For a small state, Maryland holds an outsized share of American history. The national anthem was written over its harbor, the bloodiest day in the country’s history unfolded in its hills, and the woman who became the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad was born and freed herself from its Eastern Shore. From colonial capitals to Civil War battlefields, Maryland sits at the crossroads of the American story.
I taught American history for more than twenty-five years before writing for More Than Just Parks, and Maryland keeps surprising me. Here are 15 historic sites in Maryland worth a trip, with the exact designation, who runs each, and what you will actually see. A few sites are partly closed for restoration in 2026, and I have flagged those so you can plan accordingly.
Historic Sites In Maryland At A Glance
| Site | Designation | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine | National Monument and Historic Shrine (NPS) | Baltimore |
| Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad NHP | National Historical Park (NPS) | Church Creek |
| Antietam National Battlefield | National Battlefield (NPS) | Sharpsburg |
| Chesapeake & Ohio Canal NHP | National Historical Park (NPS) | Georgetown to Cumberland |
| Monocacy National Battlefield | National Battlefield (NPS) | Frederick |
| Clara Barton National Historic Site | National Historic Site (NPS) | Glen Echo |
| Hampton National Historic Site | National Historic Site (NPS) | Towson |
| Thomas Stone National Historic Site | National Historic Site (NPS) | Port Tobacco |
| Fort Washington Park | NPS unit | Fort Washington |
| Catoctin Mountain Park | NPS unit | Thurmont |
| Maryland State House | National Historic Landmark, state | Annapolis |
| Historic St. Mary’s City | National Historic Landmark, state | St. Mary’s City |
| Fort Frederick State Park | National Historic Landmark, state | Big Pool |
| William Paca House and Garden | National Historic Landmark (private) | Annapolis |
| B&O Railroad Museum | National Historic Landmark (private) | Baltimore |
15 Of The Best Historic Sites In Maryland
1. Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
During the War of 1812, the star-shaped Fort McHenry held off a British naval bombardment of Baltimore on September 13 and 14, 1814. Watching the American flag still flying at dawn, Francis Scott Key was moved to write the poem that became “The Star-Spangled Banner.” This is the birthplace of the national anthem.
Fort McHenry carries a designation held by no other site in the country: National Monument and Historic Shrine. The visitor center, the restored fort, and the daily flag programs make it the essential Maryland stop, set on a point jutting into Baltimore Harbor.
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2. Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park
On the Eastern Shore in Dorchester County, where Harriet Tubman was born into slavery around 1822, this park tells the story of how she freed herself and then returned again and again to lead others to freedom along the Underground Railroad. The landscape itself, the marshes and woods she crossed, is part of the experience, and the visitor center exhibits are among the most powerful in the park system.
One useful clarification: there is a federal National Historical Park and an adjacent Maryland state park here, sharing one visitor center. Admission is free, though hours have been reduced, so check before you go. The site anchors the longer Tubman Underground Railroad Byway driving tour.
Civil War Sites In America
3. Antietam National Battlefield
On September 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg became the bloodiest single day in American history, with roughly 23,000 casualties. The Union’s hard-won result gave Abraham Lincoln the opening to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, changing the meaning of the Civil War. Place names here, the Cornfield, Bloody Lane, Burnside Bridge, still carry weight.
The visitor center, a driving tour, and the national cemetery help make sense of that terrible day. The battlefield is remarkably well preserved, looking much as it did in 1862.
4. Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
The C&O Canal ran 184.5 miles along the Potomac from Georgetown to Cumberland, carrying coal and goods from 1828 until 1924. Today the towpath and its locks, lockhouses, and aqueducts form a linear national historical park, one of the most-visited units in the system and a favorite of hikers and cyclists.
The towpath is open year-round, with major visitor centers at Georgetown, Great Falls, Williamsport, and Cumberland. For an immersive stay, several restored historic lockhouses can be rented overnight through the canal trust.
Historic Sites In Washington D.C.
5. Monocacy National Battlefield
Near Frederick, the Battle of Monocacy on July 9, 1864, is known as “the battle that saved Washington.” Though Union forces lost the field, their stand delayed a Confederate advance long enough for the capital’s defenses to be reinforced, blunting the last serious threat to Washington of the war.
The battlefield has a visitor center and a driving tour through farm fields that remain much as they were. It is an easy companion to Antietam, less than an hour away.
6. Clara Barton National Historic Site
In Glen Echo, this large house was the home of Clara Barton and an early headquarters of the American Red Cross, which she founded. Barton, who cared for soldiers on Civil War battlefields, built the structure in 1891, and it doubled as a warehouse for relief supplies, reflecting her life of service.
The house is currently open by guided tour only, with upper floors closed for structural work, and a major rehabilitation is expected to begin in late 2026. Check the park’s current conditions before planning a visit.
7. Hampton National Historic Site
In Towson, Hampton preserves a vast Georgian mansion completed in 1790, once among the largest houses in the country. It was the first site chosen as a National Historic Site for its architecture, in 1948. But the fuller story here is inseparable from the enslaved people and indentured workers whose labor built and sustained the Ridgely family’s fortune, and the site interprets their lives directly.
Note that the mansion has been closed for installation of climate-control systems, with operations shifted to the historic farmhouse and grounds. Confirm what is open before you visit.
8. Thomas Stone National Historic Site
In Port Tobacco, Haberdeventure was the home of Thomas Stone, one of Maryland’s signers of the Declaration of Independence. The restored 1770s Georgian house and its grounds offer a window into the life of a planter and statesman during the Revolutionary era.
The site is seasonal, closed in January and February and generally open Thursday through Sunday the rest of the year. It is a quiet, uncrowded stop in southern Maryland.
9. Fort Washington Park
South of the capital on the Potomac, Fort Washington guarded the river approach to Washington from 1809 into the 20th century. The masonry fort you see today was built after the British destroyed the original in 1814, and its ramparts and gun positions offer commanding views across the river toward Mount Vernon.
The grounds are open daily and the fort most of the week. Do not confuse it with the nearby county-run Fort Washington Forest Park; this is the National Park Service site.
10. Catoctin Mountain Park
In the mountains near Thurmont, Catoctin Mountain Park is best known as the home of Camp David, the presidential retreat, though the camp itself is closed to the public for security. The rest of the park is a beautiful stretch of eastern hardwood forest with hiking trails, rock outcrops, and a history rooted in the New Deal-era recreation programs of the 1930s.
The park is free and open year-round. Trails to overlooks like Chimney Rock and Wolf Rock are the highlights.
Revolutionary War Sites In America
11. Maryland State House
In Annapolis, the Maryland State House is the oldest U.S. state capitol still in continuous legislative use, its current building completed in 1779. It briefly served as the nation’s capitol, too: the Continental Congress met here in 1783 and 1784, accepting George Washington’s resignation as commander in chief and ratifying the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolution.
A National Historic Landmark crowned by the largest wooden dome in the country built without nails, it is free to visit and still the seat of Maryland’s government. The Old Senate Chamber where Washington resigned is the highlight.
12. Historic St. Mary’s City
Maryland’s first capital, founded in 1634, was the fourth permanent English settlement in what became the United States and an early experiment in religious toleration. Today Historic St. Mary’s City is a state-run living-history museum and active archaeological site, a National Historic Landmark spread across the original townsite.
The reconstructions include a 17th-century tobacco plantation, the State House of 1676, the ship Maryland Dove, and a Woodland Indian hamlet that acknowledges the Yaocomaco people on whose land the colony was built. The museum runs seasonally from spring into late fall.
13. Fort Frederick State Park
On the Potomac near Big Pool, Fort Frederick is the only stone fort built by a British colony during the French and Indian War, raised in 1756 and 1757 to defend Maryland’s frontier. Restored to its 1758 appearance, with original stone walls and reconstructed barracks, it is a National Historic Landmark and a state park.
The C&O Canal runs right through the park, making it easy to combine with a towpath walk. Costumed interpreters and reenactments bring the colonial frontier to life in season.
14. William Paca House and Garden
In the heart of colonial Annapolis, this 1760s Georgian mansion was the home of William Paca, a Maryland signer of the Declaration of Independence and a three-term governor. A National Historic Landmark run by the nonprofit Historic Annapolis, it includes a beautifully restored two-acre walled pleasure garden.
House and garden tours carry an admission fee. The site sits within the larger colonial Annapolis historic district, one of the best-preserved 18th-century cityscapes in the country.
15. B&O Railroad Museum
In Baltimore, the B&O Railroad Museum occupies the site of the oldest railroad manufacturing complex in the country, often called the birthplace of American railroading. The Baltimore and Ohio was the nation’s first common-carrier railroad, and the museum’s collection of historic locomotives and rolling stock is among the finest anywhere.
A National Historic Landmark run by a nonprofit, it centers on the dramatic 1884 roundhouse. Train rides on a historic line operate on select days, a hit with families.
More Things To Do In Maryland
Maryland holds more history than 15 sites can cover. A few more worth your time:
- The Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis is a National Historic Landmark and a masterpiece of colonial architecture, with a doorway Thomas Jefferson admired.
- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, just over the line in West Virginia, ties together the John Brown raid and Civil War history within easy reach of western Maryland.
- The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail links sites of the 1814 Chesapeake campaign across Maryland by land and water.
- The Naval Academy in Annapolis offers guided tours of its historic campus, including the chapel and the crypt of John Paul Jones.
Why These Historic Sites In Maryland Matter
Maryland sits where so many American stories meet. It was a colonial capital and an early test of religious freedom, the harbor that inspired the anthem, the ground of the war’s bloodiest day, and the homeland of Harriet Tubman. Visit a handful of these sites and you cross from the founding of the colonies to the fight to end slavery, all within a state you can drive across in an afternoon.
