Annapolis, the capital of Maryland

From St. Mary’s City to Annapolis

Maryland’s first capital was St. Mary’s City, founded by the first English settlers in 1634 near the mouth of the Potomac River. It lay near the southern tip of the colony, and as settlers spread north it was too far away for most of them. In 1694 the General Assembly chose a new capital about halfway up the Chesapeake Bay: Anne Arundel Town, on the Severn River. The government’s records and offices moved there in February and March 1695, and in May 1695 the town was renamed Annapolis in honor of Princess Anne, later Queen Anne. It was chartered as a city in 1708.

Three State Houses

The present State House, on State Circle at the top of the town, is the third on the site. The first burned in 1704, and the second was torn down in 1770-1772 to make way for a grander building. Governor Robert Eden laid the cornerstone of the new State House on March 28, 1772. Its architect was Joseph Horatio Anderson. Work went slowly during the Revolution; the building was in use by 1779 but was not finished then.

Its most famous feature is its dome, designed by Joseph Clark and built in the 1780s. The exterior was finished by 1788 and the interior in 1797. It is built of timber without metal nails, held together instead by wooden pegs reinforced with iron straps.

Capital of the nation

For nine months, Annapolis was the capital of the United States. The Continental Congress met in the State House from November 26, 1783, to August 1784. Two great events happened there. On December 23, 1783, George Washington appeared before Congress in the Old Senate Chamber and resigned his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army, returning power to civilian hands. And in January 1784 Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the Revolutionary War.

Today the Maryland State House is the oldest state capitol still used by its legislature, and the only working state capitol that has also served as the nation’s capitol. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

Annapolis today

Annapolis had about 41,000 residents in 2025, far smaller than Baltimore, Maryland’s largest city, with about 570,000. Annapolis is also home to the United States Naval Academy, and its historic streets of colonial houses run down to the harbor.

Visiting

The State House is open to visitors daily except Christmas and New Year’s Day. See the Maryland State Archives’ visitor page.