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The Agricultural History of Maryland
Table of Contents
Maryland's Geography
Nicknamed “The Old Line State,” Maryland’s geography, agricultural history, rural life, and culture reflect trends found in both the North and the South. Maryland's close proximity to the nation’s capital has meant that the state’s agricultural history is closely tied to national institutions, such as the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and the National Agricultural Library, both part of the United States Department of Agriculture and located in Beltsville, Maryland.
Bordered by Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, and West Virigina, Maryland encompasses a diverse geography within her relatively small 12,193 square miles. [1]
Maryland is divided into six physiographic provinces, progressing in altitude from the shores of the Atlantic Coastal Plain in the east to the mountains of the Appalachian Plateaus in the west. The 195-mile long Chesapeake Bay (the largest estuary in the United States) divides the Coastal Plain into the Eastern and Western Shores. [2]
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Production and Industry
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In the 1600s, Maryland became known for its production of tobacco, a crop that would have a significant impact on the state’s agricultural, social, and political history. [3]
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During the eighteenth century, Maryland's increase in wheat production and ability to provide food for troops during the War of Independence led to its reputation as the “Breadbasket of the Revolution.” From the end of the Revolution through the 1800s, the dairy, fruit, vegetable, and livestock industries experienced |
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| cycles of growth and decline, as farmers faced obstacles such as the wheat-infesting Hessian fly and a depletion of soil quality. [4]
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By the post-Civil War era, the introduction of railroad lines on Maryland’s Eastern Shore had opened new markets in Philadelphia, leading to intensive agriculture activity still practiced in that part of the state. Maryland also profited from commercial
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fishery, which increased during the mid and late 19th century and benefited from the Chesapeake Bay's supply of shad, oysters, finfish, clams, blue crabs, American eel, and striped bass. The use of steamboats on the Chesapeake fostered truck farming by transporting farm and fisheries products to and from the large canning industries located in Baltimore. [6]
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| The horse industry, which combines the breeding, training, and racing of thoroughbred horses, has also been an important part of Maryland’s history. The Maryland Jockey Club (MJC), established in 1743, organized the first thoroughbred races in Maryland. In 1870, MJC opened Baltimore's Pimlico, the second
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oldest race track in America and home to the Preakness. [7] In 1929, the Maryland Horse Breeders Association (MHBA) was established and began sponsoring events, lobbying the legislature, and distributing information through publications such as its newsletter, Maryland Horse.
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By 1900, the westward movement of agriculture had reduced Maryland's agricultural importance to the nation, transforming the state's economy into one dominated by manufacturing. During the early part of the twentieth century, fruit and vegetable production became more prevalent in Maryland’s Eastern Shore; the dairy industry occupied central Maryland; and tobacco continued to be produced in the southern part of the state.
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Although agriculture contributed greatly to Maryland's food supply and economy, clearing land for the planting of crops and the raising of livestock took a toll on the state's forests. The
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| destruction of woodlands also resulted from a booming timber industry, which utilized Maryland's white cedar, loblolly pine, sugar maple, spruce, oaks, hickories, and various other tree species to satisfy the needs of Maryland's growing cities. Forests had covered almost the entire land area of Maryland prior to the 1600s. By 1916, only 35% of Maryland's land was designated as woodland. [8] From 1938 to 1941, lumber consumption more than doubled, as wood was needed for war industries. [9]
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In order to attain greater control over the state's forests, the legislature of Maryland created the Maryland State Board of Forestry in 1906, with Fred W. Besley (1872-1960) as the first State Forester. Since much of the woodlands were located on private farms, the government educated local farmers on forestry management techniques and the benefits of preserving forests for controlling stream flow, preventing soil erosion, and protecting wildlife. In 1939, the Maryland State Game Warden requested that state agencies, through their County Agricultural Agents, create advisory councils to promote wildlife conservation and Farm Game Management. [10]
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Movements, Institutions, and Societies
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Marylanders, such as John Beale Bordley (1727–1804), were leaders in advocating a scientific approach to agricultural issues in the new nation. The Columbian Agricultural Society, founded in
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Georgetown in 1809, helped facilitate the communication of agricultural ideas through its activities and periodical, The Agricultural Museum. [11] In 1818, Marylanders established their own society, known as the Maryland Agricultural Society. Specialized agricultural societies,
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including groups for horticulture, silk, marketing, and livestock, also became prevalent in Maryland. The founding of Maryland's first grange in 1873 provided another means of supporting farmers and advancing agricultural interests. [12]
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Agricultural organizations were also important in promoting agricultural education. This support is evident in the Maryland
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State Agricultural Society's role in the establishment of the Maryland Agricultural College (MAC) in 1856. Through the backing of a small group of trustees, led by Charles Benedict Calvert (1808-1864), the College opened its doors in 1859 and became the state's first land-grant institution in 1865. The
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| College is known today as the University of Maryland, College Park. [13]
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| MAC's charter was the first state legislation to explicitly authorize experimental work, and, in 1888 the establishment of the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station furthered this effort.[14]
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Following the passage of the 1914 Smith-Lever Act, which promoted land-grant institutions' application and sharing of "useful and practical information on subjects relating to agriculture, home economics, and rural energy," the College became the home of the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service. [15]
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The passage of the second Morrill Act in 1890 required land-grant agricultural schools that denied enrollment based on race or color, such as MAC, to establish equivalent programs for African- Americans. Henry E. Alvord (1844-1904), president of MAC at the
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| time, proposed that the Delaware Conference Academy, a Methodist school for African-Americans, located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, become the recipient of state and federal funds. The Academy, which operated as the Institutional
Branch of Morgan |
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College, became the Eastern Branch of MAC and changed its name to Princess Anne Academy. In 1926, the state took complete control of the Branch, which is now known as University of Maryland Eastern Shore. [16]
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Maryland Today
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Although the acreage of farmland in Maryland has decreased by approximately 60% since 1900, agriculture continues to be an integral part of Maryland’s culture and diversified economy. [17]
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Agriculture is the state’s largest commercial industry, and 14% of the state’s workforce is engaged in Maryland’s food and fiber sector. Maryland’s poultry and tobacco industries rank among the country’s top volume producers, with large contributions from the vertically integrated poultry industry (producers and processors of broilers) on the Delmarva Peninsula. The dairy and livestock industries are also important components of Maryland agriculture. Maryland’s major crops include corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, melons, beans, tomatoes, apples, peaches, and strawberries. [18]
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Maryland's seafood industry continues to thrive, worth an estimated $700 million. However, although the state harvests over 60 million pounds of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab, an overall decline in the population of this profitable fishery product has prompted the Chesapeake Bay Commission to adopt conservation measures. Other environmental organizations, such as the Maryland Conservation Council also play a crucial role in the preservation of Maryland's wetlands and other natural resources. Maryland also sponsors events related to its fishing industry, such as the National Oyster Cook-off. [19]
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Notes
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[1] Maryland Geological Survey, "Fact Sheet 2: Land Areas, Inland-Water Areas, and Length of Shorelines of Maryland's Counties," <http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/fs/fs2.html>.
[2] Maryland Geological Survey, "A Brief Description of the Geology of Maryland," <http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/brochures/
mdgeology.html>.
[3] Arthur Pierce Middleton, Tobacco Coast (Newport News, VA: Mariners' Museum, 1953).
[4] Maryland Agriculture Week Committee, Breadbasket of the Revolution (Annapolis: Maryland Agriculture Week Committee, 1976), 3.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Jim Casey, "A Short History of Commercial Fishing in the Chesapeake Region," Maryland Department of Natural Resouces, <http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/articles/
history_of_comm _fishing.shtml>.
[7] Maryland Horse Breeders Association, "Breeders Association," <http://marylandthoroughbred.com/breeders/>.
[8] F.W. Besley, The Forests of Maryland (Baltimore: Maryland State Board of Forestry, 1916), 11.
[9] Department of State Forests and Parks, Our Maryland Forests What They Mean to Us (Baltimore: Maryland Commission of State Forests and Parks, 1942), 5.
[10] E. Lee Le'Compte, Soil, Forest and Wildlife Restoration in the Farm Program, 3rd ed. (Baltimore: Maryland State Game and Inland Fish Commission, 1945).
[11] Alfred C. True, A History of Agricultural Education in the United States, 1785-1925, USDA, Misc. Pub. 36 (Washington, DC: Govt. Print. Off, 1929), 17.
[12] University of Maryland Libraries and National Agricultural Library, "Maryland State Grange," Maryland Agriculture, <http://www.lib.umd.edu/ARCV/agriculture/
agexhibit/mdstategrange.html>.
[13] Alfred C. True, A History of Agricultural Education in the United States, 1785-1925, USDA, Misc. Pub. 36 (Washington, DC: Govt. Print. Off, 1929), 66-67.
[14] A.C. True and V.A. Clark, The Agricultural Experiment Stations in the United States, USDA Office of Experiment Stations, Bulletin no. 80 (Washington, DC: Govt. Print. Off., 1900), 248.
Maryland General Assembly, Laws of Maryland, 1856, Chapter 97, <http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/megafile/msa/speccol/ sc2900/sc2908/000001/000623/html/am623--114.html>.
[15] Smith-Lever Act, <http://www.higher-ed.org/resources/
smith.htm>.
[16] University of Maryland Eastern Shore, "UMES History," <http://www.umes.edu/about_umes/history.html>.
Ruth Ellen Wennersten, The Historical Evolution of a Black Land Grant College: The University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, 1886-1970 (Master's Thesis, University of Maryland, 1976), 1-11.
[17] United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service, "Maryland Data—Farm Numbers—Total Farms, Land in Farms, Average Farm Size," <http://www.nass.usda.gov/
QuickStats/>.
W.S.Hamill, The Agricultural Industry of Maryland (Baltimore: Maryland Development Bureau of the Baltimore Association of Commerce, 1934), 59.
[18] Maryland Agriculture in the Classroom, "A Look at Maryland Agriculture," <http://www.agclassroom.org/kids/stats/
maryland.pdf>.
Purdue University Center for New Crops & Plant Products, "Maryland Crop Statistics," <http://www.hort.purdue.edu/
newcrop/cropmap/maryland/marylandtotals.html>.
[19] Chesapeake Bay Commission, Blue Crab 2004: Status of the Chesapeake Population and Its Fisheries, <http://www.mdsg.
umd.edu/crabs/bbcac/Blue%20Crab%202004.pdf>.
Maryland Department of Agriculture, "About Us," Maryland Seafood and Aquaculture, <http://www.marylandseafood.org/
about_us/>.
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