Old Treasury Building reopens as showcase for Maryland's early history

The oldest surviving public building in Maryland is now open to the public for the first time in decades.

After years of renovations, the Old Treasury Building on Statehouse Hill in Annapolis has reopened as a transformed museum showcasing Maryland's early history.

The building is older than the country itself.

"When it was built, we were still a British colony at the time," said Atif Chaudhry, the Secretary of the Maryland Department of General Services.

Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller called the reopening "a historic moment" during a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday.

History of the Old Treasury Building

Officials said the building dates back to the early 1700s. 

"It has also had people walk by such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton," Chaudhry said.

Inside, replicated furniture and signage are designed to take visitors back in time. The building also houses an original iron chest purchased by the legislature in the 1730s.

State Archivist Elaine Rice Bachmann said the chest has been brought back into the building where Maryland leaders once stored the colony's treasure.

"Making this building the center of Maryland's economy in the 18th century," Bachmann said.

Vision of the museum

State leaders said the museum will not just highlight Maryland's founding, but also acknowledge the complexity of its past, including the history of enslaved people whose labor helped build the state.

"I think what you'll see in this treasury building is that exact complex history that America is built on," Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said.

"In telling that story, we also have a venue for shedding light on the story of those whose names will never be known," Bachmann said. "The thousands of enslaved people upon whose labor Maryland was built."

The Old Treasury Building is now officially open to the public and will follow the same operating hours as the Statehouse.