marylanders began celebrating the anniversary in 1903 when the State Board of Education declared the day an important one in Maryland’s history. In 1916, Maryland Day became a legal state holiday.

To celebrate Maryland’s 388th year since its founding Preservation Maryland featured unique places in each the state’s 23 counties and Baltimore City.

Somerset County was represented by Teackle Mansion, located in Princess Anne, a nineteenth-century estate. Built in the Neoclassical style, the mansion housed some of the wealthiest individuals on the Eastern Shore. The venue is mainly used for weddings and meetings, but visitors can still tour the mansion on the weekends to get an understanding of the life lived by the wealthy eighteenth-century inhabitants.

Also selected was Poplar Hill Mansion to represent Wicomico County.

A public property of Salisbury, the Poplar Hill Mansion is a historic house and museum. Poplar Hill is a remnant of eighteenth-century Salisbury, as the museum exhibits different artifacts from the Federal Era. The Keeping Room, the Parlor, the Smokehouse, and Dr. Huston’s Surgery room are but some of the rooms available for tours. Poplar Hill is open from Friday to Sunday.

In Dorchester County the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center was selected. This museum is a tribute to Harriet Tubman and her life. Located in Cambridge, Maryland, the museum tells the story of Tubman’s courage and bravery as she operated on the Underground Railroad. It also houses a beautiful mural of the abolitionist. The museum is open Thursday through Sunday.

Take a tour of the rest of Maryland at this post by Preservation Maryland.