The University of Maryland Eastern Shore has been known by a series of names reflective of its location, evolving role and mission over a period spanning three centuries.

It opened Sept. 13, 1886 under the auspices of the Delaware Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Benjamin and Portia Bird welcomed nine students that first day to a converted farmhouse on 16 acres at what initially was envisioned to be a preparatory school for Centenary Biblical Institute in Baltimore, which in 1890 changed its name to Morgan College.
By the end of the first academic year, 37 students were enrolled in the Delaware Conference Academy in Princess Anne.

African-American students could not enroll in the Maryland Agriculture College in College Park, which offered advanced instruction in farming techniques and related trades commonplace in the late 19th century.
When Congress enacted the Second Morrill Act of 1890 committing funds to historically black schools also providing that type of instruction, the state of Maryland formalized a partnership with Morgan to underwrite "land-grant" education for African-Americans on Maryland's lower Eastern Shore.

By the turn of the 20th century, the school was known widely as Princess Anne Academy, although in some circles it was informally referred to as Morgan's "industrial branch."
The public-private partnership between the state and Morgan inspired yet another alternative in nomenclature, at least according to state government archives: the Eastern Shore Branch of Maryland Agriculture College.

In the midst of the Great Depression, Maryland courts directed the state to admit qualified African-American applicants to its publicly funded law school in Baltimore, a ruling historians believe hastened Princess Anne Academy's transition to becoming a public institution.

Fifty years after opening, the school formally passed from church control to state ownership with the first of four $25,000 installment payments – just as it was evolving into a baccalaureate degree-granting college.
Maryland's public flagship campus in College Park was designated its administrative agency.
In 1948, the Eastern Shore Branch of the University of Maryland, then alternately known as Princess Anne College, was renamed Maryland State College, a division of the University of Maryland.

Maryland State College became the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on July 1, 1970, and is today one of 12 University System of Maryland public institutions of higher education.
In addition to 745 acres on its main campus in Princess Anne, UMES also operates a 385-acre research farm in southern Somerset County as well as the Paul S. Sarbanes Coastal Ecology Center on eight acres near Assateague Island in neighboring Worcester County.

UMES offers instruction in 37 undergraduate areas of study as well as 15 master's degrees and eight doctoral-degree programs; 27 are peer-accredited.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore has been known by a series of names reflective of its location, evolving role and mission over a period spanning three centuries.
It opened Sept. 13, 1886 under the auspices of the Delaware Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Benjamin and Portia Bird welcomed nine students that first day to a converted farmhouse on 16 acres at what initially was envisioned to be a preparatory school for Centenary Biblical Institute in Baltimore, which in 1890 changed its name to Morgan College. By the end of the first academic year, 37 students were enrolled in the Delaware Conference Academy in Princess Anne.
African-American students could not enroll in the Maryland Agriculture College in College Park, which offered advanced instruction in farming techniques and related trades commonplace in the late 19th century. When Congress enacted the Second Morrill Act of 1890 committing funds to historically black schools also providing that type of instruction, the state of Maryland formalized a partnership with Morgan to underwrite "land-grant" education for African-Americans on Maryland's lower Eastern Shore.
By the turn of the 20th century, the school was known widely as Princess Anne Academy, although in some circles it was informally referred to as Morgan's "industrial branch." The public-private partnership between the state and Morgan inspired yet another alternative in nomenclature, at least according to state government archives: the Eastern Shore Branch of Maryland Agriculture College.
In the midst of the Great Depression, Maryland courts directed the state to admit qualified African-American applicants to its publicly funded law school in Baltimore, a ruling historians believe hastened Princess Anne Academy's transition to becoming a public institution.
Fifty years after opening, the school formally passed from church control to state ownership with the first of four $25,000 installment payments – just as it was evolving into a baccalaureate degree-granting college. Maryland's public flagship campus in College Park was designated its administrative agency. In 1948, the Eastern Shore Branch of the University of Maryland, then alternately known as Princess Anne College, was renamed Maryland State College, a division of the University of Maryland.
Maryland State College became the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on July 1, 1970, and is today one of 12 University System of Maryland public institutions of higher education. In addition to 745 acres on its main campus in Princess Anne, UMES also operates a 385-acre research farm in southern Somerset County as well as the Paul S. Sarbanes Coastal Ecology Center on eight acres near Assateague Island in neighboring Worcester County.
UMES offers instruction in 37 undergraduate areas of study as well as 15 master's degrees and eight doctoral-degree programs; 27 are peer-accredited.
University of Maryland Eastern Shore