In 1935, the General Assembly created the State Archives to
care for and preserve the historical records of the state. To house it,
they built a brand new Hall of Records Building
on the grounds of St. John's College. In May 1935, Judge Carroll T. Bond,
the chair of the Hall of Records Commission, announced the appointment
of the first State Archivst, Dr. James A.
Robertson. Dr. Robertson was permitted to hire 2
employees and the press reported that Dr. Robertson and his two staff
had their hands full caring for almost two
million records. Patrons' requests have not changed much over the years! Dr. Robertson served until his
death in 1939 and was quickly succeeded by Dr.
Morris Radoff who served from 1939 until his retirement in 1975. During
the short time between Dr. Robertson's death and Dr. Radoff's appointment,
Elizabeth
Meade served as Acting Archivist.
Morris Radoff served as State Archivist for 36 years. In his 25th
year they had a party at the Hall of Records and the entire staff showed
up for pictures. In 1975, after 36 years as State Archivist, Morris
Radoff was ready to retire and pass on the care of the state's historical
record to his Assistant State Archivist, a young
historian with a new Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins. When Ed Papenfuse assumed
his appointment as Maryland State Archivist and Commissioner of Land Patents, on February 1, 1975, he was only the third person to hold that post since it was created by the General
Assembly in 1935.