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Maryland

Maryland
Jousting Over Maryland's State Sport

Jousting Over Maryland's State Sport

05/20/2022 in Maryland by William Choi

The battle lines were drawn anew early in February 1988. The knights stood together, clad in mail and livery, and braced their lances in readiness. For more than twenty-five years, they had desperately defended their title against the onslaughts of the enemy. Once more, the enemy was in the capitol, and once more the knights of the Maryland Jousting Tournament Association would resist the dishonor of lacrosse becoming the official state sport.

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Maryland
What's in a Name? Silver Spring

What's in a Name? Silver Spring

03/22/2022 in Maryland by Katherine Brodt

How did Silver Spring, Maryland land one of the prettiest, most mystical-sounding names in the Washington, D.C. area? Was there really a magical silver spring that once flowed through the area? Is it as pretty and idyllic as it sounds? Actually, that's exactly where the name comes from: a "silver spring."

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Maryland
The Lynching of George Armwood

The Lynching of George Armwood

03/01/2022 in Maryland by Henry Kokkeler

George Armwood was the last recorded lynching in the state of Maryland. The story of his murder and its shocking aftermath exposed the depth and sinister workings of white supremacy in one of the darkest chapters of American history.

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Maryland
"Will We Let the Ballot Be Taken From Us?": Black Marylanders Fight to Keep the Vote

"Will We Let the Ballot Be Taken From Us?": Black Marylanders Fight to Keep the Vote

09/09/2021 in Maryland by Ben Miller

In 1910 Maryland Democrats planned to bar all African Americans from voting, forever. But Black men and women were ready to fight for their place in the state.

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DC
Brood X in the Eighteenth-Century Headlines

Brood X in the Eighteenth-Century Headlines

05/11/2021 in DC by Katherine Brodt

As a historian, seeing the media “buzz” surrounding cicadas makes me wonder how our ancestors reacted to their periodical swarms. Who were the first people to realize what was going on? Did they understand the seventeen-year cycle? Were they afraid, curious, or unbothered? As I suspected, Washington-area locals have been fascinated by Brood X for a very long time. 

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DC
Cicadas: Time Traveling Trouble Makers

Cicadas: Time Traveling Trouble Makers

05/03/2021 in DC by Michael Kohler

Every seventeen years, the Brood X cicadas create a buzz in the treetops and in the press. The story of the time traveling insects tells an interesting tale of how much changes in the world over their hibernation period and how much doesn't at all.

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DC
What's in a Name? Chevy Chase

What's in a Name? Chevy Chase

02/01/2021 in DC by Katherine Brodt

Though most Americans (and Google) associate the name with Cornelius “Chevy” Chase, the actor of National Lampoon fame, those of us in the D.C. area know that Chevy Chase, Maryland had it first. Rumor has it, though, that the man and the town actually get their names from the same place: an English ballad that’s at least 500 years old.

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Maryland
Remembering Kit Kamien

Remembering Kit Kamien

12/15/2020 in Maryland by Charlotte Muth

“I personally want to try and change the stereotype of what somebody in a wheelchair is like… I want to be judged not on my disabilities but on my abilities. I think people get frightened by the wheelchair… It’s a powerful visual symbol, but it’s not a symbol of defeat. It’s a tool I use to help me accomplish my goals. Just by climbing into the wheelchair, I don’t have to surrender my sexuality, my sensuality, my good sense of humor, or anything," said Kit Kamien, a Bethesda musician who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 26, to The Washington Post in 1987.

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Maryland
The Centuries-Long Saga of the ‘Oyster Wars’

The Centuries-Long Saga of the ‘Oyster Wars’

11/18/2020 in Maryland by Arielle Gordon

The battle lasted about half an hour, and when the smoke cleared, Captain Frank Whitehurst lay dead in a pool of his own blood on the deck of the Albert Nickel, a Baltimore oyster schooner. While Whitehurst met a fate avoided by most, the so called “Oyster Wars” had been brewing for more than 100 years prior to that fateful night on the Severn River.

For nearly two centuries, Maryland and Virginia were engaged in conflict over one of the region’s valuable resources — oysters. Full of inconsistent enforcement and rampant law-breaking, it took the president’s signature to end the Oyster Wars.

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DC
The C&O Canal Owes a Lot to Black Workers of the CCC

The C&O Canal Owes a Lot to Black Workers of the CCC

11/13/2020 in DC by Charlotte Muth

Today, you may know the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal best as a destination for outdoor activities, roaring waterfalls and historic lockhouses (which can be rented, thanks to the Canal Quarters Lockhouse Program!)  But, the C&O Canal has a history with more twists and turns than the route of the canal itself. One of the most interesting chapters in C&O history was from 1938-1942, when two all-Black Civilian Conservation Corps companies worked to refurbish the decaying canal.

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Categories

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Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

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