The Story
The University of Maryland (UMD) is the largest university in the state and the DC Metro Area. You go there to study Computer Science and get a job at Capital One. Let's go into it's history!
In 1856, the Maryland Agricultural College was chartered on the Piscataway ancestral land. Two years later, Charles Benedict Calvert, descendant of the first Lord Baltimore, founded the school. 34 students enrolled.
By the end of the Civil War, financial problems forced the administrators to sell off land, and low enrollment sent the college into bankruptcy.
The Maryland legislature assumed half ownership of the school. The former Confederate admiral Franklin Buchanan became the school's president. Enrollment grew to 80 and the school paid off its debt.
In 1912, a fire destroyed student housing, school records, and most of the academic buildings, leaving only Morrill Hall untouched.
The state took control of the school in 1916, renamed it Maryland State College, and allowed females to enroll. In 1920, the college became the University of Maryland.