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Maryland State Archives

350 Rowe Blvd Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 260-6400
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The State Archives serves as the central depository for government records of permanent value. Its holdings date from Maryland’s founding in 1634, and include colonial and state executive, legislative, and judicial records; county probate, land, and court records; church records; business records; state publications and reports; and special collections of private papers, maps, photographs, and newspapers. Check website for hours and holdings.
Virtual Experiences: The Maryland State Archives provides online resources including digital publications, special collections, and image collections from their holdings. Use their extensive online chronology to find significant dates and people in Maryland’s history. Their Legacy of Slavery in Maryland website has a tremendous amount of primary source and searchable information on the history of enslaved people in Maryland. You can also use a digital copy of their newly published Guide to the History of Slavery in Maryland. Learn more about our current government structure and our elected officials from the Maryland Manual, including fun facts about our great stage at Maryland at a Glance.  You can also find biographical information and service dates for former state officials using their Historical List.
  • School-Based Experiences

Hours of Operation

The Archives are open Tuesday – Friday and most Saturdays from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM. On Saturdays the Search Room closes for lunch between 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM. The Archives are closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of holiday weekends.

School Programs

Legacy Of Slavery

From the bondage of enslaved Africans in Maryland’s formative years, to the complicated workings of the Underground Railroad and slave resistance, and to modern-day examples of racial inequality in our society, the Legacy of Slavery Research Department examines countless aspects of our state’s unique history. The Legacy of Slavery in Maryland website, http://slavery.msa.maryland.gov/ contains detailed biographies of enslaved individuals, their accomplices to resisting the institution through flight, to the slaveholders and many other Marylanders that lived and worked in our state throughout time. Available online are links to primary source document collections, a searchable database of runaway advertisements, census records, and other related records. Additionally, our “Documents for the Classroom” collections, which can be found at msa.maryland.gov, contain ready-to-use educational instruction packets of Archives’ material focusing on topics that span Maryland’s history. Staff is available to present to student, teacher, historical, genealogical and other civic groups, as well as provide training on how to use primary and secondary source documents related to Maryland’s history. To schedule outreach, contact: ryan.cox@maryland.gov. Guide to the History of Slavery in Maryland and other Archive publication class sets are also available from the Maryland State Archives. Recommended for grades 3-12.