Editing Annapolis, Maryland (section)

===Historic institutions===
====The State House====
The [[Maryland State House]] is the oldest in continuous legislative use in the United States. Construction started in 1772, and the Maryland legislature first met there in 1779. It is topped by the largest wooden dome built without nails in the country. The Maryland State House housed the workings of the United States government from November 26, 1783, to August 13, 1784, and the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] was ratified there on January 14, 1784, so Annapolis became the first peacetime capital of the U.S.<ref>{{cite web
   |url=http://www.hometownannapolis.com/tour_statehouse.html
   |title=The State House and its Dome
   |publisher= Capital Gazette Communications, Inc.
   |year=2008
   |access-date=October 18, 2008
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081015215214/http://hometownannapolis.com/tour_statehouse.html| archive-date= October 15, 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="State House">{{cite web|url=http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdstatehouse/html/story.html|title=History of the State House and Its Dome|publisher=Maryland State Archives|access-date=January 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141120153734/http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdstatehouse/html/story.html|archive-date=November 20, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

It was in the Maryland State House that [[George Washington]] famously resigned his commission before the [[Continental Congress]] on December 23, 1783.<ref name="State House" />

====United States Naval Academy====
[[File:bfc annapolis md usna bancroft hall 01w.jpg|thumb|right|US Naval Academy, [[Bancroft Hall]], c. 1908]]
The [[United States Naval Academy]] was founded in 1845 on the site of [[Fort Severn]], and now occupies an area of land [[Land reclamation|reclaimed]] from the [[Severn River (Maryland)|Severn River]]. Students that attend the Naval Academy are enrolled for four years with a following five year commitment to serving on active duty in the Marine Corps or Navy. Students hold the naval rank of [[Midshipman]], and on average about 4,500 are enrolled.

====St. John's College====
[[St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe)|St. John's College]] is a non-sectarian private college that was once supported by the state. It was opened in 1789 as the successor of King William's School, which was founded by an act of the Maryland legislature in 1696 and was opened in 1701. Its principal building, McDowell Hall, was originally to be the governor's mansion; although £4,000 was appropriated to build it in 1742, it was not completed until after the War of Independence.<ref name="EB1911" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/about/history.shtml|title=A Brief History of St. John's College|publisher=St. John's College|access-date=January 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005200302/http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/about/history.shtml|archive-date=October 5, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>