Historical Society of Baltimore County

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QUESTIONS ABOUT BALTIMORE COUNTY HISTORY

1. HOW OLD IS THE CHESAPEAKE BAY?
2. WHO DISCOVERED BALTIMORE COUNTY?
3. WHO BURNED THE GUNPOWDER RIVER RAILROAD BRIDGE DURING THE CIVIL WAR?
4. WHOSE FLAG IS THIS?



Photographed in 2002 by C.J. Groskopf

5. WHAT IS THE RED ITEM?

TRIVIA QUESTIONS ABOUT BALTIMORE COUNTY HISTORY

1. WHERE WAS THE FIRST BALTIMORE COUNTY SEAT?
2. WHO WAS THE LAST BRITISH PROPRIETOR OF MARYLAND?
3. HOW DEEP WAS THE BLACK TOP SOIL FOUND BY LEONARD CALVERT ON HIS ARRIVAL IN MARYLAND?
4. WHAT IS THE EASTERN MOST POINT IN BALTIMORE COUNTY?
5. WHAT IS THE SOUTHERN MOST POINT IN BALTIMORE COUNTY?
6. WHAT IS THE WESTERN MOST POINT IN BALTIMORE COUNTY?
7. WHAT IS THE CURRENT LAND AREA OF BALTIMORE COUNTY?

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT BALTIMORE COUNTY HISTORY?

1. HOW OLD IS THE CHESAPEAKE BAY? Twenty thousand years ago, sea level was 325 feet below where it is today. At that time the Susquehanna River ran to the Atlantic Ocean. The Bay was formed as the Ocean Level rose. The rise slowed to about 0.3 feet per century for about the last 5000 years. In the last hundred years, the rise increased to 1 foot per century. The current rate is believed to be 2 to 3 feet per century. References: White, C.P., Chesapeake Bay, A Field Guide, Nature of the Estuary, Tidewater Publishers, Centreville, MD, p9, 1980; Leatherman, S.P., et al, Vanishing Lands, Sea Level, Society and Chesapeake Bay, Laboratory for Coastal Research, U. of Md, College Park, p 9, 1995.
2. WHO DISCOVERED BALTIMORE COUNTY? Native Americans were known to live in Maryland by around 10,000 B.C. It is claimed that in 1588, Captain Vincente Gonzales was the first Spanish explorer to reach the head of the Chesapeake Bay. Captain John Smith explored the Bay in 1608 and provided the first map that indicated some knowledge of the upper bay. He sent it to the Virginia Company in 1608, and it was published in 1612. Thus, the much maligned Captain John Smith is usually credited with discovering Baltimore County. Reference: Morrison, R. and Hansen, R., Charting the Chesapeake, Maryland State Archives, p9, 1990.
3. WHO BURNED THE GUNPOWDER RIVER RAILROAD BRIDGE DURING THE CIVIL WAR? The bridge located near the present Amtrak bridge over the Gunpowder River was ordered burned in 1861 by order of Governor Thomas Hicks of Maryland to prevent angry Baltimore mobs from attacking Union Troops. Again, in 1864 a Confederate from Towson, Md. named Harry Gilmor burned the bridge during a daring raid around Baltimore. Reference: Cottom, R.I., and Hayward, M.E., Maryland in the Civil War, A House Divided, The Maryland Historical Society, 1994.
4. WHOSE FLAG IS THIS? Baltimore County.
5. WHAT IS THE RED ITEM? The New Holland gasoline-powered, one cylinder sawmill from HSBC Farm Museum collection

ANSWERS TO TRIVIA QUESTIONS

1. WHERE WAS THE FIRST BALTIMORE COUNTY SEAT? It was located in "Old Baltimore" on the Bush River. This area is now part of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Harford County.
2. WHO WAS THE LAST BRITISH PROPRIETOR OF MARYLAND? Henry Harford.
3. HOW DEEP WAS THE BLACK TOP SOIL FOUND BY LEONARD CALVERT ON HIS ARRIVAL IN MARYLAND? One foot. Reference: Richardson, H.D., Side-Lights on Maryland History, Tidewater Publishers, Cambridge, MD, p 34, 1994.
4. WHAT IS THE EASTERN MOST POINT IN BALTIMORE COUNTY?
Carroll Point on Carroll Island
5. WHAT IS THE SOUTHERN MOST POINT IN BALTIMORE COUNTY? North Point, located in Fort Howard Park
6. WHAT IS THE WESTERN MOST POINT IN BALTIMORE COUNTY?
Liberty Reservoir
7. WHAT IS CURRENT LAND AREA OF THE COUNTY? 612 Square Miles Reference: Baltimore County, Maryland, Brief Economic Facts, Maryland Dept. of Business & Economic Development, Baltimore, MD, 1998-1999.

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