The Lady Maryland is a replica of a Chesapeake Bay pungy schooner, a boat which sailed the Bay in the 1800's. The name "pungy" may originate from the place where some of the first pungies were built - the Pungoteague Creek on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Pungies, which were considered fast sailing vessels in the 1800s, were primarily used as workboats which carried perishable cargo such as oysters, watermelons, tomatoes, fish, peaches, and grain.

Lady Maryland was built by the Living Classrooms Foundation in 1985. The Lady Maryland is made out of wood, principally from the trees of Maryland, such as White Oak and Pine. All the wood used to build this ship was donated by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Lady Maryland is pink and green because these are the traditional colors for pungy schooners. Some say pink was used because the oxides and pigments needed for pure white were not readily available in the early 1800's. Others say that when the builders poured the white hull paint into the same buckets they used for the red bottom paint, the result was "pungy pink".

Today, the Lady Maryland sails as part of the Living Classrooms Foundation's educational fleet, providing hands-on, multidisciplinary educational programs for students of all ages.