Touting a rich tapestry woven with stately beauty and four centuries of rich American history, the Maryland State House is the oldest state Capitol Building still in legislative use today and the only Capitol Building in the United States to have served as the nation’s Capital.
The Maryland State House served as America’s first peacetime Capitol from November 1983 until August 1784, where it was also the meeting place for the Continental Congress at that time; the location where George Washington stood before Congress to resign his commission as Commander-in-Chief of The Continental Army; and where the Treaty of Paris was signed, marking the end of the Revolutionary War.
The first State House to earn the designation of National Historic Landmark, The Maryland State House was built in 1735 and is the oldest public building in Annapolis, Maryland. Thomas Jefferson was appointed Minister to France – the first diplomatic appointment in our nation – within its coveted walls; and several significant events centered on the expansion of rights took place there in the 19th Century.
Today, the General Assembly convenes three months each year at the Maryland State House and it is the site where official business is carried out by the top elected officials in the state, including the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the House of Delegates and president of the Senate.